I was 19 years old when I first saw people designing and fashioning bespoke silver work.  My time   in college was well spent, learning all the aspects of goldsmithing and the nuances of three dimensional design through design history and college trips.     On leaving Brighton Polytechnic, I was hampered in my plans to find a   role in a workshop by the Nelson Bunker Hunt Crisis and decided to take menial jobs and save to  go to the USA, where I was told there was a need for those with   my skills.

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In January of 1982, I joined Porter Blanchard Silversmiths  in Los Angeles and trained for two and a half years under Preben Knudsen, a Georg Jensen master craftsman.     From there I went to Harrison's  Silversmiths  in the Stanford Shopping Centre and was  store manager for two years.     Another stint as  manager  at Aurum Gallery in San Francisco and I was ready for my own business.

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March 1987 saw me  set up a workshop    in the waterfront    at Sausalito and working steadily on superior antique repairs for local dealers.     In September   that year came the   biggest   commission of my life   -   I was asked to make the 12   Holy Vessels for the Visit of Pope John Paul II to San Francisco.

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Several other commissions followed but, in June 1989, I had to close  shop due to finances and ill health and returned to the UK.  Whilst trying to regroup and network, I was given a diagnosis of Type 1, rapid-cycling, events-related, bipolar affective disorder, which hampered me for 22 years, both in my professional life and all aspects of my social and family life.  However, this illness has caused me to turn inwards to focus on my innate strengths and has made me more artistic and compassionate.

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In 2006, I completed my Adult Education  Teacher Training for my  chosen subject and, after teaching evening classes at local colleges,   was able to  start my own studio - Academy of Precious Metal Arts - in Bickleigh, Devon.  This ran until a winter flood of December   2013 caused lack of confidence in the workshop and we closed.

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Some hospitalisations followed and   I looked to Wales to start a new life.