Dundee’s first “jewellery festival” has just been announced for September

Islay Spalding and Katie New in The Orangery Workshop with the map. (Picture: Kristin Beeler)

A brand new event is coming to Dundee this September, giving the public a rare chance to step inside the city’s jewellery workshops.

Dundee Open Studios: The Jewellery Edition will run over two weekends, 20–21 and 27–28 September, and will feature 22 jewellers across 10 venues.

From independent studios and shared workshops to retail spaces, visitors will be able to see how jewellery is made and meet the people behind it.

The event will showcase everything from unique one-off pieces and remodelling work to full collections designed for shops, galleries, and craft fairs.

Those taking part range from recent graduates to well-known jewellers with years of experience. Many will offer live demonstrations, talks, and even jewellery-making workshops so people can try it for themselves.

Each venue will give a glimpse into the maker’s world, showing the skill, imagination, and time that goes into every piece.

“This event is about more than just opening our doors,” says co-organiser and jeweller Islay Spalding, founder of Double Door Studios.

“It’s about showing the public what goes into making, inspiring new generations of jewellers, and encouraging skilled tradespeople like stone setters and engravers to base themselves here. Our long-term vision is for Dundee to become a recognised jewellery hub, a kind of ‘Hatton Garden’ of Scotland but with its own design-led identity.”

The city already has a strong creative reputation thanks to Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD), and many of the jewellers involved are graduates who chose to stay and set up their businesses in Dundee.

Others have been attracted by the city’s growing creative community. Together, they want to establish Dundee as a place known for jewellery and design.

The project is led by Spalding and jeweller Katie New, with support from Creative Dundee’s Amps Network Community Ideas Fund.

To help people find their way around, 3,000 special Riso-printed maps have been made and can be picked up for free at spots like V&A Dundee, DCA, and The McManus.

“Open Studios are such a brilliant way to connect people with the craft happening on their doorstep. Dundee doesn’t yet have one, even though the surrounding regions have thriving open studios events,” says co-organiser Katie New, who runs The Orangery Workshop.

“We hope this event strengthens connections in our city and helps more people appreciate the value of the work being made here. As a UNESCO City of Design, Dundee is ready for this, and we want jewellery to be the seed from which something larger grows, bringing in more makers and disciplines each year.”

The final weekend of the event also takes place during Doors Open Days, when venues across Scotland invite the public inside, making it a perfect time to discover Dundee’s creative spaces.