From French Teacher to Jeweller

The background…

Hi, I would like to introduce myself. I am Rachel Allan, the designer and maker behind Rachel Allan Jewellery. I’ve made beaded jewellery as long as I can remember at home with my mum and siblings and also embarked on my first one day silver jewellery lesson with them in Cardiff with Anne Morgan. This was followed by numerous evening and weekend classes with Sara Lloyd Morris until I had my own table-top workshop set up at home. A large amount of skills have been self-taught with hours and hours of trial and error to get the desired results.

Skills development…

It has taken over 15 years of experimentation, selling at craft markets, in our own gallery and gift shop and then in a growing number of shops in South West Wales to find my style. I spent two years studying diplomas in my ‘spare’ time online with Jewellers Academy, London, following the tuition of some fantastic jewellers. I was lucky enough to be mentored by two incredibly talented and vastly different jewellers over the two years, Chloe Michell and Michael Milloy.

Full-time jeweller…

2024 was a big year for me. We closed our gallery and gift shop and I finished my career as a French teacher after 17 years in order to fulfil my dream to become a full-time jeweller. My fabulous husband as well as some super friends and family built me my brand new workshop, in which I have a space to make, teach and sell my jewellery.

What’s next?

My 2025 began in Thailand, a beautiful country full of inspiration. So, alongside the Luxe Sea Urchin and Kelp collections I had already planned to launch this year I will be developing some new Thai inspired collections for this year and next.