“Maintaining old junk” – a passion for metal beyond the precious
A maker’s working space is full of hand tools which haven’t changed their form and function in centuries. Favourite hammers and files sit alongside vices and saws, all carefully chosen to do the right job in the right hands. Away from the shelves, there’ll be larger pieces of equipment which make lighter work of heavier tasks or deliver where precision is needed. Walk into any such studio and the benches are sturdy and well-used, solidly placed to support weight and at the perfect height to meet the craftsperson’s needs.
In the studios of Stuart Jenkins, Seth Kennedy and Callum Partridge, you’ll also find subtle clues that their work with metal extends beyond the precious, and their tools beyond those of their respective trades. For Goldsmiths’ Stories, writer Janice Hosegood explores the passion that these three accomplished metalsmiths share for the restoration, maintenance and enjoyment of vintage vehicles and the communities that form around them.
Brought up in a creative family, making was a natural part of Stuart Jenkins’ rural childhood and the freedom of the countryside was a constant inspiration. He’s now a much-admired, accomplished silversmith and jeweller, although this is not the path he originally set out to tread.
Embarking on his sixth form at school and looking for part-time work, a chance introduction led to a local jeweller and silversmith, Michael Bolton, and a curious interview with the master testing the young man’s spirit and skills. “He asked me to demonstrate what I could do by fixing an old lawnmower” Stuart says with a smile, “and on completing the task successfully, offered me the job.”
When he left Kent for Leeds and started a degree in fine art and painting, Stuart would return to Michaels’ workshop during the holidays. “I even set up a small bench in my student accommodation” Stuart shared, “and Michael would post up small jobs for me to complete. As well as enabling my love of making to grow, this work also helped fund my years of study.” He worked with Michael for a further year after graduating and then left for London to set up his practice in Peckham.
In these early years working with Michael and his wife Margaret, Stuart was well taught, nurtured by their considerate teaching and given an honest introduction to life as a crafts maker. He cherishes this grounding, which feeds into other strands of his work as an educator and teacher.
Seth Kennedy’s journey to becoming one of the UK’s few specialised antiquarian horologists is no less curved. His working life began in 1999 after graduating with an engineering degree when he secured a job as a designer for a precision tool manufacturer.
His workbench was a computer and complex industry software, where precision was paramount, and his tasks were highly technical. Within 18 months, his seemingly secure career path faltered with Seth being made redundant twice in this short period. A fortunate introduction to a family friend was instrumental in bringing Seth into the field that we now find him – antique timepieces. He had no prior interest or knowledge in this area and admits that “It was something I could do, although I would never have chosen it.”
Seth’s work now covers all aspects of servicing and restoring watches dating between the 17th and mid-20th centuries. Repairing the movements and complicated mechanisms to function as they would have when first made, and both the restoration of original precious metal cases, and the bespoke creation of new cases to house the alarming number of high quality movements that have been orphaned by the scrap value of their original gold cases.
“I class myself as a ‘mechanician,’ taking that to mean a cross between a mechanic and a magician.”
As a ‘mechanician’, Seth has become an expert in all the tasks that historically would have been undertaken by separate people - meaning that he not only makes magic in precious metal, but also creates by hand the individual, often microscopic, mechanical components required to replace those that are worn, damaged or missing within the pieces of antiquarian horology that cross his bench.
Callum Partridge is one of the leading sculptural metalsmiths in the UK, frequently exhibiting his work at Goldsmiths’ Fair and Collect. Born in Stroud, in his formative years, Callum discovered his passion for metalwork and silversmithing at a community workshop.
At just thirteen, he created his first piece of jewellery, leading him to pursue studies in Jewellery and Silversmithing at London Metropolitan University. Following a 2-year residency, Callum returned to Gloucestershire in 2020 to launch his workshop.
Explaining his approach, he says:
“Growing up in the countryside I would question my surroundings and how I was meant to interact with them, be it natural or manufactured. My goal as an artist is to apply these questions to my work and encourage intrigue and curiosity within the pieces.”
His pieces feature components crafted from a wide range of materials that interconnect. This dynamic interaction challenges observers, allowing them to uncover subtle intricacies they might otherwise overlook. Each form and design is heavily influenced by its function and its chosen materials.
Looking back at life’s forks in the road is an interesting viewpoint and often only then, are the tangents we’ve gone off on apparent too. This perspective also illuminates the other interests of these three makers and brings us to where their activities - and mine - share common ground. I’ve frequently found myself in conversation with them about our mutual love and appreciation of old vehicles. What often starts as a chat about their new work, materials or methods, draws us to the parallels between the restoration, maintenance and thrill of classic cars and motorbikes.
Stuart discovered his love of art and motorcycles around the same time, at age seven. He was always interested in making things, taking things apart, understanding how they worked, and fixing things. Stuart’s father was a tailor but also had a passion for old motorbikes, so it was only natural that his young son would join him, hands covered in engine oil, as they fettled the engines and improved the performance with a tweak here and there. This fascination hasn’t left him, and he compares the thrill of riding a motorbike with the physicality of making. His love of making and riding old bikes is driven by the experience – the activity of ‘doing.’ There’s a sensuality in creating something for Stuart – it’s an appreciation of the life and personality of an object or machine and its connection to human touch and interaction. He regularly rides a 1941 Matchless G3L, and completed the restoration of this vehicle during the Covid-19 lockdown. But it’s far from just being his commuter – Stuart regularly takes part in events around the country and can be found racing along the coast at Saunton Sands in Devon in an annual event. Margate in Kent and Bridlington on the northeast coast host similar demonstration races too and although the salt and sand are not happy companions with old engines, there’s a timeless spirit of rider and machine and infectious camaraderie on these adrenalin-fuelled occasions.
Seth and I first met in the early 2000s, with a disparate group of custom car and hotrod racing enthusiasts. Seth turned up to our gatherings in his Morris Oxford which he’d owned since university, fine-tuning its engine and customising the styling as his student budget allowed. He’s kept it to this day, and it’s joined by a 1970 Triumph Herald, rebuilt with a Mazda MX5 engine and gearbox, and a customised Hillman Minx Estate. He’s a regular visitor to the NEC Classic Car Show, and Vintage Sports Car Club events, and always tries to catch the start of the London to Brighton Veteran Car Rally run as it sets off from Hyde Park.
He’s been featured in the Time Out Magazine, and spoken at the Horological Society in New York, and an insight into his work can be viewed on Heritage Craft Association’s website.
His clients are a mix of specialist dealers, collectors or individuals who find themselves in receipt of a family heirloom. Inevitably, there’s a crossover appreciation of fine engineering, and it’s not unusual that someone who owns a fine antique timepiece will also have a vintage car in their garage.
Callum finds his head turned by both two and four-wheeled old vehicles. Like Stuart, he caught the bug at an early age, watching an uncle riding trials bikes in the woods near his granny’s house. There are photos of him as a child posing with his uncle’s bike and his father’s Land Rover, so this addiction was clearly going to continue in the family. Importantly for Callum though, it wasn’t competing that captivated him. Old engines, in cars and bikes, have sounds, resonance and smells incomparable with modern vehicles, and were built to maintain and to last. The custom motorbike world – choppers and hotrods – is non-judgemental too. Everyone can just be themselves without worrying about impressing others. They all have similar attitudes and a mutual respect and passion for ‘maintaining old junk.’ He rebuilt his beloved 1968 BSA motorcycle during lockdown, from just a frame and an engine, sourcing and making replacement parts and bringing it back to life. Now in a shared workspace, he’s being slowly seduced by four-wheel projects with an eye on building a car to compete in Vintage Sports Car Club events, or an American-style Model A Ford hotrod.
With Callum, I explored the relationship of his artwork with his vehicular passions. There’s a clear distinction between his metalwork and his motorbikes and this, he finds, brings a good mental and working balance. His metalwork is his art, and he has a very definite approach to creating it. With these sculptural works, there are no limitations to what’s possible other than what he can imagine. He discovers possibilities by working directly with the metal, rather than exact planning with pencil and paper beforehand. He starts with a loose idea of scale, function and material, but then works organically and responsively with the materials. In almost complete contrast, he enjoys the absolute prescribed accuracy needed to make a replacement part for an old engine. The enjoyment comes from focussing on the precision of the task and following a formula. He finds it’s a simpler process and he can switch off his brain as he works. The task becomes restorative and productive at the same time.
I am constantly curious about the other manifestations of a maker’s creativity and endlessly surprised by the forms this takes. The talent and originality amongst them is clear for all to see but as individuals, that creativity doesn’t stop with the work that we’re most familiar with. Stuart explains: “Making was always second nature and feels a very natural part of life: creativity is a true passion, without question.”
In his essay ‘Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work,’ Matthew B Crawford tells us: “From its earliest practice, craft knowledge has entailed knowledge of the ‘ways’ of one’s materials — that is, knowledge of their nature, acquired through disciplined perception and a systematic approach to problems.” With their expert eye and deftness with materials, I am certain that these three makers will continue to create magnificent works of art and machines.
Written by Janice Hosegood | Photography of Stuart and Seth’s by Paul Read, of Callum in his studio by Jane Lloyd, and of Callum by his motorbike by Petr Krejčí