“Silver is a magical material that responds to light like nothing else, except perhaps the moon. It has entranced humans forever, and its extraordinary malleability means that almost any form that can be imagined can be realised, with enough time, skill and patience.”
– Rauni Higson –
Introduction and Q&A Film(55 minutes)
I’m Rauni, I work primarily in silver, designing and creating sculptural silver marrying traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design, often commissioned for celebration and commemoration. All my work is hand forged, hammered and fabricated in my workshop in Eryri, North Wales.
There are three ways I invite you to work with me; commission me, collect my art work, or learn silversmithing skills with me. The commissioning process is highly collaborative, I’d love to work with you to draw out ideas and significant themes to create something exquisite, something beyond our imagining at the start of the process.
I was always torn between art and science, and although art was always going to win, metalsmithing is the perfect way to bring the two together. It’s the closest I can get to living the myth of Alchemy, and I’ll never get tired of the exploration, the experimenting, the pursuit of beauty, expression, and devotion to my muse, the natural world, especially the wild landscape of Eryri; the mountains, crags, rivers, coastline and sea.
I’m still learning to speak Welsh, but now with renewed vigour, I’m trying to use it more, instead of just listening. Cliciwch yma i ddarllen y dudalen hon yn y Gymraeg.
My journey into silversmithing began in 1992 with a degree course in Lahti, Finland. I completed my final year at the Birmingham School of Jewellery and have been a self-employed silversmith in Dyffryn Nantlle since 1997. Commissions include the Prince Philip Challenge Trophy for the Henley Royal Regatta and the Processional Cross and Acolyte Candlesticks for Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. Collections include National Museum of Wales, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and The Goldsmiths’ Company. In 2025 I was awarded an MBE for services to Silversmithing and Heritage Crafts for my work in establishing new training models for passing on skills.
If you’d like to have a no obligation chat about an idea for commissioning a piece, particularly something inspired by the landscape of Wales, please email me, phone me, or book a free half hour Zoom here.
In 2025 I was stunned to receive an MBE for services to Silversmithing. I was nominated by the Heritage Crafts Association.
Photograph: British Ceremonial Arts Ltd.
“We are thrilled that Rauni has been recognised in the New Year Honours. Having traditional craftspeople up there with other great luminaries of public life in this way is vitally important, and Rauni’s dedication to passing the skills of silversmithing is truly remarkable and has had a profound impact on the craft and its community.”
“I fell in love with silver when I first used it over thirty years ago, and I know I’ll never tire of it as a material to create with. I seek to represent the feel of the landscape and my experience of it, my connection to it, it’s my love letter to Eryri.”
– RAUNI HIGSON –
