Rock Sparkle Belfast (1/2)

Who the hell is Cyril Flannigan? He’s the guy that makes the mad jewellery in Belfast, and if you haven’t heard of him (or Ember Jewellery) you might soon want to.

It was my pleasure to work with Cyril a few years back when he was paying his way as a graphic designer. I knew he had made jewellery in a

past life but being the modest guy that he is I had no idea of the sort of people he had made jewellery for.

You might not have heard of Cyril but you may be more familiar with some of his previous clients – Ozzy Osbourne, The Rolling Stones, ZZ Top, Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Delores O’Riordan (Cranberries), Motorhead and Tina Turner in her video for the James Bond title track 'Goldeneye'. Cyril has also created for 10 Downing Street, the Sultan of Brunei, the Arab state of Qatar and McLaren.

Cyril discovered his passion for making stunning jewellery during a foundation art year in Canterbury. “I would always find problems in creating some difficult pieces, but really loved solving those problems. In fact if I didn't have something difficult to figure out it wasn't a real challenge for me.”

From there Cyril went onto create jewellery for a number of reputable goldsmiths - Padgham and Putland, London's Grant McDonalds and Richard Fox Associates as well as the world famous The Crazy Pig (click here for some examples). And now he is back in Northern Ireland and has started up one of Belfast’s funkiest new ventures - Ember Jewellery.

“I decided to start Ember Jewellery because I wanted to get out of graphic design, which I got into because the money was good ... but my real passion was in making jewellery. When the recession hit I eventually found myself unemployed like so many people in the same field, I found it impossible to get a graphics job...this was the perfect opportunity to cut myself free.”

We don’t usually like to get commercial on Secret Belfast but I’m such a big fan I’m sacking it for a one off...Ember Jewellery has a terrificly affordable portfolio of jewellery for you to choose from and Cyril also offers bespoke pieces made to your specific requirements... plus it’s not to late to get your orders in for Christmas. To have a look at some of what’s on offer visit Ember Jewellery on FACEBOOK (click here).

Next up I'll be asking Cyril more about what goes into making Jewellery for Rock Royalty...keep posted!