Miriam Wade

Meet the Artist

Dec 7

A Family Tradition

“One of my earliest memories is watching my mother at her jeweller’s bench making a ring, seeing the silver glow red while she was soldering. I was enthralled!”

Her craft

Jewellery designer and goldsmith. Handcrafting pieces that each tell a story, inspired by the beautiful Irish landscape, the stories of Celtic ancestors, and the special bonds we hold with the people in our lives.

Home

In my home town of Mullingar in County Westmeath – the luminous “lake county” of Ireland – where I grew up skimming stones, “accidentally” swimming in the freezing lake, and enjoying feelings of space and of being close to family.

Here today, my husband and I enjoy seeing how nature works, surrounded by the moving landscape and textured skies. I am always in awe of the autumn light hitting the hills and fields in the distance, or the dramatic thunderous clouds blowing in over the sea. It really is an inspiring place to live.

Loves

Design. Not just jewelry, but everything from everyday products to graphics and packaging. Being married to an industrial designer has given me even more appreciation for excellent design, in every area of life!

Creativity. I love the process of turning a sheet of metal into a finished piece of jewelry. Each stage is fresh and exciting. Seeing how a design takes its form to become something that will mean a lot to someone is so rewarding for me.

The outdoors. Cycling and hiking in beautiful landscapes, planting flowers in my garden, or just watching the clouds go by in quiet moments of contemplation.

I waited until I was 14 to ask my mother to show me how to make something, and she taught me some basic jewelry skills. Once I started making my own pieces of jewelry, I knew that I wanted to work in metal.

At 18, I moved to Dublin to study in the National College of Art and Design, graduating four years later with a first class honors degree in Craft Design, specializing in Metal Work.

I refined my traditional goldsmithing and CAD design skills on a two-year course with the Craft and Design Council of Ireland in Kilkenny, before returning to Dublin and gaining experience in the jewelry trade.

In 2014 I knew that I wanted to start designing my own collections,

based on my own inspirations. My business grew from there.

Artistic heritage

As a child, I enjoyed family trips to Ireland’s abundance of Neolithic monuments – passage graves, stone circles and ring forts. The people of the Neolithic era were highly skilled craftspeople and decorated their monuments with beautiful stone-carved patterns.

We also have a stunning collection of gold jewelry artefacts from the Bronze Age, whose intricate designs are beyond comprehension when you consider the basic tools that the artisans had at their disposal.

These ancient designs have hugely influenced my work, with their simple forms and intricate patterns. My design style is a combination of simple geometric form with organic pattern.

We are a tiny nation, but we have so much to offer in the way of craft and design, music, stories, traditions, history and stunning scenery. I relish my life and work in Ireland, and I am so excited to reach a new audience with Baileo.

“An elegant, everyday reminder of that special someone with whom we are forever bound.”

Skyline

The story

Centuries of migration from their homeland have led to the Irish contributing to the growth and development of cities – and their skylines – across the globe. A sense of both travel and of home is celebrated in these pieces.

The design

Delicate parallel lines of sterling silver, varying in length, held in a rounded frame.

“This collection represents the millions who left the comfort of our small country to venture to new places, settling into new lives far from their childhoods.”

Le Chéile

The story

The bond that never breaks. ‘Le chéile’ means ‘together’ in Irish, and these pieces represent those particularly special and strong relationships in our lives that last a lifetime.