Jewellery & Metal Design - Student Profiles

Scott Andrew Millar

Contemporary Jewellery / Object Designer & Maker
Course: BDes Jewellery & Metal Design
Date:2 002 - 2006

Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design has an unrivalled reputation - widely regarded as the best art college north of the border and one of the best in Europe. I always had high ambitions and needed a place that could pass on the skills that I required whilst allowing me to have the freedom to develop personally. DJCAD gave me that. I was allowed to experiment outwith my own discipline, which only added to my strengths, and I was provided the full support of my department to push beyond the comfort zones of my discipline.

This support led me to achieve a good degree, which helped me secure a place at the Royal College of Art. People always knew of DJCAD and often said 'wow - you studied there!' Paris, New York, Tokyo - Dundee was the place to be!!! My grounding at DJCAD gave me the maturity, understanding and skills to survive a pressured MA in the capital of the world!

Dundee is one of those cities that is large enough to offer you lots of exciting opportunities and events, but small enough to know who you are and form close friendships. It was a wonderful start in life with only positive points to be made.

I am now regularly exhibiting my own work in London, The Netherlands and Italy. My first show was at Galerie Marzee, one of the best contemporary jewellery galleries in the world and I am now as a result represented by the Electrum which is widely regarded as the most important UK contemporary jewellery gallery. I also show work in smaller shows and privately curated shows, one of which is to run alongside this years 'Collect@Saatchi' in London.

Alongside this, I am establishing myself within a company operating from Hatton Garden - the melting point of the UK jewellery industry - as a manager of industry training with the view to continue on within the industry as a designer and product development advisor to the Industry.

Andy Sweet

Course: BDes (Hons) Jewellery & Metalwork
Date: 2000

All through school I wanted to be a car designer. It never even crossed my mind that my desires might have changed over the years, so I automatically applied to study Transport Design at another university, but it soon became clear it wasn’t for me.

Luckily I was able to transfer directly into the Second Year at DJCAD, studying Jewellery & Metalwork, which I immediately realised was a much better choice.  The course gave me the freedom to experiment with materials, and after winning a competition to design eyewear for Dollond & Aitchison’s 250^th anniversary (which was set as a class project) I decided to specialise in eyewear.

For my Degree Show I handmade a small collection of experimental eyewear in Titanium, which opened the doors of the optical industry for me. On the strength of that collection I began visiting trade shows, and soon started designing for my first client, a small Chinese factory.

From there I have gone on to work for a wide range of companies around the world, designing eyewear for H&M, Cheap Monday, Bruuns Bazaar, Specsavers, SpongeBob SquarePants and Jacob Jensen amongst others.

In 2009 I produced my first eyewear under my own name, which I plan to develop further in the future.

Without the support of my course tutors in producing something that wasn’t jewellery, I probably wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today. The ethos of research and experimentation at DJCAD allowed me to investigate other avenues and led me to the career I am now in (and enjoying).

“Away from the academic side of things at DJCAD, I had a great time living in Dundee, and made friends for life. Although a relatively small city, Dundee is a fantastic place to work and play, and I would recommend it to anyone!”