Our
Story
The Workbench sprung to life quite unexpectedly
(like all the best things)
We met while studying for our jewellery degree in 2007 and became close friends. Bonding over our love of music, we were soon joined at the hip. After graduating we moved in together with some girlfriends and this is where The Workbench concept was born.
One evening in 2014 an embroidery craft night was planned in our kitchen. Katie who had forgotten to bring any crafting materials (there’s always one, right?!) decided to carve a wax ring for a customer order instead. While carving her wax we looked at each other and said ‘hang on, we could all do this!’ and that was our eureka moment. 💡
The following day we set off for a mini-break in Suffolk and over the course of that weekend we fine-tuned our wax ring carving workshops.
One of a Kind Rings,
Designed & Carved by You.
Cast & Polished by Us; professional jewellers.
The wax carving process used in lost wax casting is an ancient method of jewellery making taught exclusively to jewellers. We decided to share this craft with the world so that everyone can create a ring of their own design, unique to them, that they can treasure forever!
Traditional jewellery courses are expensive and lengthy commitments, so we wanted to move away from the industry norm and create a totally new experience with extra emphasis on it being fun. We took the experience out of the jewellers workshop and transformed bars, cafes and kitchen tables into workbenches.
Our first workshop (held at our local pub in Leyton) was a huge success. We almost struggled to keep up with demand as tickets sold out on the day they were released.
TimeOut hailed it ‘Seriously Fun’, Vogue featured us in their top 10 gift guide and we became the fastest ever selling workshop at Topshop Oxford Street.
During our first year, we worked behind the scenes to package ‘The Workbench’ magic into a kit that can be used anywhere. We created video tutorials so you could see up close how to carve and shape the wax. We handpicked effective and easy-to-use tools and provided ring makers with extra wax so they could practice and perfect their designs.
We couldn’t believe how beautiful the rings were that returned to us at Workbench HQ! Launching in 2015 ‘The Workbench Box’ made it possible to carve your dream ring at home from wherever you are in the world. Something we can proudly call a world first.
Every ring that enters our workshop gets a finishing flourish from an expert jeweller. With years of industry experience as professional jewellery designers, we pride ourselves on delivering high-quality, expertly polished pieces. Your rings bring our business to life and we love seeing what you create all over the world and hearing the stories of what this piece of jewellery means to you!
Shop our critically acclaimed kits here