Crafting a career in gold
A series of serendipitous encounters set Róisín McCabe on the path to becoming a goldsmith. This weekend Róisín will be exhibiting at the Benchspace Christmas Market.
Róisín McCabe is an artist, designer and goldsmith, who first moved to Cork in 2017 and currently lives in Midleton. As a child, she always liked making things and had “a big massive box of beads at home”, which used to keep her occupied for hours on end.
Jewellery making however, “seemed something that was impossible”, until a series of serendipitous encounters while growing up in Clones, Co. Monaghan changed her outlook completely and helped guide her to where she is today.
“I found a copy of the Good Housekeeping book at my grandmother’s house when I was quite young. Up to that point, I never thought I’d be able to do anything more than work with beads, but that book suddenly made it seem possible.”
“Then my parents got married when I was eleven and the man who made their wedding rings was a really great goldsmith called Erwin Springbrunn. We went to visit his house in Roscommon and it all seemed so magical.”
“He had a workshop with all these tools and while we were there he resized my father’s ring and I watched him do that.”
Some of Springbrunn’s work is exhibited in Collins’ Barracks here in Cork and while this visit clearly left a lasting impression on the young McCabe, she also comes from a highly creative family who have always supported her artistic endeavours.
Her grandfather was the celebrated writer Eugene McCabe and her aunt, Ruth McCabe, is one of the most renowned actors in the country. While she is very proud of both their work, she was nonetheless, keen to follow her own creative path.
McCabe studied Fine Art at Limerick School of Art and Design from 2013 to 2017 and after graduating found herself at somewhat of a crossroads.
“I didn’t see much of a career ahead of me in painting or printmaking, but jewellery making seemed a lot more tangible.”
After completing a residency in Sample Studios here in Cork, McCabe decided to apply for the Jewellery Design and Goldsmithing Skills course in Kilkenny and was one of only twelve students in the country accepted for the highly sought after qualification.
“It was really brilliant,” McCabe says of her time spent learning her trade in the Marble city.
“There’s no other course in Ireland that would give you the same level of skill it gives you.”
“Sometimes it’s criticized for its focus on design, but I really like that because a lot of jewellery pieces are like a recipe, they’re all the same. And while it’s good to know the recipes, it’s also important to respect the process of design or else jewellery can become quite boring.”
Since graduating, McCabe has gone about creating her own designs and has made some eye-catching work, the majority of which she sells online. Last month however, she was chosen as one of the Emerging Makers at the annual craft and design fair in The Glucksman and this coming weekend she will have a stall at the Benchspace Christmas Market on Centre Park Road.
“Benchspace is great. I love it, I wouldn’t be able to do what I’ve done in the past year if I didn’t have a space to work down there.”
“There’s a really great community there and I’ve made loads of friends and it feels very supportive.”
“I have a job in a jewellers in Dungarvan but to make the balance right, I’m going down to part-time in the new year and start tipping the scale towards my own work.”
“Having enough time and money or having both those things at the same time is a challenge.”
Despite the struggle of trying to make a living and following her own creativity, McCabe still manages to keep the flow going.
“Well I kind of have several different points of inspiration. I’m inspired a lot by water and although I’m not always consciously aware of that, it's definitely there and you can see it in my work.”
“I also draw a lot, so that comes into my work through embellishment and that then comes to the forefront in engraving.”
“Mythology is a big influence too, Irish mythology in particular, like Manannán Mac Lir, who is the god of the sea. I’m exploring a lot of different things at the moment.”
While McCabe is now in a place where she is able to make any kind of work her imagination brings forth, she can still remember the frustrations of starting out and for any aspiring jewellery maker out there, she would encourage them to not be deterred in any way.
“Definitely do some course. It’s the type of thing you need to be shown, because there’s lots of tricks and little hacks and I’m still learning those types of things.”
“There’s so much information and it takes a long time to learn, so you have to stick with it because there’s a commitment involved since you do need to get a lot of tools.”
“But in saying that, wax carving is a great way of getting into jewellery making. You can make your piece and send it off to a local caster and they’ll send it back to you, which is an easy and accessible way to start.”
And now that McCabe has settled into her craft and continues to grow her own business Órró Jewellery, before we finished chatting I asked her about her hopes for the future, to which she had this simple response.
“I just want to keep doing what I’m doing and eventually work solely for myself.”
“And I’d like to continue to be in Benchspace, where there’s lovely people around me.”
To see more of Róisín’s work please see here
Róisín will also be part of the Benchspace Christmas Market which runs this Friday December 8, from 4pm – 9pm and Saturday, December p from 11am – 9pm.
