Epona Smith: Etching Nature and Heritage into Metal

‘Traditional hand-push engraving is at the centre of my practice. I use small hand tools and gravers that I make myself, pushing and cutting every line directly into the metal by hand.’ Look closely at Epona Smith’s work and delicate worlds emerge: blossoms unfurl across silver, fine lines ripple like water, and intricate textures recall embroidered cloth. Taiwan-born and London-based, Epona trained in graphic design before studying Jewellery and Silversmithing at Birmingham City University and traditional Italian hand-push engraving in Florence. Her practice combines European engraving techniques with the visual language of her Taiwanese heritage, drawing on nature, East Asian embroidery, calligraphy, ink painting and decorative arts. Pops of colour from gemstones, ceramic coatings and oxidisation punctuate silver and gold, creating contemporary treasures with echoes of traditional craft. In her Carved Light collection, traditional Taiwanese rush weaving is paired with gold-plated, hand-engraved metal, bringing two endangered crafts into dialogue. Chosen for Shine 2026, the Goldsmiths’ Centre’s showcase for emerging makers, Epona continues to explore the meeting point between cultures, materials and centuries-old skills, creating objects rooted in the past yet unmistakably of the present. Epona Smith is one of 13 jewellers and silversmiths to showcase her new collection as part of the Goldsmiths’ Centre’s Shine 2026 new talent showcase. Shine provides UK-based early career makers with a unique opportunity to participate in an intensive taught programme, upskilling participants to present a new collection of work as part of a physical exhibition at the Goldsmiths’ Centre (3-minutes from Farringdon, EC1M 5AD) and for purchase online. Visit our website: www.goldsmiths-shop-talent.org Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/gsmithscentre Contact us: shop@goldsmiths-centre.org