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It all started with Granny’s magical bucket of colourful and sparkly jewellery. The wonder and the excitement of looking into a magpie’s heaven as a youngster definitely sticks out for Lydia Clayton, even now, many years later.
That cherished childhood memory of coming in from the farm and asking to see Mary B Duke’s collection of bling, certainly played a huge part in an early love of design.
“You’d be looking at this costume jewellery, but, in your head, because you’re young, you’d think it’s the type of high-end stuff you see now,” she smiles, reminiscing.
That memory has played a big part in where she is today, a much sought-after goldsmith in her home county of Roscommon. She specialises in bespoke pieces and one-off commissions, and she also has her Queen Medb collection, showcasing her handcrafted Celtic contemporary style.
Growing up on a busy dairy farm in Athleague with parents Tommy and Mary, she was always “heavily involved” in all the jobs, from milking to feeding calves with her siblings, Aideen, a year older, and Tomás, a year younger than her.
“We would have always been out on the farm. Just farming mad, I suppose,” she says, laughing as she looks out at her pet donkeys Dolly and Lulu. “You always had to be doing something,” a trait which Lydia believes has given her a strong work ethic and a drive to succeed.
She fondly remembers painting machinery for her dad Tommy on their farm – an early indicator of her creative roots – and at 15, she started a portfolio course in Roscommon School of Art.
At 17, she got into the National College of Art and Design and later gravitated towards the goldsmithing elements, believing this was where her future lies.
“I remember hearing terms like high-end or fine jewellery, but I didn’t really know what that was. I just said I’m going to aim for that.”
After graduating, she went to London to shadow Dave McCaul for a few weeks, before going to Delft in the Netherlands, to train with Froukje Idsardi, making high-end “wearable art from silver and gold” for a year. She later got into the Design and Craft Council goldsmithing course in Kilkenny.
“That was really intense; you’re sitting at a bench, saw-piercing the same thing over and over again, until you get it. It’s really technical goldsmithing for two years.”
While there, she did work experience with Nigel O’Reilly, who she reckons is the “leading goldsmith in Ireland” if not Europe, and he took her on for six months after the course. “It was amazing; it was hard, but that’s where I learned to strive for absolute excellence. If something is not right, it’s not right.”
Shortly after, she was offered a job with Aaron O’Sullivan in Kildare, where Lydia honed her “speed and skill” for over two years, doing jobs for many big brands.
In her spare time, she started making some pieces, and purely by “word of mouth,” got commissions from friends and people she knew.
“I got a taste for doing my own thing and saved a bit,” Lydia recalls, and in 2022, she came home to Roscommon to set up her own business, something she says she couldn’t have managed without the massive help and support of the Local Enterprise Office (LEO) and her mentor, Eddie Shanahan.
While Lydia admits it hasn’t been “all sunshine and rainbows” building her enterprise in Roscommon, getting help from a business and personal coach has been key.
The coach helped her believe “that the big dreams in your head can actually happen” and assisted with practical things like public speaking.
This was a very helpful skill that came into its own when she entered the Roscommon Rose competition earlier this summer.
“That was something completely out of my comfort zone. I was genuinely terrified. That was hard, but I got a lot out of it.”
Asked if she thought it was a move motivated by personal growth or a chance to showcase her business, she replies: “It was a bit of both, but I think it was more about the fact that I always said to myself, ‘No, I couldn’t do that’.
“I suppose I wanted to do it for young girls to say, ‘hey you can actually achieve what you put your mind to’.”
She made the stunning Roscommon Rose pendant in yellow gold with a blue Tanzanite stone to wear close to her heart on the night, which tells the history of the county and its crest.
“The stone [Tanzanite] is set like the Cross of Cong, and that was made in Roscommon,” says Lydia, whose attention to detail and skill are clear to see in this exquisite piece. There are Celtic swirls, a crown representing the crown on the crest, Medb in the Ogham language down one side, and an engraved ramhead.
“An Craoibhín Aoibhinn [engraved on the back] is what Douglas Hyde used to sign all his letters with, so that’s why there were oak leaves on the county crest. It means pleasant little leaf,” she tells Irish Country Living.
Celtic-inspired
While Lydia didn’t win, she is hugely proud of the exclusive piece she showcased and the confidence she gained from the overall experience.
Her jewellery certainly tells a story, and mythology and Celtic-inspired tales of Ireland and the land inspire her. This can clearly to be seen in her handcrafted Queen Medb ready-to-wear collection available on lydiaclayton.com.
“I like the tribalness (of Celtic mythology and designs), but I enjoy doing it in a very contemporary way,” explains the talented goldsmith in the 300-year-old home of her grandparents, a place she renovated during the pandemic.
At present, Lydia is busy creating custom pieces as well as an exclusive ready-to-wear collection. Showcase which takes place in the RDS in January is also a big event for Irish designers and she is working on Celtic-inspired pieces for that.
“I definitely see those mythological pieces over in America, and I am talking to some places over there. They love the idea of that [range] and it’s just about getting the products made, so Showcase is a big one for momentum, trying to get everything done.”
Her work comprises a few different strands; there’s custom-made commissions, like a spectacular 2.3-carat yellow diamond engagement ring she shows us.
“People will come to me and say they want something special,” she says, and “they won’t find anything like it in the shops.” Then there is work remodelling several pieces of jewellery into a completely new piece.
“The most important thing to me is that it is made well and the customer is happy,” she says with clear pride.
Custom-made
Taking great joy in her work, Lydia describes jewellery “as her best friend”, and while it can be hard to part with a piece when you’ve put all your energy into it over many weeks, it’s also a “bit surreal” to see someone wearing it at an event.
“I suppose I just feel proud [when I see someone wearing my pieces]. I worked really hard to get here; there was a lot of stress, to be honest, and good and bad moments. I like knowing that women feel empowered when they are wearing such a nice piece.”
People should not be afraid of buying a custom-made piece, Lydia underlines, saying she always has several consultations with a client to see what they like, give an estimate, and even make a plastic version before the real thing.
“Each piece is then unique to the person,” she says, mindful that the pieces she makes are future heirlooms. “I do think about it sometimes that all of these pieces are going to outlive me. These pieces are going to be handed down. So if I’m not happy with a piece, it doesn’t go out.”
Asked if there is a dream customer that she’d love to see wearing her pieces, Lydia instantly responds: “I always loved Dua Lipa. She’s the same age as me (29) and to see what she’s achieved is amazing. Probably her or Miley Cyrus or Barry
Keoghan.” For now though, Lydia is feeling content. Business is good and she is lucky to have “some really nice customers”, but she knows “this is really only the start” for her.
Check out lydiaclayton.com or @lydiaclaytongoldsmith on Instagram and Facebook.
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