Sylvia has been making contemporary jewellery since 2005, having studied silversmithing and jewellery design in Christchurch, New Zealand at Hagley College, and with the Silversmiths Guild of Canterbury of which she has been a member of for the past four years.
Sylvia's practice is heavily influenced by her professional experience in the textile and fashion design industry, having worked for over twenty years as both a costume designer and dressmaker. She creates unique textures and patterns by manipulating and working the medium as if it were a fine piece of silk, translating the skills and techniques that she learnt as a dressmaker, in order to develop and add dimension to her work.
Sylvia works predominately with silver, copper, semi-precious stones and hand-collected materials from New Zealand regions that have particular significance to her: Pitt Island (Rangiauria), Charleston and the Moeraki Boulders have all given her the inspiration and tools needed to explore her relationship with the land and capture the casual beauty of her surroundings. These materials are spontaneously cut, bent, rolled and combined, whilst remaining true to their beautiful irregularity.