The young silversmith creating unique moving candelabra

A new typographic alphabet is issued every 25 years and in 2025 the UK Assay Offices mark with capital letter A with its new typeface, case and shield shape, thus ensuring that each letter can only indicate one specific year. The date letter is a non-compulsory mark but is very useful for dating objects and marking special occasions.

Nova’s designs and work had been spotted by Ashley Carson whilst judging at Sheffield Hallam University. Nova was a past winner of the Assay Masters Prize for Excellence as a BA student in Jewellery in Metalwork and was asked to create a unique piece for the collection last year.

"He came over to me and put his hand on the candelabra and said ‘I want this all in silver do you think you could do that for me for January?’ and me being me I said ‘no’ in a panic and disbelief.” But of course Nova did create Dinner for 3 (Silver Edition) – a truly moving piece of artwork, designed to hold between nine and 12 tall taper candles – in time for the January deadline.

"Its focus is on smooth arcs of hand-turned movement, causing the candlelight to dance and revolve,” explains Nova. “The main body, candleholders, and handle are made from sterling silver sheet that has been hand-formed and constructed. The base and mechanism armature are crafted from brass, with the addition of a phosphor bronze runner to ensure smooth movement.”

The candelabrum features a large date letter A as a feature mark and a full set of laser hallmarks on its base, denoting the sponsor/maker, the fineness of the material, the town mark of Sheffield, the Rose, the date letter and mixed metal hallmark.

“Dinner for 3, represents a significant milestone in my work,” says Nova.

"It is the largest and most complex piece I’ve made to date, and it holds the distinction of being the first piece to be hallmarked, in Sheffield, in the year 2025. This commission not only marks a personal achievement but also highlights the incredible support I’ve received from Sheffield Assay Office.

“Throughout my degree, the Assay Office has played a pivotal role in shaping my practice. In my second year, their award provided the silver for my first candelabra—a sprawling, spindly piece made from a mix of steel and silver—which was later exhibited in Sheffield Assay Office: 250 Years of Lasting Impressions at the Millennium Galleries, Sheffield. This experience led me to focus on silver much earlier in my career than I had originally planned. In my third year, after completing a series of kinetic candleholders for my degree show (mostly produced in copper, with a few smaller pieces refined into silver editions), the Assay Office commissioned the centrepiece of the series: Dinner for 3: Two’s Company, Three’s a Crowd.

"I’m honoured that Dinner for 3 will have a permanent home in their private collection, and it’s a privilege to see my work in a collection with so many other talented makers.

"I love the challenge of designing objects that are both functional and a little playful—objects that serve a purpose, but aren’t just about utility. My work strikes a balance between function and form, blending sculptural elements with practical design,” says Nova from her workshop near Huddersfield.

“My creative process often begins with sketches and paper models, which is one of the reasons I’m drawn to working with sheet metal. It shares a lot of the same properties as paper in terms of shaping and construction, but offers a greater range of possibilities.

"Transitioning from base metals like copper and brass to silver felt like a natural step, though it was a bit daunting. Silver is a beautiful, almost ethereal material, but it comes with its own set of challenges. Every mistake shows, and working with it demands a level of precision that’s both rigorous and rewarding. It also carries a higher price point and more social expectations, which adds a layer of pressure to get things just right. Tableware became my focus because I enjoy creating objects that not only have a place in the home but also serve a real, functional purpose. I want my pieces to be used, to become part of an experience—something that naturally finds its home at the center of the dinner table.”

Before she started experimenting with candelabra she made cutlery for her second year project for the experimental gastronomy company Steinbeisser. “It was my first real move into making things that were kinetic. I wanted to make something that was interactive.” Her inspiration came from automata, such as French Victoria moving dolls. "Traditionally in Victorian times you’d have a fancy dinner party and after dinner you’d retire into the parlour and show your guests this weird and wonderful piece of automata you’d bought. I really liked the idea of it tying back into dinner by making cutlery that had a moving mechanism.”

From there she came up with the idea of the candelabra – initially made in steel and wire so that she could perfect the moving parts.

"I wanted it to be functional and playful but not utilitarian. I wanted to bring the sculptural element into it.” It was a visit to the David Mellor centre in Hathersage that gave her the idea for candelabra.

“It was perfect, it gave me room to create an object that has a reason to live on the dinner table. I want to make something you have to interact with, I don’t want to make things you put on a shelf that are purely decorative. You have to touch it and turn the handle.”

Nova’s love of all things kinetic comes from her father who is a kinetic sculptor. She grew up in his workshop and so when Covid struck while she was at college, she was able to continue her work in his studio.

"I was very lucky,” she says. “I had all his tools at my disposal in this beautiful workshop while some people were working out of their bedrooms. I got to use the blowtorch and started to work with metal which I found easy. I knew that my future lay in metal not wood.”

Assay Master Ashley Carson said: “I am delighted that this is the first piece to be marked with date letter A, this is a special year beginning with a new alphabet. I wanted to mark this new sequence of date letters with something quite different to anything else in the collection, and Nova has certainly achieved that.

"When I saw Nova’s work at Sheffield Hallam University, I instantly saw something unique, she had a huge body of work for her show, and I could tell she had an eye for detail, a clear vison, her work was large and impactful. Instantly engaging, I interacted with the work and knew it would be conversation starter across a table. The work was certainly the biggest and best in show. I give full credit to Nova for her unique design, her ability to deliver a remarkable commission to such a high level of finish. It is no easy task to achieve a deadline and deliver on time.”

Nova, who works at the Ceramic Studios, sees Dinner for 3 as one of a number of pieces that complement each other. And she is already getting commissions for her work – she is currently making another larger candelabra which will take her more than two months straight to complete – Dinner for 5.

www.novasmith.co.uk

Nova’s Dinner for 3 will be at Goldsmiths North, Contemporary Silverware & Jewellery Selling Fair, May 30 - June 1 at the Cutlers Hall, Sheffield. Tickets from goldsmithsnorth.com