The school was founded by Jo Pudelko, a polymath of the jewellery world who has taught with Edinburgh College of Art, DJCAD, Leith School of Art and more. She is passionate about creative learning for all and is continually adding her already vast repertoire of techniques to pass on to the students.

Jo’s work consists of mixed-media jewellery and small-scale sculptural objects. She specialises in casting techniques and often utilises found objects in her practice. Her jewellery has been exhibited in the UK, Europe, America, and China, and can currently be found at the Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh.

‘My work explores a continued fascination of how we interact with the environment around us – particularly examining the space where the natural world and the manmade world collide. Casting from household objects I try to highlight connections between our more intimate concept of ‘home’ and the greater responsibility to the planet we live on.’

Shirley returned to study Jewellery after a career in the Body Arts Industry, quickly finding her passion for ethical making and continues to strive to make her practices sustainable and eco-friendly on every front. She began working with Jo in 2019, not long after her graduation from Duncan of Jordonstone.

Alongside working for CSSJ, she splits her time between her own practice and working as a Technician for Fife College Jewellery Department. Her favourite subjects to teach are Eco Metals, Alternative Alloys, Sandcasting and Wax Carving. Shirley has also recently completed a Masters in Craft at Edinburgh College of Art and is currently working on creating a Plant-Based wax to replace the industry standard Plastic-Based wax currently available.

Favourite techniques include: Alternative Alloys, Sandcasting, Alternative Eco Casting & Wax Carving

Stephanie is one of CSSJ’s success stories. Having been a loyal student for some years Stephanie has refined her skills, developed her designs, and has gone on to found her own jewellery business, Happy Callie Designs. She has developed a bold, minimal geometric style using many of the skills taught here at CSSJ, and we’re delighted to have her here with us to pass on what she has learned.

Trisha started her jewellery journey here with us as a student when the school was first founded, and has been a regular fixture ever since. Through a combination of weekly classes and masterclasses, Trisha has built both her making skills and her own distinctive voice in her jewellery collections as White Loch Jewellery. 

Trisha has built a harmonious pallet  by amalgamating a spectrum of foraged sea glass with colourful enamels. Her focus on eco friendly and found materials is echoed by the natural textures and forms of her seasonally inspired jewellery.

Ieva Jankovska is a Latvian jewellery designer and maker currently based in Dundee. The duality of her identity is evident throughout her designs that merge traditional silversmithing techniques with modern technologies, like 3D printing and enamelling; contrasting natural forms with stark, geometric shapes and enhancing minimal aesthetic with fine details. As the visual inspiration in Ieva’s work is mostly derived from nature, time spent indoors observing the world through windows has prompted her to use architectural elements, such as rigid frames, straight lines and flat planes.

Laura’s creative path is a combination of fine art and design- having initially studied painting before discovering her passion for jewellery and metalwork. Working from her Edinburgh studio Laura creates jewellery informed by the overlapping rhythms of observing, drawing, gathering details and intuitive making. Her compositions are playfully arranged and rearranged amongst an ever-growing library of abstracted forms, textures, and the study of subtle movement within nature. Direct connection to materials through a love of traditional techniques such as; lost wax casting, keum boo, filigree and chain making, combine to inform an in-depth exploration of miniature details.

From her workshop in the beautiful landscape of Stirlingshire, Scotland, Sophia creates bespoke jewellery, specialising in re-modelling customers’ own gold and gemstones, as well as creating her own jewellery ranges. She uses recycled metals and sustainable materials wherever possible.

“I truly believe in keeping traditional handmade jewellery manufacturing techniques alive and always use as many as possible in my work. From metal working to stone setting, some skills can only be passed on with one one-on-one training. Just as I’ve been able to learn from hugely experienced industry mentors throughout my career, I would love to be able to pass these skills on to my own apprentice some day.”

Sophia specialises in teaching stone setting techniques, and is the owner of Greens Stone Settings, supplying pre-cast stone settings, designed by jewellers, for jewellers.

Natalie McIlroy is the programme manager for the Central Scotland School of Jewellery. Alongside her role here, she is director of Allt Festival, and has expertise in interdisciplinary practice, curation, and artist-led project delivery with a focus on outreach and engagement. She has experience working with a variety of international, interdisciplinary organisations such as Arts Catalyst in London and Artists-in-labs in Zurich. She also provides administration support to the school and is our friendly first point of contact for all your enquiries.

Natalie relocated to Dunblane from  The Hague, Netherlands, where she was the curator of Morimaru, North Sea Thinkers, an interdisciplinary platform for artists, historians and scientists to share their knowledge of the North Sea. With a degree from the Environmental Art Course at Glasgow School of Art and a Masters with Distinction from Chelsea College of Art and Design in London, Natalie’s practice is site specific and installation based.