Spotlight On: Inga Reed

Born in England but raised in Belfast, Inga studied jewellery design and silversmithing in Loughborough, UK. During her studies she met her husband and together they moved to Cork and later to Kilkenny, where they settled with their three sons in the 1980’s. Travel continues to be a part of her life and she is looking forward to visiting Australia as soon as we are able to travel again.

Surrounded by the beautiful countryside of Kilkenny, Inga creates her exquisite silver and gold jewellery from her purpose-built home studio. Her workshop window sills are filled with nuts, pods, leaves and seed-heads gathered from the garden and local hedgerows. She is particularly interested in their complex organic structures and uses precious metals and stones to interpret these forms. Enquiry through drawing is a vital part of Inga’s practice and each range or unique piece is preceded by many hours of drawing to solve design and technical issues.

When not at her bench or finding inspiration in her garden and surrounding countryside, she teaches Visual Research and Design at the DCCOI Jewellery and Goldsmithing course in Kilkenny – imbuing generations of Irish goldsmiths with a keen eye for observation and helping them develop their own design aesthetic.

Inga Reed has been showing with DesignYard for many years and her work remains popular with DesignYard customers. Some of our customer favourites are her orchid necklaces and earrings – soft organic forms characterised by simple lines, lovely textures, and contrasting metals.

Other work features embossed metals to create interest and texture, sometimes paired with natural gemstone beads like onyx, coral and jasper. She’s particularly fond of the range of colours and patterns jasper comes in — the brick-red jasper, the spotted Dalmation jasper, and Picasso jasper with its intricate lines.

In addition to her limited edition ranges Inga continues to make one of a kind pieces for shows, exhibitions and commissions. Here she plays with clean lines and geometric forms and softens the stark lines with organic embossed patterns, showing a clear connection to her love of natural structures. We are delighted to have some of her one-off show pieces in our collection – the latest additions are series of brooches imprinted with natural motifs.

Whether it’s a simple contemporary pearl necklace, a pair of meticulously crafted mismatched earrings, or an elegant one-of-a-kind necklace or brooch you fall for, you’ll be purchasing an heirloom grade piece of handcrafted jewellery made in right here in the heart of Ireland. To see Inga’s work in person click here to book an appointment.