Applying for Goldsmiths’ Fair: my experience – Alice Cicolini

Alice Cicolini is a designer and creative commissioner, curator of several international touring exhibitions on design and a published author, including The New English Dandy, for Thames & Hudson. She is a Research Associate at Central St Martins, where she graduated in 2009 with a Masters in Jewellery Design.

Her jewellery explores collaboration and juxtaposition, craftsmanship and heritage, colour and pattern, and has been exhibited at the V&A Museum, Somerset House, and Sotheby’s London among others.

Alice first exhibited at Goldsmiths’ Fair in 2024, then returned in 2025 where she featured in our talks programme alongside Rachael Garrahan about the colourful evolution of her jewellery.

We spoke to Alice about application experience and what it meant to her and her business to exhibit at the Fair.

How many years have you been running your business?

The business is in its 17 year.

How many times have you exhibited at Goldsmiths’ Fair?

Last year was my second time.

What made you apply to the Fair?  

My work is dedicated to sustaining the craft of enamel and making a case for the value of craftsmanship & design for our culture and our soul. The Goldsmiths Fair shares the same aim, and this team are dynamic and dedicated partners. It’s an exciting time to be part of their work.

How did you find the application process?

The application process is really clear and easy to use. The structure encourages the same level of clarity from applicants; its a great challenge to refine your message into a brief but powerful application.

How did you choose which work to submit?

I try to identify pieces that meet a few criteria; that the work pushed the boundaries of the practice and process we have developed so far, that they are representative in the most sublime way of my voice as a designer and that I am proud of what we achieved. 

How has the Fair exposure impacted your client base?

I know my customers have really enjoyed attending the Fair, it gives them a superlative setting to see me and my new work, as well as a chance to see the richness and ingenuity of the industry as a whole. It’s also been really interesting for me to meet new audiences and share my work; its often a small world and many of our new clients already have strong relationships with jewellers who are friends and colleagues. So there is an important sense of family around the Fair which extends to customers and participants alike.

Was there anything about the Fair you wish you’d known? What’s your top tip for new applicants/exhibitors?

Always be true to your voice, keep making pieces that push your practice and remember if its not your time this year, it may be as much about the balance the organisers are trying to establish between participants – don’t give up if you know the Fair is where you need to be.

See Alice’s work on her website and Instagram (@alicecicolini).