ROGER HATFIELD

Skipton
North Yorkshire

Tel: 0175 679 1196
Email: roger.hatfield@gmail.com

I learned my skills in the printing industry, bound apprentice in 1963, engraving and hand finishing blocks for letterpress printing. The tools I use and the techniques I learned have been the same for hundreds of years.

As blocks were superseded I had to move with the changing industry, but I kept up my hand engraving and found I could use my old skills in the jewellery trade, where electronic engraving doesn’t always give the desired result. For many years I have supplied a service to jewellers around Skipton and Bradford.

The Hand Engravers Association of Great Britain gives me a welcome opportunity to escape the isolation of working alone – to the best of my knowledge I am the only working hand engraver in my area – and to meet and learn from others in our ancient craft. It also, by means of this website, gives me a wider shop window.

I also have an interest in woodturning, so by combining both crafts I have produced a number of small wooden boxes embellished with silver to include inscriptions marking anniversaries, birthdays and other occasions. I made some for family and friends and have also taken commissions.  Wooden bowls or dishes with a disc of silver inlaid in the centre can serve a similar function.

An example of another commission is the pewter flask, engraved to complement a brooch.

Hand engraving on a special gift can turn it into a unique keepsake, or a future heirloom. It can preserve the spirit of a special trophy or a piece of antique jewellery in a way no modern mechanised technique can.

I am happy to answer enquiries with no obligation.