Else & Paul

Else Berntsen Hughes and Paul C Hughes met in London at the School of Art and crafts. They set up their first workshop in Hadeland Norway in 1959 and came to worldwide attention in Milan at the 1960 Design Triennial Exhibition along with another Scandinavian designer Tone Vigeland.

Else and Paul exhibited over 20 pieces of Jewellery in both Silver and Gold showing their approach of using a lost wax casting technique, a technique which they learned in London.

Paul Hughes died in 1981 after which Else returned to sculpture setting up her own art gallery where she worked until her death in 2002.

They moved away from the traditional Scandinavian designs and were more influenced by sculptural techniques and designs from cultures in Africa.

All of their pieces are very textural having a real tactile quality in addition to the striking look of their pieces. The use of techniques including patination, burnishing and washing (including pure silver and gold) produced a range of finishes and looks which were complimented with mixed materials.

Else and Paul were one of the first designers to reject the use of precious stones using non or semi-precious stones in some of their work like Malachite, Rhodite, Eilat along with Tourmaline and Amethyst in both natural and polished forms.