BAJ Podcast

In this episode, Sofie Boons speaks with Dr Alvi Lufiani, jewellery lecturer and researcher at the Indonesia Institute of the Arts in Yogyakarta. Together, they discuss the potential of bamboo as a sustainable material for jewellery, its cultural significance in Southeast Asia, and the role of craft in shaping a more environmentally conscious industry. Discover how traditional practices and innovative thinking can help redefine what sustainable jewellery could look like.

In this episode of the BAJ Podcast, host Dr. Sofie Boons is joined by designer, maker, and content marketer Rebecca Maddock to explore the state of sustainability in the jewellery industry. As a member of the Fair Luxury collective and co-organiser of the recent ‘State of Sustainability in the Jewellery Industry’ conference, Rebecca shares insights into the challenges of greenwashing, the importance of transparency, and the role of storytelling in shaping a more ethical future. Tune in for a thoughtful conversation on how jewellers can contribute to meaningful change, from grassroots practices to industry-wide initiatives.

What does sustainability really mean in jewellery and why does it matter now more than ever? In this episode of the BAJ Podcast, we speak with Vivien Johnston Glass, a trailblazer in ethical sourcing and expert in responsible jewellery practices. With two decades of global experience, Vivien shares her journey from launching an ethical brand to consulting across continents, helping businesses rethink how they source precious materials. From the challenges of greenwashing to the promise of local gold mining in the UK, Vivien offers a fresh perspective on how sustainability can drive innovation, transparency, and positive change. A conversation packed with insights, practical advice, and a powerful reminder that every choice we make can shape a better future for the industry, and the planet. Tune in to discover how you can be part of the movement toward a more sustainable jewellery world.

In this episode of the BAJ Podcast, we speak to Rob Bates, award-winning journalist and News Director at JCK, to explore the ever-evolving world of jewellery—from the rise of lab-grown diamonds and the fall of De Beers’ Lightbox, to the challenges of global news reporting and the future of journalism in the age of AI. With over 30 years of experience covering the industry, Rob shares fascinating insights into the trends shaping jewellery today and tomorrow, while also revealing how his passion for storytelling extends into the world of diamond-themed mystery novels. Tune in for a compelling conversation at the intersection of fact, fiction, and the future of sparkle.

Since 2020 Sofie Boons has been collaborating with a physicist and crystal grower as part of her, recently completed, doctoral research. Her collaborator, Daniel Rytz, has been active in the field of crystals for optical, piezoelectric and other applications since 1977. In 2012, together with his partner Corinne Siegrist, he founded BREVALOR as a platform to develop crystals with novel properties for ornamental applications. One of the innovations he has been working on, are phosphorescent crystals. The materials BRG and BRB have similar properties to classical gemstones: their hardness allows them to be shaped and facetted, and they have the optical appearance of gems. This light-emitting gemstone material, capable of storing energy and generating its own light, is taking the quest to optimise light reflection in gemstones to a whole new dimension. In this episode, Sofie and Daniel discuss his career, the subject of crystal growth and his thoughts on the future of these and other novel materials for the jewellery industry.

Tom Chatham is currently chairman of the board at Chatham Created Gems & Diamonds, Inc. Previously, he was CEO of Chatham Created Gems & Diamonds, Inc. The firm's accomplishments include the first successful production of emerald (1935), ruby (1959) sapphires of many colors (1970's) alexandrite (1972) and Lab Grown diamond (1996). Tom Chatham has been active in the gem production area for over 55 years and has been a frequent speaker world wide on the subject of gemstone and diamond production. Tom Chatham is also an author, releasing the book "The Chatham Legacy" in 2023. Chatham Inc sells to every level of the gem business, world wide, on the wholesale level. Today, principle aim is at independent jewelry outlets numbering in the thousands of outlets

A lot of jewellery designers are no stranger to shifting between the digital and physical both for the creation of work and the communication of work. There are companies and researchers/practitioners that question and advance these practices, considering craft thinking in the context of digital experience and asking what it means to be human in an increasingly layered physical and digital world. Lynne Craig is an innnovation director, academic and founder of computational adornment. Her work, research and practice connects design, technology, education and business development; exploring the frontiers of emergent technologies and cultural change. To talk to me today about her work and what it means to be a digitally conscious maker/thinker today

Tiia Vahula and Philip Wilck, founders of Utopia Blu aim to embrace the boundless potential of human imagination, whilst striving for a future that is not only visually appealing but also sustainable and meaningful. Breaking disciplinary boundaries, the couple look to technology to enable creative innovations that strike the right balance between culture and nature. For this podcast episode we review how the self-proclaimed formalists have been nourishing an ability to envision sensitive possibilities, finding inspiration in nature whilst advocating for progress, by exploring emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and virtual reality, to create transformative experiences that blend seamlessly with the physical world.

Sustainable practice can be seen from a range of perspectives, including the idea of Urban Mining materials, rather than using virgin materials. What we choose as materials to work from has a big impact on our practice. A researcher who has taken the practice of urban mining one step further, and has been working in the Bio-Design field for quite some time is Marie Melcore. With her work she is keen to transcend disciplinary boundaries in order to address common sustainability issues and offer out of the box design and ideas proposals that can contribute to solving the big problems we face. In this episode she tells us more about her career, practice and the materials she’s been locating, questioning and transforming as part of her projects.

When considering alternative approaches to materials and making, you may come across Bio-design, which can be understood as a means to incorporate the inherent life-conducive principles of biological living systems into the design and making process - and this in order to move towards a more sustainable and caring future. If we want to become more empathic towards our environment, so we can co-create, collaborate with non-humans whilst constructing and most importantly improving our context, wouldn’t it be important we gain an understanding of these living systems first? What does the world feel like to a tree? And can jewellery provide an ecological service to our environment? Someone who has asked themselves these very questions, and many more questions in relation to the topic of bio-design, is researcher, designer and artist Yuning Chen. Join us in this episode, where she tells us more about her career, practice and the materials she’s been investigating as part of her projects.

Hidden behind a colourful facade on a small estate in South London, you can find a treasure trove of carefully reviewed, sorted and organised ‘waste’ materials. The Work and Play Scrapstore, and its team of passionate volunteers, enable artists, makers and anyone with any use for materials, to come and be inspired. From discarded famous costumes to offcuts of wood, textiles, plastics and much, much more, the Work and Play Scrapstore is a place where anyone with an interest in materials and making could spend hours exploring. Tune in to hear more about the concept of the store, the materials and objects it holds, and how anyone can engage with and support the cause.

Gold, as we know it best, is not really a material that gets distributed fairly, or even gets worked on in cooperation. But there is archaeological evidence for spectacular goldwork in stateless societies providing compelling proof that complex technologies could be sustained in the absence of coercive powers. With cooperation being a key to tackling some of our greatest global concerns, and fair distribution of materials such as gold and access to luxurious objects an ethical ambition, this should pique our interest. This month we speak to a researcher who has been tracing our fascinating relationship with gold and other luxurious materials in various places and across segments of time. Professor Marcos Martinón-Torres is the Pitt-Rivers Professor of Archaeological Science at the University of Cambridge and researches the archaeology of alchemy and metals, investigating different forms of craft organisation, knowledge transmission, innovation, and value systems. We speak to him about his research, and how looking back can maybe inspire moving forward.

When thinking about materials and objects as a maker, it is important to consider the impact these materials and objects have. In a first instance that can involve considering the life cycle of materials, and constructing objects well so they are cared for and passed on rather than discarded. But what does it mean to create objects that get ‘passed on’? These objects could also be referred to as ‘kinship objects’. A thought that crossed my mind upon finding a small book that packs a punch titled ‘The Material Kinship Reader’ edited by Kris Dittel and Clementine Edwards. What role do materials and objects play in the organisation of social relationships? What does it mean to possess materials and objects? To discuss their work and ponder these interesting and necessary topics, we will delve into the world of artist Clementine Edwards.

In a world full of objects, and as makers of objects, the agency of objects and materials is fascinating. Why do certain objects become valuable to us, and others not? Today sustainable making is a key consideration, and waste poses a real sustainability challenge. Are there opportunities in waste? Can we re-consider waste sensitively, incorporating it into our practices as tools, materials and actors? A maker who has been fascinated with the temporality of materials is Katy Gillam-hull. A maker of objects and jewellery who reflects upon found and archival materials and objects and their capacity for encounter and for accumulating narrative through time. In this episode we talk about her views on waste, ponder materials and their stories, and delve into her practice, where waste is not wasted.

When recycling silver and gold seems evident and has been around for decades, how can the practice be applied to other materials, what organisations and which individuals are already facilitating or exploring this approach, and what could we as artists, makers and designers change as part of our practices in order to become, and more importantly think like ‘Urban Miners’ re-valuing waste materials, critically reflecting on appropriation and being mindful of the longevity of our own work. In history, perhaps through necessity, re-use was common, and archaeologists have found many examples of ‘Urban Mining’ in history. As reflecting on the past can be insightful, Sofie is joined by archaeologist Dr Carlotta Gardner who has been investigating a range of archaeological materials including ceramics, metals, glass, and waste materials associated with these respective industries. They talk about her fascination for the subject, her career to date and her thoughts on Urban Mining.

Our senses are the filters to our universe. Jewellery, unlike other artforms, is often worn on the body, engaging most of our senses. Some jewellery designers explore the edges of our sensory exploration of the world, questioning what it is we can and cannot see, or feel - or enabling a beauty to be sensed only in certain conditions. A jewellery designer who aims to explore how the multi-sensory experience of wearing and viewing jewellery can be changed with the enhancement of light as an interactive medium is Wanshu Li. In this podcast episode we discuss how her work attempts to challenge the traditional way that people wear and interact with jewellery by exploring the relationship between materiality and sensory experiences, using traditional and digital techniques.

When we think about jewellery, we think it generally is worn on the body. Can jewellery or adornment be created for non-human contexts? Jewellery artist and researcher Liesbet Bussche has been challenging scale, materials and perceptions. Her large city objects are clearly inspired by jewellery and aim to adorn the city. In this episode, we discuss the scale of jewellery and what it is like to work multidisciplinary. We discuss her fascination for the city and the archetypical form of jewellery, and how changing contexts can change perspectives.

When we look at the profession of jewellery, we often review pieces of jewellery from the past to gain an insight into the application of techniques, the reasons jewellery pieces were commissioned and worn, and gain insights into trends and changes in style. Museums such as the V&A provide us with an opportunity to look at some of the most interesting pieces of jewellery in European history. To discuss what it is like to trace the stories of these jewellery pieces, I speak to the BAJ Associate Lecturer in Critical and Historical Studies, and previously curator at the V&A for 20 years, Rachel Church. Join us in a conversation about weird and wonderful jewellery stories, what it is like to work as a curator and much more.

To mark the 50th Episode of the BAJ Podcast, Sofie is joined by fellow Podcaster, broadcaster, author and editor Carol Woolton. In this episode, Carol as Co-Host, will find out a little more about the Sofie's research, fascination with jewellery and the ideas behind the BAJ podcast. They will discuss what topics they feel are important for the industry to engage with and what their plans are for both of their podcasts.