Livery Committee Event report: 60 minutes with Leo & Ginnie de Vroomen

In the latest instalment of the ’60 minutes with’ series, Liverymen and guests were dazzled by internationally renowned jewellery designers Leo and Ginnie De Vroomen.

We joined Leo and Ginnie virtually at their home in Pulborough, and the evening was imbued with the sense of a fireside chat with friends as they took us through a fabulous array of their works created across their careers. One of the first pieces discussed was a silver bangle, designed by Ginnie whilst a student at the Central School of Art and under the tuition of none other than Leo. 50 years of marriage and numerous successful collaborations have followed.

Many more fabulous pieces of jewellery followed, interspersed with Ginnie’s exquisite paintings, their form and colours inspiring their jewellery designs and enabling their creations to surpass the boundaries of jewellery to become wearable art.

Leo provided fascinating insight into the work of the goldsmith, explaining the processes and methods of repoussé and enamelling alongside images of him producing some of his most stunning and challenging pieces. Many of these were designed by Ginnie and they discussed how that divided yet unified approach has often led to some of their most ambitious works; Ginnie having the freedom to explore a design, removed from the concerns of how to turn it into a wearable item, formed from precious metal, whereas Leo is presented with the challenge of producing just that, removing the temptation to think safe and design something easy to make himself. You only have to glance at their creations to see the success of this approach. Incidentally, Leo was proud to say he has not yet been defeated in making one of Ginnie’s designs a reality – true testament to his craftsmanship.

To discover more about Leo’s incredible craftsmanship and Ginnie’s superb design, please visit devroomen.co.uk or, once normality has resumed, take a trip to the De Vroomen Gallery at 59 Elizabeth Street, London, SW1.

Leo has a longstanding link to the Coachmakers, having designed and crafted the two Coachmakers’ Award to Industry trophies. He was present at the very first simultaneous award ceremony made to Concord and Jaguar Cars in July 1972. Leo is an Honorary Liveryman of The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths.

You can find out more about their work here.