Phillip Stoner
Designer jeweller known for his high quality and bespoke pieces, Phillip Stoner, studied jewellery making at the Regional College of Art in the 1960s.
“It was the summer of 67, Radio One went on air, the Move sang
Flowers in the Rain and I was offered a place in the jewellery
department by John Law, the head of department. I accepted and
the rest, as they say, is history.
It was a brilliant time to be at art school, there was so much to be
optimistic and excited about. We were in a period of huge change
and to be a student at that time was fabulous. John Law was one
of the old school and took a total interest in all his students. He
knew all about us and us him, and when the day finally came for us
to leave and move on into the industry, he was there guiding us all
the way.
Being at Bradford taught me many things and gave me the
confidence to start to build my plans for the future and I would
recommend it to all budding artists and craftsmen. The friends I
made at that time are friends today and we do keep in touch. We
worked hard and played hard. There were a few afternoon lectures
following a lunchtime in the Manville, which were certainly lost on
me and I guess the lecturers as well. Yes - they were with us.”
Phillip then worked for a period in Harrogate at a leading workshop
before moving on to one of the country’s foremost jewellery
manufacturers in Birmingham where he spent 10 years in sales,
travelling all over the UK. It was at this time he started to develop
plans for his own business and in 1983 bought a small retail store
in Shipley.
“We worked hard at developing our brand and grew the business
into what today is a thriving retail and manufacturing concern with
2 prime stores in the centre of Leeds and branches in Halifax, where
we also have our workshop and design studio, and Shipley which
has been at the core of all our plans over the years.
My sons Jon and Chris run the business today which has freed me
up to go back to my roots and work on some new projects. The
display piece in the exhibition is one of my new range of diamond
rings in which the designs are clean and simple and the quality of
the stones and workmanship superb. This approach to producing
one off individual pieces of jewellery is what we specialise in at
Phillip Stoner and stands us apart from the competition.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the then Bradford
Regional College of Art for allowing me the opportunity to start a
life long passion with jewellery and wish all the current students at
Bradford College every success in all they do.”
Photograph by Trevor Griffiths