Jeremy Hoye: Jewel in the town
Andrew Kay met with jeweller Jeremy Hoye as he launched his new concept House of Hoye
It’s only when you sit down with someone and start to talk about their history that you realise how long you have known them, and their work, and also how quickly time passes. I first met Jeremy Hoye over twenty years ago and have been both friend and client ever since. I’ve been a fan of his work now for two decades and I have (and still) wear his work. In fact right now he is making a new ring for me, mounting a sapphire that my father brought back from India in 1964. It’s a precious thing, not for monetary reasons but for sentimental ones, and the key to this is that I trust Jeremy to understand and respect the sentiment. That is clearly a factor in the growth of Jeremy Hoye as both jeweller and designer with a large and fiercely loyal list of clients.
Jeremy’s history started in a conventional way, in a role as an apprentice goldsmith in London when he was 17 years old. From there he went to work in America for a number of jewellers.
After that, for a short time he worked in the music industry, but it wasn’t long before he set up a workshop in Wimbledon and started doing work for other jewellers around London. As a designer, Jeremy is self taught with no conventional art school training, but from his conventional jeweller training he has cleary developed a style which is a response to his knowledge and understanding of the precious materials he works with.
Jeremy created his first true collection back in 1994; up until then he was focused on commissions and creating one offs. it was in 1994 that his first shop opened, here in Brighton, and really that was when the huge and loyal client base was formed. So much so that clients who first came to him for an engagement ring return again and again, for wedding rings, gifts for the birth of a child, graduation gifts and even engagement rings for those children.
It is also true to say that people collect Jeremy’s work with a view to wanting a piece from each collection. Sometimes several pieces. So why is it that people come back again and again? “I think much of that is because I have stuck to my own beliefs and my own style. I’ve never been a slave to fashion and I do not believe that jewellery is a ‘fashion’ thing. It should be timeless, and the very best jewellery designs are. If you follow trends you are very unlikely to come out with your best work.”
Now Jeremy has re-designed his shop front, and image; the window into what he does and what he really believes in. “The idea behind House of Hoye is me getting back to what I love. To the more avant garde work, the adventurous and forward-looking ideas – and putting some of the fun back too. I want to get back to what I love and to what I know I do best.
Back to being truly creative. The shop has evolved into a far more exciting space, intriguing and hopefully less corporate. I love to see the effect that it has on passers by; it’s nice to see people look into the cabinets and smile, and the new interior is certainly making people rethink what ‘Hoye’ stands for.”
The recent recession certainly impacted on the retail world, but Jeremy believes that when it comes to jewellery different factors come into play. “I sense that people are more open to spending money on jewellery if it is something that really is very special. Jewellery is a luxury buy, and we are investing in creating luxury products for that market. That’s not to say that everything we do has to be very expensive – I know that there are many younger buyers out there with a smaller budget and we have always tried to offer something affordable to them too, but likewise something that carries the same sense of quality.”
Jeremy has always offered a very personal, bespoke service. “Because I deal with customers directly I can be confident that I am giving them exactly what they want. Having chosen to commission from me I know that they want something designed by me, but I love reacting to a client’s brief and making something very special.”
The new shop is very different and in a sense less intimidating. The inclusion of fun objects creates an air of the surreal and bizarre, it’s very tempting; you are drawn in just to find out what it’s all about. So, what is it all about?
“It may sound like a contradiction but at House of Hoye we want to be inclusive as well as exclusive”
“We have opened up the space, it’s much more open and comfortable. It’s like someone’s home, I hope – hence ‘House of Hoye’. We are showcasing fewer jewellers and focusing on my work and a few others, now. I wanted a drastic change and
we have certainly achieved that. Maybe we are testing the boundaries but so far the response is good and very exciting.”
Jeremy Hoye was very much at the forefront of Brighton’s dominance in the independent jewellery design world and he still remains at the forefront. “After 20 years I want to be able to show new work, show how my designs have developed and continue to develop. I look abroad at independent jewellery designers and the way they show their work and they are less afraid of being edgy – that was how I started and that is where I want to be. I hope that the space will become a hub for great art and design from all disciplines; music, too, I’d love to have live music in here. We are also showing handbags that are part of the ‘Handbags for Hospices’ charity, helping to raise much needed money.”
So what has the reaction to the new look been? “The response from regular clients is good, they like to see me back at the helm and they like to see me back in the store. Dealing directly with my clients means that nothing is lost in translation.”
I asked Jeremy of he could come up with a solution for any client. “You have to be honest. I will always say what we can do, but also say what we cannot do – and in those cases I like to send them somewhere more suitable.
“My new collection is called Mary, after my wife, and there is one called Morocco, one called Enchanted and one called Slash. I’m going to create smaller collections and not try to please all customers. I want to get back to being more exclusive, more desirable. In the past people bought jewellery as gifts but now we see people buying for themselves.
People are treating themselves again, the recession had damaged that but we are seeing a real recovery. There is a real market too for men’s jewellery and we are now making signet rings – men do buy jewellery for themselves. Above all I am open to new ideas, to meeting our customers face to face. Customers can come and see what we do for themselves and we are always happy to give personal, no obligation consultations. It may sound like a contradiction but at House of Hoye we want to be inclusive as well as exclusive.”
House of Hoye, 22a Ship Street, Brighton, BN1 1AD
01273 776097 / www.houseofhoye.com
