Richard Allen began selling jewellery way back in 1985 along with the help and support from him Mum who had worked in the jewellery industry from a very early age. After leaving the world of jewellery in the late 80's to build a career in recruitment, training and retail merchandising, it was probably not the intention for Richard to return to the industry all these years later.
But around 2018, Richard had decided that it was time for him to do something for himself and made plans. Then 2 years later, in 2020, Richard returned to the industry making jewellery first from his garden studio and then a shipping container on the coast. But this time, Richard was using metal clay. Metal clay allowed Richard to experiement more with designs and gave him the opportunity to explore new ideas and develop yet more jewellery making skills.
This, however, didn't come without challenges and none moreso than negativity from established goldsmiths who felt that silver clay wasn't real silver. Undeterred, Richard applied to showcase his jewellery in Hatton Garden, London's Jewellery Quarter and somewhere he has regularly shown his work since 2024. His work has also appeared in other galleries around the UK as well as in Poland and Japan.
In 2025, the brand won The Professional Jeweller, People's Choice Award for Collection of the Year with a collection created from silver clay.
Pepper Tree Studio, the jewellery school Richard set up in 2023 has now developed into Metal Clay Academy dedicated entirely to everything metal clay.
Metal Clay Academy is the place where you can take your first steps into making jewellery with metal clay and where you can continue to develop through a range of workshops, courses and diplomas. And, to keep you making, Metal Clay Academy also stocks a range of kits, tools, materials and, of course, clay.