TAMCC Students taught the art of jewellery making

by Curlan Campbell, Now Grenada

• Treasured foundation was established in 2010 to “Make Jewellery, Change Lives”
• Grenada added to list of jewellery mission countries

Empowering students to use natural raw materials in the making of fine jewellery, Norma Jean Murrian, founder of The Silver Fish Company and the charitable foundation Treasured, has added Grenada to her list of countries where she has introduced participants to simple techniques in the art of making fine jewellery.

On Monday, some visual arts students benefitted from her mentorship, coming up with designs before being taught how to use basic tools to shape natural items into a finished product. The participants, including students from the JW Fletcher Catholic Secondary School, explored various techniques used by jewellers and used natural raw materials like coconut shell and various beads to make jewellery.

Treasured foundation was established in 2010 with a mission to “Make Jewellery, Change Lives.” She staged missions to Haiti, India, and Nigeria where she provided similar training. The Silver Fish Company is situated in Birmingham’s famous Jewellery Quarter, where she specialises in gold and silver jewellery. While in Grenada, Murrian will be leading a series of workshops for school-age children with the hope that they will, in turn, maximise on that ability through entrepreneurship.

Having been in the jewellery making business for 17 years, Murrian now wants to empower others to follow in a similar path. “I love working with silver and gold, but I also absolutely love working with natural materials like coconut shell and seeds, because it shows you that God has amply provided, and even when we think we have nothing, when we look around us we can find things which can be made into beautiful jewellery,” she said.

She has identified Grenada as being a suitable place to establish an academy to teach the art of jewellery making. “We want to empower and inspire the students. The longer-term vision is to have a permanent academy of jewellery here on the island and I hope that after this session, many of the students would want to go on and attend our academy and actually pursue a career in jewellery making,” she said.

The aim of the training, Murrian hopes will unlock treasure in disadvantaged people through training, micro and social enterprise development, empowering individuals, changing lives, families, and communities for God.