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Cassandra The Alchemist

With the return of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show revealing cutting-edge garden designs and fabulous floral displays - Cassandra contemplates on her own love of gardening, flowers and fauna.

An alchemist's creative spirit has stirred within me from my earliest days.

"And whilst I am yet to turn base metal into precious gold, I love to create magic in the workshop through a science of storytelling, extraordinary gemstones and design."

Cassandra Goad

When I think about alchemy, I can't help but look to my garden, where I marvel at nature's ingenuity. It is here, in these blossoming spring months, that I try my hand at another kind of alchemy, as a self confessed garden-aficionado. I may strive to be an alchemist in the workshop during the week, but it's in my garden that I'm in my element on weekends.

I'll mix up heady concoctions of compost, seeds, sunlight and water to magically grow beautiful flowers, blossoming in kaleidoscopic colours and scents, from spiralling earthy fircones to silken pink roses. I'll also find alchemist bees, turning nectar into golden honey. Just as we'll drink a cup of espresso ahead of a creative day in the workshop or garden, so too are bees seduced by the caffeine in flower nectar. What's more, just as we return to the workshop day after day, so too do bees return to those same flowers for the, quite literal, buzz.

I'll mix up heady concoctions of compost, seeds, sunlight and water to magically grow beautiful flowers, blossoming in kaleidoscopic colours and scents, from spiralling earthy fircones to silken pink roses. I'll also find alchemist bees, turning nectar into golden honey. Just as we'll drink a cup of espresso ahead of a creative day in the workshop or garden, so too are bees seduced by the caffeine in flower nectar. What's more, just as we return to the workshop day after day, so too do bees return to those same flowers for the, quite literal, buzz.

This week in my garden, hydrangeas have taken advantage of the heavy rains and their fresh white flowers are blossoming as brilliantly as spring snow in the Alps. Vibrant alliums tower over the fluffy alchemilla mollis, while deciduous jasmines weave sinuous trails across walls and doorways. As I meander through the pathways myself, I long for the ox-eye daisies to open their big white petals and reveal their golden yolks within.

Meanwhile, in the workshop, I am working on making gold mounts for new Zambian emeralds and Mozambique aquamarines. During the process, I have swept up, melted and recycled almost half a kilogram of gold from old mounts, brooch pins and worn out chains. I have also taken this unworn diamond ring and re-imagined it as a pendant and a new ring: an alchemist's magic we call bespoke.

"Using raw materials as valuable as these teaches us that recycling is a powerful, and vital, process within the alchemy of the fine jewellery world today."

Cassandra Goad

And while the bees are busily creating their hexagonal honeycombs, as alchemists of the natural world, I am transforming base materials and old jewels into sparkling new jewels of exceptional beauty, as an alchemist endlessly inspired by the natural world.

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Soirée de Noël
News & Events

Soirée de Noël

Last week, we opened the Cassandra Goad townhouse doors after hours for a festive celebration, our Soirée de Noël. Guests were transported to La Belle France and welcomed with Christmas cheer, all ...

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Photographing a fabric at it's birthplace: Toile de Jouy
Cassandra's Musings

Photographing a fabric at it's birthplace: Toile de Jouy

Explore the peaceful country scenes of the cotton fabric known as Toile de Jouy and discover the history behind Cassandra Goad’s design on a photoshoot at the Chateau Maillebois.

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