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Simon Jewell FSDC

Furniture & Boxes

About Simon
Simon Jewell is a designer and maker of unique hand crafted boxes. He produces speculative work and commissions in all forms, from jewellery boxes to humidors, cufflinks boxes to watch boxes and personalised gift and presentation boxes. Using the best of traditional craftsmanship with innovative new construction techniques, he makes everything from exquisite jewellery boxes to perfume chests lined with silver leaf and ornately inlaid ring and cufflinks boxes, all beautifully contemporary with a classic twist.
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Originally trained and qualified as an astrophysicist, Simon is sure that his success as a craftsman and cabinet-maker is due, at least in part, to the intellectual rigor and discipline of this training.

Over the last twenty years, working from his studio workshop in the heart of the Kent countryside, he has established a reputation as a maker of fine furniture with commissions from many private clients as well as companies and institutions such as David Linley & Co. and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

He shows his work across the UK in exhibitions including The Celebration of Craftsmanship and Design and Art in Action and he is a regular contributor to the exhibitions of the Society of Designer Craftsmen.

Recently, he has been increasingly drawn to making smaller pieces and he's now focussing on handcrafted boxes and other exquisite artefacts. His unique contemporary pieces combine his skills as a designer and maker of bespoke furniture with his passion for detail and complexity.

Working to commission, he uses rare and beautiful veneers and innovative inlay techniques to create highly individual pieces which may easily be personalised as unique gifts.

Ripple Sycamore, Masur Birch and American Burr Walnut - his personal favourite - often feature in these beautifully crafted objects. His style is constantly evolving and he is always looking for new inspiration.

In addition to commissions, he makes jewellery boxes, cufflinks boxes, watch boxes and other interesting vessels that he sells in galleries throughout the UK.

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A past winner of the Gane Trust Award for excellence in craftsmanship and design, Simon is completely self-taught and is a fervent believer in the philosophy that the best way to learn to make something is to try to make it, fail, then try again until you can do it.

His work consists of speculative work to his own design and commissioned work for other clients in the UK and internationally, and notable commissions include:

Circular chronometer case to house a 18th century marine chronometer, ‘Mudge Green’ (1779) created to contest the maritime Longitude competition.

Case for a hand written torah, in mahogany and silver, to be given by my client to the Marble Arch synagogue.

Humidor containing a fragment of the Union flag that flew from HMS Victory at the battle of Trafalgar and given to the surviving crewmen who carried Nelson’s coffin at this funeral.

Jewellery box for a private client made to look like an aquarium, with painted scenes around all sides of the box which formed a continuous picture (from a noted wildlife artist) set under glass.

A set of 1000 boxes as wedding gifts for an overseas royal family, made to my design, including the initials of the bride and groom as marquetry inlays.

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