Open Call for Shine 2026. Six Years of Building Emerging Businesses with Skills and Confidence

The Goldsmiths’ Centre, a charity based near London’s jewellery quarter that supports lifelong learning across the jewellery, silversmithing and allied industries, has upskilled more than 70 emerging jewellery and silversmithing businesses nationwide since moving its free, four-month Shine training programme online in 2020.

Blending live webinars, self-paced modules and practical assignments, the programme builds towards a live pop-up event on Tuesday 16 September 2026 at the Goldsmiths’ Centre, where participants will showcase their work to a public audience and put their learning into practice.

Open to makers within their first five years of business, the course equips emerging businesses with the skills to articulate their creative vision, capture their collections through photography and video, develop effective online and in-person sales strategies, and confidently price and prepare work for selling events. Sessions are led by industry experts including Toyin Laketu, fashion business and digital consultant, Shaun Levin, novelist, creative writing lecturer and editor, Alison Skeates, EC One Co-Founder and Director and pricing and costing expert, and Zoe Cooper, luxury retail sales consultant. Participants will also have the opportunity to feature their creations in the Goldsmiths’ Centre’s online shop and share self-filmed videos, produced with guidance from the Centre’s team, with its audience of over 26,000 followers.


Past Shine alumni who have gone on to make notable strides in the jewellery and silversmithing industry include Alice Biolo, Xinyin Chen, Caitlin Murphy, Edwin Charmain, Caius Bearder, William Sharp, Kumiko Kihara, Poppy Norton, Caitlin Murphy, Genevieve Schwartz, Lucy Anderson, Makila Nsika, Gillian Finlay, Lois Loand Cameron and Breen. Graduates have secured prestigious commissions, awards, and continued to retail their collections through advanced opportunities, such as Goldsmiths’ Fair Emerging Business Bursaries, and Goldsmiths’ Centre partnerships with leading retailers such as Dover Street Market, the London Museum Docklands shop, Newby Teas and New Ashgate Gallery.

Heather Blake, Shine 2025 participant, shares: Shine is a really nurturing mentoring program that helped me focus my collection and launch it publicly. Before I did the programme, I was struggling with really finding my way. The deadlines and structure have made me more consistent and confident with my work, rather than drifting endlessly between ideas.

Charlotte Dew, Head of Public Programmes at the Goldsmiths’ Centre, highlights the programme’s value: Shine gives early-career designer-makers the confidence, practical skills, and exposure they need to grow their businesses. Beyond the programme, many alumni continue to develop their careers through retail opportunities, collaborations, and advanced training, making Shine not just a course, but a launchpad for sustained success in the jewellery and silversmithing industry.”


Applications are carefully assessed by a panel of internal and external experts, with a focus on the quality, presentation, and narrative of each collection. Applications for Shine 2026 close on Monday 18 May 2026 at 5pm and free online information sessions with Charlotte Dew, the programme’s lead, will be held on Thursday 23 April 2026, 1pm – 1.30pm, and Tuesday 28 April 2026, 6pm – 6.30pm for prospective applicants. 

This year’s Shine 2026 selling event, where the ten selected participants will present their new collections, will take place on 16 September 2026 from 5pm at the Goldsmiths' Centre.

For more information, to book an info session and to apply, visit: www.goldsmiths-centre.org/shine


At the Goldsmiths’ Centre, we support the jewellery and silversmithing industry to embrace learning as an essential lifelong practice. Our mission is to foster capability at every link in the chain, making ongoing professional development visible and accessible to all. Through technical courses and business support, affordable workspace, funding opportunities and events, we aim to close the industry’s skills gap, so that creativity, craftsmanship and community can thrive.