Artist Profile - Elcie-Mojo

By Colin Serjent

Their trading name, Elcie-Mojo is a combination of the two nicknames of Melanie Elizabeth Jones and Lesley Cunningham, two Liverpool-based jewellery designers.
"The jewellery world is a very competitive market," said Melanie. "But we have developed our own unique style, which we believe is a major key part of our work."
They use a diverse range of mixed media to produce their jewellery. They incorporate precious metals and materials such as glass, wood, latex, textiles, photography, fabrics, resin and beads.
"All of our work is hand made, using both traditional and contemporary techniques," explained Lesley.
They each originally worked from home. They met each other at a trade fair. But once they secured workshop space at the Granary Studios at the Lord Derby estate in Knowsley, they pooled their resources together, which helped keep running costs down.
"We have currently got jewellery based in the Craft and Design Centre in Manchester," stated Melanie. "People visiting the centre can see you working on your jewellery, and I believe that helps to encourage them to buy our work."
"I have been interested in jewellery since I was a child," said Lesley, who graduated with a Bachelor of Design degree from Liverpool Hope University in 2000.
Melanie - who has a degree in Jewellery Design from the University of Central Lancashire - spent six years in Jersey working in a jewellery shop.
In an unusual venture, they have produced jewellery collections based on games, including Connect4 and Kerplunk, that are kinetic (have moving parts).
As well as using craft fairs to promote Elcie-Mojo, they also market their jewellery by sending CD-Roms with images of their work to shops and galleries.
Future plans include attempting to gain their own retail space, preferably in Liverpool city centre.
"We want to expand the variation of our jewellery designs and widen our potential market," added Melanie.
A possible trip to North India is in the pipeline for the two of them early next year, to attend a jewellery stone setting course.