Kent-based designer-maker Patrick Davison has won the Goldsmiths’ Fair 2016 Best New Design Award (Week Two) for Box, an intriguing mixed metal container constructed with silver, brass, copper, bronze, and nickel silver (alpaca). Announcing the prize, Rosy Greenlees, Executive Director of the Crafts Council, the national agency for contemporary craft, drew attention to the work’s intricate patterns, superb craftsmanship and beautiful finish.

“It’s a real privilege. I’m honoured and surprised to have won the award. It’s great to have the work understood, including the amount of time it’s taken to create and the process involved,” commented Davison upon receiving the £1,000 prize and a bottle of champagne.

Although small items can theoretically be stored in Davison’s process-driven piece, it is intended to be decorative rather than functional. The work’s range of tones and sculptural qualities also elevate it to the status of objet d’art.

One of 10 Goldsmiths’ Fair Graduate Bursary Scheme recipients, Davison had already been granted a free stand at this year’s Fair, a bursary of £1,500, a bullion loan of up to £3,000, and a personalised business and technical mentoring programme managed by the Goldsmiths’ Centre, the country’s leading charity for the professional training of goldsmiths and silversmiths.

Patrick Davison creates process-led work which incorporates silver and mixed metals. He has a BA in Silversmithing and Jewellery Design from Glasgow School of Art. He also trained at Alchimia in Florence for a year. His work can be found in private collections worldwide.

Image and text credit: The Goldsmiths’ Company