Okehampton jeweller Corrinne Eira Evans announced this week that she was one of only 136 gold and silversmiths selected to exhibit at London’s prestigious annual Goldsmiths’ Fair.

Corrinne, who runs the Moon and Moor gallery in the Victorian Arcade in Okehampton, will be showcasing her work during the second week of the 40th fair which is set to run from Tuesday, September 27 to Sunday, October 9.

On receiving news of her success, Corrinne described her delight, saying: ‘I’m really chuffed. It’s been like a lifelong ambition of mine. So, to finally get it is just incredible.’

Corrinne said Dartmoor is a key inspiration for her work, with Belstone and Haytor being some of her favourite places to visit. The collection Corrinne submitted to Goldsmiths’ was created during the covid lockdowns when she had plenty of extra time to explore the moor and design her jewellery.

She said: ‘Since moving back to the South west and moving to Dartmoor we just fell in love with it. I love going up there and trying to capture the mood and the surrounding landscapes within my jewellery collections. It changes all the time, all the foliage, all the animals – everything. It changes every day or even every hour.

‘The collection which I submitted for Goldsmiths’ was created during lockdown, so I had a good chunk of time to kind of look around and kind of really appreciate the landscape of where I was living and really focus that into my work.’

Corrinne has been interested in making jewellery since she was 14 years old while attending the Plymouth Art School summer school and then went to work for a jewellers in her hometown of Liskeard.

Corrinne’s talent shone through and it was not long before she was receiving commissions and jewellery repair requests which she undertook between college and university, eventually leading her to set up her own business in Okehampton.

The Goldsmiths’ Fair brings together some of the UK’s most talented gold and silversmiths each year.

The fair features a wide range of smiths, working in a range of different mediums from three-dimensional printing to wire working.