Q&A: Tony Power

What’s your background?

I was born on the south coast, but my dad was in the navy so we moved up to Glasgow for my secondary education. I went on to the Glasgow School of Art. I originally wanted to be a painter, but my family background was one of craftsmanship — my grandfather was a boat-builder, my father an engineer — so it was easy for me to fall into. Jewellery provided a natural fit between making interesting shapes and finding a way of displaying them.

After graduating I set up a workshop in Soho, renting a bench from somebody. I started off by making one ring, taking it across to Bond Street and selling it, then using the money to buy more materials, from which I would make two rings, and so on. It went from there.

How did Cox & Power come about?

Things consolidated in the late eighties, early nineties, when I met my business partners Rachel Sweeney and Vicky Cox. We relaunched the business to combine design, craftsmanship, retail and marketing. We were the first in London to really do that, to have a workshop on site.

We did go through a phase where we had a shop in Liberty, a shop in Marylebone and a licensed business in Japan, all at the same time. It was exciting, but really tough. If you want to make really nice luxury pieces, you can’t stretch too thinly. So we are happy to now have one focused shop. It works better for me.

What’s your role?

I design and make most of the jewellery, with assistance from our goldsmiths, so most of my day is spent sitting at a bench in the workshop. I love it.

How has Cox & Power evolved?

Our first shop in Kensington looked more like a laboratory, with a hard edge. Looking back at the mid-nineties everything was very stripped down and minimalist; that’s what people wanted and that’s what we were comfortable making.

My own tastes are very eclectic, so we’re making things now that are slightly more sumptuous. When it comes to fine jewellery, there needs to be a relationship between the piece and the person. People want one piece that really talks to them, which is what I think we’re really good at.

Are there noticeable trends in jewellery?

Absolutely. But we’re not trying to design to those tastes—we’re just reflecting our own interests. In the past when we’ve tried to chase trends it’s kind of backfired. What we’re offering, we’ve put our heart and soul into. And we can say hand on heart that we’re making the best work we can.

In bigger companies they might look at quarterly trends, but that’s miles away from what we’re doing here. We’re artisan, based on craftsmanship, personal service and ethical responsibilities — all of those things.

Ethical responsibilities… in what sense?

Responsibly sourced materials are very important to us. That perhaps wasn’t the case 10 to 15 years ago, but now it’s a really hot issue. People want to know that the gold or stones in their ring have been ethically sourced in order for them to be able to have an intimate relationship with that piece of jewellery, and we’re very keen to share our knowledge.

Tell us about your most recent collection.

I went on a sailing trip to Tahiti — some friends of mine had sailed around the world to get there, which was quite astonishing, so I flew out to Polynesia. Sailing is my second love after jewellery —  third after my family, of course! I tried to synthesise my experience in a collection. It wasn’t about capturing what I’d seen and making it real, it was more about capturing the atmosphere and emotion. We don’t make figurative work; we make abstract work.

What else influences you?

 I love Barbara Hepworth, Eames furniture, sailing, Dorset — all sorts of things. You just keep your eyes open all the time. I don’t exactly wait for the muse to take me, because I have to apply myself, but we want fluidity in our work. The harder I try, the more elusive it becomes.

You also make bespoke jewellery — how does that work?

We sit down together with the client to try and find out what sort of person they are. They might have a stone that’s of significance to them, for example. At that stage, in an unforced way, we try to find out what sort of jewellery they are looking for — how they want to wear it, what sort of clothes they wear. Then in a week or two I’ll come back with a couple of ideas.

The next meeting is to confirm the idea, put a price on it so everyone is clear, and then we go ahead and start making the piece. The client can come in and try it on and make any adjustments as we go, then around six weeks later we come up with a finished piece. If they love it, it’s great! It’s truly exciting.

What about when a customer is buying something as a surprise  — that must be challenging?

That’s the worst! Usually a man comes in and says, “I have this great idea for a ring” and the first thing you ask is, “What finger size is she?” And he will say something like: “Well, her ring just about fits on my thumb.” It’s like making a bespoke suit without a fitting — how is that going to work?

If they want it to be a surprise, they have to have pretty good knowledge. It’s always better to know exactly who we’re making it for. The colour of gold might not work with their skin tone, for example. They’re parting with a lot of money in some cases, so you can’t just keep your fingers crossed and hope it’s going to work out.

You’ve been in Marylebone for a while now. Have you built up a local following?

We do have a local customer base, yes. They’re modern, urban and beyond brands, really. They have places they trust — be it food or clothes — but they’re certainly not label-driven; they want more of an intimate relationship. I don’t want to flatter them too much! But they’re intelligent — for the most part anyway. You could tell immediately that was the Marylebone thing.

Is that partly why you moved here?

Absolutely. We scouted out Marylebone 15 years ago and it was just starting to lift off, so we moved heaven and earth to get here. It’s slightly more sophisticated now. London is my home city and I love it here. I live in north London. I love the commute. I have half an hour to do whatever I like with.

What are your future plans?

To continue to do what we do best, build on our following and keep generating new ideas. We designed the shop ourselves with a local designer, and we do our best work here. We’re very happy — I feel like it’s not going to get better than this.