Richard Allen and business partner Lesley Willard have pioneered a more unusual form of silversmithing
A designer and maker of jewellery has seen his unusual work recognised on the national stage. Richard Allen, who runs his business from Hedon Road, regularly showcases his contemporary creations in London’s jewellery mecca of Hatton Garden.
But the entrepreneur, who has also enjoyed a career in recruitment and retail merchandising, says he and business partner Lesley Willard were blown away to have won the People’s Choice Award – Collection of the Year at the Professional Jeweller Awards 2025, held at a glittering event at The Royal Lancaster Hotel in London. He says the win has immediately focussed attention on the Hull business.
Last year Richard was based in Trinity Market, delivering jewellery making classes which grew popular – prompting a move to Hedon Road. Here he has pioneered the use of Silver Clay – a form of recycled silver which he says few craftspeople are using at the high end of the market.
Richard explained: “It’s minute particles of silver that is formed with a binder so that you can work with it soft, like a putty and then you fire it off in a kiln. That burns all the binder away and fuses the silver together. It’s proper silver and it can be hallmarked.
“But not many people want to use it that much. That’s why, over the last year or so we’ve been breaking down a few of the boundaries in London, where people have previously frowned upon it. People are looking at what we’re doing because we’re making some high end stuff – and using gold.”
Richard’s silversmithing skills extend back 40 years and were imparted by his mum Lavinia, who worked in the jewellery industry from a young age and during World War II. Having grown tired of working on the road in his other career, several years ago he made the decision to get back into jewellery full time.
He explained: “Prior to getting back into this I was doing a delivery job and I thought I really needed to get back into doing something my heart was in. Obviously, making jewellery is just that.”
He added: “It has been using my jewellery to sell the classes that has put us up there – over the last nine months or so – with some of the bigger and more established jewellers. And it was a bit of a surprise that we got the nomination in the first place because our focus is a different method of using silver.”
In December, Richard will be running a silversmithing workshop in Hatton Garden, London and has other events lined up in the capital in the coming weeks. In the New Year he plans to develop his collections further, with an ambition to teach more people his techniques.