Introducing // Kevin Thorne

Meet jewellery designer Kevin Thorne, our brand-new Designer in Residence here at The Shelter. After years in architectural design, Kevin moved into the world of jewellery creation and now inhabits The Shelter, dreaming up ideas and working on site. We’re so excited to introduce him to you!

Kevin moved to New Zealand in 2010 at the age of 21 from Shandong, China where he’d spent 3 years studying architectural design. After graduating with his Master's and working in the industry for a few years, Kevin found himself wondering if he’d taken the right path at age 30. While he enjoyed learning the process of architecture and mastering the aesthetic judgement needed to succeed in that industry, he felt slightly detached from the crafting and construction of the ideas he was forming. He also could often be working on the same projects for up to 2 years at a time which left him feeling slightly restless. Upon some reflection, it became clear that he wanted to pursue a venture that had a quick turnaround of projects and that allowed him to be involved in all aspects of the creative process. From the first concept, through construction and onto the finished, final product. Jewellery design helped Kevin to keep challenging himself creatively, continuously coming up with new ideas and working to craft them into a tangible piece of art. He spent the first two years of his jewellery design career nesting at Workshop 6, continuously creating, perfecting his process, and letting his inspiration take him wherever it wanted to - a period that he says was crucial to getting the brand to where it is today.

Kevin studied Chinese Calligraphy from age 7 and through high school. He attributes his interest in shape, texture and composition to this and says it helped pave the road to his design career. He also thanks his life experience and background for helping him craft a design style that is completely unique to him - a signature as such – stating that his story is fundamentally rooted in the pieces he creates. He’s constantly inspired by the environment around him and always attuned to the beautiful things in our world that catch his eye as well as the emotions we experience as human beings.

Kevin states that his method of inspiration has 3 main categories:

1. Form – Appreciating the texture, shape, colour, and material of something. For example, an Art Deco style building in Sydney and the way the light played off it inspired his SHARD pieces.

2. Structure – An aspect of his process that stems from his architectural training – analysing and appreciating the marriage of structure and aesthetics.

3. Humanity – The emotions we feel and the beauty that can come from being inspired by feeling. “I wear my joy, sadness and pride on my neck, ears and fingers.”

Once sufficiently inspired, he gets to work. Sketching first, Kevin roughly gets his ideas down to help visualise the piece before starting his first prototype. “That’s usually the most exciting part [of the creative process] for me. Because once you’ve made the idea into a 3-D shape it can give you so much more perspective.” Kevin states. “It’s the moment that you see what needs to change and where to go with it.” From here, he’s able to make any necessary changes and perfect his piece. Material wise, Kevin’s favourite to work with is silver, by a landslide, due to its neutrality. Due to having no real colour tone, silver feels like a blank canvas which allows him to put his own story and emotion into the pieces he creates. He’s free to play with texture to help give the material a personality or a mood.
“People have subconscious thoughts that are associated with certain metals. I always look at rose gold and think of rosé or how it’s very pretty. Yellow gold, I automatically think maturity, luxury. But silver is just... silver.” Kevin laughs, “and I really like that.”

If you find yourself wanting something super specific, consults for custom pieces are also offered. He’ll sit down with you, chat through your story to understand your vision and craft your very own, own of a kind piece. In fact, he has a myriad of ideas for how to connect and share his knowledge with clients now that he’s a fixture in The Shelter. As well as hosting special events and exhibitions within the space, he’ll be holding workshops each week for those interested in embarking on their own jewellery making journey. The workshops will be small, intimate classes with Kevin plus 1-2 students to ensure he’s able to access your needs and give the necessary time and focus to each participant. Introductory classes will be offered for people wanting to try their hand at creating jewellery and advanced classes for those wanting to throw themselves in and truly hone the craft.

We’re so excited to have Kevin with us here at The Shelter. Come by, meet him yourself and feast your eyes on his stunning creations. He can be found in-store Thursday – Sunday each week. If you’re interested in participating in a workshop, please register your interest with one of our staff or Kevin himself at kt@kevinthorne.com

Imagery by: Liz Clarkson
@lizclarksonphoto