JEREMY HOYE is as much a part of Brighton as a stick of rock and fish and chips.

A London-born invader – like so many of those who end up here – when he came to the city he felt immediately at home.

He is famous for his unusual designs but says his creations did not take off as well in other parts of the country.

Descending the steps beneath the pavement level into Jeremy’s St George’s Place studio, near St Peter’s Church, you are greeted by as many stuffed boars’ heads as sparkling gems.

But rather than a high street shop window, here he can give his customers exactly what they want – beautiful bespoke craftsmanship.

You will find him designing wedding rings, resetting family stones and creating one-off commissions such as memorial rings encasing locks of hair and ashes.

He said: “This is the best move I’ve made so far.

“It’s back to what I want to do.

“You go full circle, starting in a workshop wanting things to grow, creating a monster, then thinking this isn’t what I want and doesn’t make me happy.

“I love sitting with my customers and working through a designs. But it gives me ideas for other collections.

“Going from a small boutique to a big brand you need lots of advertising and things and I suddenly thought this isn’t what I wanted to do.

“I want to design and make jewellery.

“I’m now doing more commissions and more new pieces.”

Jeremy fell in love with his craft when he did a one-week trial at a jeweller’s workshop at the age of 13.

At 16 he started an apprenticeship and other than a brief stint working for a record label he has never looked

back.

He has been firmly entrenched in Brighton since 1994 when he opened his iconic Ship Street store.

His designs perfectly capture the Brighton aesthetic – full of skulls and daggers and broken hearts as well as charms featuring the Royal Pavilion, seagulls, ice creams and deckchairs.  

But despite the place he holds in the city’s heart, austerity and the Southern Rail fiasco hit the shop hard.

“With the train strike it was killing Brighton,” he said.

“Footfall was down so far.

“And people don’t shop like that any more.

“I think the whole face of the high street is going to change.

“Ship Street is now like an industrial estate.

“There are so many lorries making deliveries. There would be lots outside the shop for two hours at a time.

“People know my work so they can order online and know the quality of what they are getting – or come in for special commissions.”

In 2011, Buxton Avon, owned by Eastbourne property developer Gary Hamblyn, bought the busines, keeping Jeremy on as a freelance adviser.

But they parted ways and Jeremy reopened the flagship Ship Street store under the name House of Hoye.

Buxton Avon went on trading as Jeremy Hoye Ltd, setting up in nearby Ship Street Gardens.

That went into administration and was wound up a few months later in 2015.

Jeremy’s House of Hoye business then called in the liquidators and he closed the shop.

Mr Hamblyn is still running a company called Jeremy Hoye Ltd from Eastbourne.

It has no connection to Jeremy the jeweller and there is still an ongoing legal dispute over the rights to the trademarks for Jeremy’s designs.

He is optimistic about his latest move but said he now regrets trying to expand his business.

“I suppose I do regret it,” he said.

“You can’t live your life wishing to undo bad decisions but I don’t really like the business world – that had no interest in the value of design and that was ruining the quality.

“I’d rather put that energy back into what I want to be, which is a designer and jewellery maker.

“I don’t want to be a big businessman.

“I want to be a jeweller because I enjoy designing.

“I value my customers and my customers are very loyal.

“I have always been in Brighton.

“Everything about what I do is so Brighton.

“I used to sell pieces in other shops in Guildford and Winchester and they didn’t take off in the same way.

“I can probably still make every design by eye.”

From a team of 15 staff at his peak, Jeremy now has two staff who run his website and an administrator for his paperwork.

He sets every gem and makes every adjustment personally beneath the stuffed boars’ heads in his North Laine studio and is committed to staying in the city.

Now his clients order online or visit him in person for personal

commissions.

He is proud of the important place he holds in his customers’ hearts.

The products he sells form an important piece of their lives.

He said: “It is really nice that something you have created forms such a special part of people’s lives.

“One of the things about going

through times of austerity is that if people are going to buy something then they want to know it is something that’s special.

“It has put the value back into things.

“We have gone through that mass production stage and are back to wanting something of real quality.”

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