Introduction

 I used the title of my research report 'Producing Organic Contemporary Jewellery' to draw up a research question and supporting sub-questions. The research was done using the Action research methodology (McNiff, 2002) to arrive at an open-ended conclusion to the research questions. The report is divided into three chapters and consists of both in-action and on-action reflections (Schön1983)

Chapter one presents my interpretation of the terms used in the title. My interpretations are supported by: Koberg and Bagnall’s (1981) design process that I applied to my own design process, Quickenden(2000) who provided an understanding of contemporary trends, Metcalf (1998) who provided information regarding the functions of jewellery, Quickenden (2000) and Olver (2002) for more information about organic jewellery and how organic does not always mean working with organic materials.

Chapter two consists of the jewellers I used as references and similar characteristics to my own work. These include Nic Bladen and Louise Partain who both cast using plants, Nicole Ringgold whose pieces are sculptural and Naomi Tracz who uses cast elements to create spin-off pieces. The chapter also incorporates the findings from a semi-structured interview with Michelle Pujol, that aided in delimiting my research.

Chapter three discusses the three foci of my research question: my design development, mass production and marketing. My design development is presented as three discrete collections of jewellery I made throughout the year: Leaves, Sunflowers and Chain Links.  My exploration of mass production revolved around the use of lost wax casting. The marketing focus culminated on the website I designed to showcase and sell the pieces in the collections.

Chapter 3 Introduction

 In this chapter, I separate the work I produced throughout the year into the three foci that make up my research question: which are: design development, mass production and marketing. I did this with the hope of finding an open-ended conclusion to my research question and sub-questions. Under design development, I showcase the finished pieces in my three collections and each piece is accompanied by a summary of the process that lead to the final piece. I discuss the method I chose to explore for both mass-producing pieces and marketing them.

Chapter 2 Introduction

 The chapter examines the work of other jewellers that refer to the same theme, organic, which is the foundation of my body of work. I focus on jewellers who utilize casting as it is a skill I have been developing and used in the three collections I produced. I used the other jeweller's websites as a reference for designing my own. The semi-structured interview I conducted with Michelle Pujol helped me to delimit the possibilities of casting and the theme organic.

Chapter 1 Introduction

 The aim of this chapter is to define and explain the words in the title, 'Producing Contemporary Organic Jewellery.' I will explore the definition of 'producing', 'contemporary' and 'organic' jewellery in terms of my research question and sub-questions. To support my definitions, I will also use the writings of various academics in the jewellery field such as Bruce Metcalf, Liz Olver, Liesbeth den Besten and Kenneth Quickenden.

Introduction

This progress report is to show the work I have done so far to explore my research question. I  developed sub-questions from the three main sections of my research question to guide my exploration. The three sections are design development, mass production and marketing. My explorations are separated into the three sections of my research question. Each section is comprised of the labels I generated this year. In my report, I also included influential jewellers that look at both design and marketing.

Research sub-questions

 I broke up my research question into three categories then generated sub-questions to guide me in my process of exploration. They were also used as the questions in the semi-structured interview with Pujol.

Design development:

• How do I currently develop designs, and how could I improve my design process? 

Mass Production:

• Which mass production processes are available and which ones are most appropriate for my use?
• How can I incorporate mass production into my manufacturing process?

Marketing:

•  Which marketing platforms are most appropriate for selling my organic jewellery?

Research Question

I summarised what I want to achieve this year into one sentence, develop a design for mass production that can be tested in the market. I used my summary and Jean McNiff's Action Research (2002) approach of generating a research question to help focus my research. 

My research question: "How do I [improve the development of designs for mass production, to be tested in the market]?"

Anon. 2021. Research