The first year that I started working with my aunt, Jessica Rose, there was a retrospective exhibition of her work at Sothebys of London. One of the pieces sold during the show was a gold Bullet cuff.
More than 15 years later I was contacted by the collector. Her bracelet had been run over by a Range Rover. Hoping to salvage it somehow, she had carefully picked up the remains including every stray bullet and glass bead, storing them in a pouch.
This is what a Bullet Cuff looks like after being crushed by a 5,000 pound SUV.
The problem was that she couldn't recall the name of the artist who'd made the bracelet. All the same she tucked away the broken cuff just in case.
Over a decade later, while on a trip to Paris, she was thrilled to come across a display of Bullet bracelets in the window of Ibu Gallery. The gallery kindly put her in touch with me and I was able to rebuild her bracelet combining the bullets that hadn't been scratched up too badly with new materials.
And every time I wear the bracelet, which is often, I thank you Estyn. I ran over the bracelet myself with the Range Rover and was horrified. It did take years before it was wearable again but thanks to a chance encounter with your work in the windows of Ibu Gallery in Paris’s Palais Royal, I was sure it would have a second life.
That you were able to repair it, also Amazing