MEET THE TUTORS
We are Kelvin and Katrin.
We are K².
As the founding directors and course leaders of K2 both Katrin Spranger and Kelvin J. Birk have an impressive repertoire of expertise to draw upon. Having trained extensively in traditional jewellery and silversmithing techniques at top institutions in Germany, Sweden and the UK, they now run successful jewellery businesses. Between them they have 20+ years experience teaching and lecturing in the field of jewellery, design and business planning both in the UK and abroad.
They overlap in their creative outputs and their love of making, but their practices and journeys deviate greatly. It’s part of what makes the K2 Jewellery School the perfect balance of creative energy, practical techniques and business savvy, creating an environment that allows for exploration across the expanse of possibilities that jewellery making can offer.
Katrin Spranger
Katrin Spranger trained and studied in Germany and holds a Masters degree in Jewellery from the Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Sweden. Working as a conceptual jewellery artist, she creates stories that comment on consumer culture, environment and science fiction. Focusing on resources that might become depleted in the future, she explores natural materials including crude oil, water and honey to develop jewellery that is wearable yet ephemeral and interactive.. Her hybrid practice touches upon several disciplines like fashion, food, photography, performance and installation.
Katrin has taught widely both in London and Germany. She has won numerous awards and has exhibited throughout Europe and North America
Kelvin Birk
Kelvin J. Birk studied jewellery making in Germany and holds a Masters degree with distinction in Silversmithing, Jewellery and Allied Arts from the Sir John Cass Faculty of Art. He has exhibited at major exhibitions both in the UK and abroad.
He creates one-off bespoke pieces in silver, gold and crushed gemstones. Within his work, he consciously disregards what is traditionally considered precious, revelling in the lack of control, allowing chaos to take over and the nature of the precious materials to dictate the outcome of the pieces.
Kelvin has taught extensively, running jewellery master classes and workshops internationally. He has tutored at Kensington & Chelsea College, London. He has also worked as a visiting lecturer on the Fashion Masters course at the University of Westminster London as well as at Kunstschule in Liechtenstein. He is currently a part-time lecturer on the BA Jewellery & Silversmithing course at Metropolitan University London.
GUEST TUTORS
Karolina Brodnicka
Following her graduation from BA Fine Art at Central Saint Martins in 2015, Karolina gained diverse experience working in fashion, millinery, product design, and sculpture. In 2017, she was introduced to the electroforming technique by Katrin Spranger while assisting at her studio. That same year, when K2 was established, she became a studio manager at K2, a position she holds to this day, and pursued jewellery education under Kelvin and Katrin for 2 years. Currently she also works for other jewellery makers and develop her own creative projects through her jewellery brand, Out Of Order.
At K2 Academy, Karolina runs Electroforming Courses.
Elizabeth Bone
Elizabeth Bone studied a broad ranging degree with a crafts focus, encompassing wood, metal, ceramics and textiles. After graduating she was apprenticed to the jewellery artist Wendy Ramshaw where she became her principal workshop assistant for 10 years. She has been a creative practitioner in jewellery for over 30 years and has exhibited internationally. She has an extensive range of teaching experience and enjoys sharing her knowledge.
Elizabeth is the author of Silversmithing for Jewellery Makers: techniques, treatments and applications for inspirational design.
At K2 Academy, Elisabeth runs Monday Evening Jewellery Workshops and private classes.
Jenny Macdonald
Jenny Macdonald is a teacher, maker and artist. She has taught for many years across art and design disciplines: illustration; ceramics; graphic design; life drawing and predominantly jewellery-making.
She had worked as a product designer supplying outlets including Harrods, Paul Smith, The Natural History Museum and Sony Records, before returning her focus to creating bespoke precious pieces for her individual clients. Her passion for teaching has remained a constant throughout her creative pursuits.
At K2 Academy, Jenny runs Private Classes, Stone Setting Courses, as well as drawing classes on our Diploma Courses.
Image by Yanis Angel.
Petra Bishai
Petra Bishai has run her own jewellery design business for over 25 years. She combines teaching with running her own practice and has taught at several colleges including Kensington & Chelsea College and Middlesex University. Petra currently teaches at Working Mens College and Morley college. Petra has participated in talks in London and Europe and has conducted workshops and courses for children and adults at the V&A London.
At K2 Academy, Petra runs private classes.
Stuart Pool
Stuart Pool is a specialist in responsibly mined and fully traceable coloured gemstones, mainly sourced directly from mines in Sri Lanka and Tanzania. He runs gem trading companies Nineteen48, Rubyfair and Crown Gems, as well as being one of the co-founders of Fair Luxury, a group focused on positive change in the jewellery industry and a key member of the Moyo Gemstones project.
At K2 Academy, Stuart runs Gems & Gemmology Workshops.
Emilia Netto
Emilia Netto is a jewellery designer and maker, from a traditional jewellery design and manufacturing background. She combines modern and traditional techniques to create bold and sculptural outcomes in her work. Emilia graduated from Arts University Plymouth, and has worked in the jewellery industry and in education for over 10 years. She is a specialist in CAD/CAM for jewellery design and manufacture.
At K2 Academy, Emilia runs Saturday Jewellery Workshops.
Melvin Faria
Melvin Faria, a London native with a diverse African-Portuguese background, discovered his passion for jewellery at the age of 21. With relentless dedication and pursuit of perfection, Melvin spent countless hours refining his grillz making skills, ultimately establishing his own successful London-based grillz brand called Mpire Gold in 2021. Fuelled by the triumph of his company, he is eager to share his wealth of knowledge and expertise with aspiring grillz makers.
At K2 Academy, Melvin runs the Grillz Making Courses.
Annie Cope
Annie Cope is a successful brand manager and graphic designer. She has been working as a designer in advertising and marking for over 15 years. She has worked for a range of international clients including Diageo, Nissan, and the World Health Organisation. She loves to share her passion for good design and branding and empower students to make successful and confident choices on their branding journey. Annie is also a jewellery maker, she now runs a small jewellery brand under her moniker Annie Ricketts Jewellery.
At K2 Academy, Annie runs jewellery branding classes.
Carola Solcia
Carola Solcia graduated with a First Class Degree Honours in Jewellery Design from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. Carola is a jewellery designer and maker who alongside developing her own creative practice assists/collaborated with other designers to produce fine jewellery.
Carola has gained teaching experience both in in Florence and London where she has honed in her skills at the bench. Passionate and professional, Carola enjoys passing on her knowledge to her students.
At K2 Academy, Carola runs the Evening Jewellery Workshop for Beginners.
Elena Shkvarkina
Elena Shkvarkina is a London-based Nihonga (Japanese style) and ink painter. Practising the ancient traditions of Nihonga, she prepares paints from pulverised mineral pigments, earths and oyster shells bound with animal glue. In 2022, she received remote mentorship from a Nihonga master based in Tokyo.
Beyond private collections, Elena's works grace London exhibitions, showcasing her diverse talents as an artist, gallerist, and curator. Her art, influenced by nature, captures the essence of destructive and regenerative forces seen in natural cycles. Departing from conventional brushwork, Elena employs a unique technique guided by gravity, echoing elemental events such as weathering, erosion, volcanic eruption, and glacial carving.
At K2 Academy, Elena runs jewellery illustration and painting workshops, including Nihonga: Neo Japanese Painting classes.
Pierce Healy
Being Irish Pierce Healy is a born storyteller. Know for his subversive jewellery and objects, often layered with intricate engravings he refers to himself as a human Swiss army knife; not in an Edward Scissorshands way but in the way he toils in an array of materials and disciplines in addition to the numerous skills he has acquired throughout his life so far. In between studio work, artist residences and teaching worldwide Pierce conjures visual incongruities, manifested as jewellery and objects, in an attempt to make sense of the nonsense of the everyday and to question common values and what is valuable.
At K2 Academy, Pierce runs engraving courses.
Amanda Denison
Amanda Denison is a jewellery artist known for her innovative work, who often incorporates rust in her enamelled steel pieces. Amanda originally trained in fine art and this informs her approach – texture and mark making are key to her process. Amanda’s work has been exhibited nationwide and internationally.
At K2 Academy, Amanda runs Experimental Enamelling cousres.
GUEST MASTERCLASS TUTORS
Caroline Broadhead
Caroline Broadhead has lectured, taught and exhibited widely and her work is represented in many public collections worldwide. A recent book and exhibition at CODA Museum, Netherlands showcased work spanning four decades. Other acknowledgements include: Jerwood Prize for Applied Arts: Textiles, 1997; Textiles International Open, 2004, and The Goldsmiths Craft & Design Council Lifetime Achievement Award, 2017. She has recently retired as Course Leader, BA Jewellery Design at Central Saint Martins where she is now Professor Emerita.
Working across fine and applied arts, Caroline’s work centres around objects which come into contact and interact with the body, and include collaborations and performance work. Some pieces are intended to be worn and changed through touch and movement and other works have explored the outer extents of the body through light, shadow and reflection.
Caroline ran the ‘Questions of Jewellery’ Masterclass at K2 Academy in July 2021.
Manon van Kouswijk
Manon van Kouswijk is an acclaimed Dutch artist jeweller based in Melbourne, Australia. She worked as Head of the Jewellry Department at the prestigious Gerrit Rietveld Academy before moving to Melbourne where she has been teaching since 2013 at MADA (Monash University of Art, Design and Architecture) in the Jewellery and Fine Art Faculty. Manon has led numerous successful workshops and masterclasses and worked as a guest lecturer in Japan, Sweden, New Zealand and Germany. She is represented by some of the leading jewellery gallery across the world.
Manon is interested in the universal qualities of jewellery and other personal objects, the value and meaning they represent and the different roles they have in exchanges between people as gifts, souvenirs, heirlooms.
Manon ran 'the ‘Sources and Resources’ Masterclass at K2 Academy in July 2019.
Christoph Zellweger
Swiss artist Christoph Zellweger worked as a trained goldsmith, modelmaker and designer in Switzerland and Germany before graduating from the Royal College of Art, London in 1993, where he turned towards an interdisciplinary, critical and experimental practice, expanding and challenging his own tradition and the field.
His technically and conceptually innovative works are exhibited widely and can be found in internationally recognised galleries, museums and public collections in Europe, China and North America. Besides running his Zurich-based studio and exhibiting internationally, he engages in artistic research as a Professor of Art & Design at Sheffield Hallam University since 2003.
Presented as jewellery or installations Christoph’s speculative objects result from an intense material research, often uncovering social obsessions related to the constructions of identity, beauty and bodily health. Zellweger’s works have been internationally recognised and described as thought-provoking and influential.
Christoph ran the ‘Point of No Return’ Masterclass at K2 Academy in August 2018.