Gillian Finlay’s work is inspired by the extraordinary bamboo scaffold structures which captivated her throughout her childhood in Hong Kong, where the myriad skyscrapers enveloped by bamboo scaffolding always fascinated her. Gillian’s designs draw inspiration from these scaffold structures, each with their own individual natural flow, reflecting the beauty of their repetitive and complex patterns.
Gillian reinterprets these scaffold structures of her childhood, reimagining them into more playful, fluid and flowing forms. Her making process uses handcrafting techniques, hand-drawing silver wire, then pinching, pleating and folding the wire, coiling and forming it into an intricate circular wire scaffold structure which she micro-solders, making it very strong and light. Each unique piece of jewellery reflects the contradictions in these bamboo scaffold frameworks – they are strong and structural, yet light and intricate.
Gillian became a Professional member of Design-Nation in 2026.
