About

Joanna Campbell

Maker. Jeweller. Artist. Educator.

An award-winning maker and designer of jewellery in the collection of Te Papa Tongarewa and Art Museums in Aotearoa and adorning discriminating collectors. A creator and skilled maker of on-screen jewellery and artefacts in the demanding environment of movies and television. An educator communicating a career of innovation and creativity to a new generation. Committed to life-long learning with a history of adaptation, experimentation, and cultural sensitivity.

Kia ora my name is Joanna Campbell, I am a jeweller working out of my workshop based at the foot of the Waitakere Ranges. For 25 years I have been making exhibition work and production work for galleries throughout Aotearoa and Internationally. My work is based on a love of design combined with an innovative craft-based practice, and is held in collections nationally and internationally. I have an interest in textiles and an enthusiasm for making metal more fabric-like in all its iterations: the study of the drape of a grosgrain ribbon, the ability of anodised aluminium to soak up dye like silk, or making strings of sequins out of gold and silver. The ambiguity and idea of metal that has the character of fabric is the focus of my art. My embossed cuff rings and tape measure bangles and rings are well recognised and have become treasured pieces of iconic New Zealand jewellery design, worn by everyone from mums, aunties and sisters to actors, designers, musicians and dignitaries.

My jewellery practice has always had a strong focus on teaching. I have taught at various tertiary institutions and in the community extensively. I was the lecturer in jewellery techniques and creative design at Whitecliffe on the Bachelor of Jewellery Design+Technology Degree – working with students to facilitate their creative, technical and contextual design processes. Most recently I opened a jewellery workshop - Jo’s Jewellery School. This purpose built space is set up to facilitate teaching and mentoring of beginner jewellers, through to more advanced makers that need their skill set extended and has a focus on community engagement.

I also work in the demanding environment of film, when a job comes along that requires 
a jeweller/metalsmith. Working in the costume department to fast deadlines and high pressure intensity. These demanding roles require rapid prototyping and delivery of jewellery, and push me to find creative and imaginative solutions to complex problems at remarkable speed and at the highest quality. Defining the aesthetic and establishing the design for the lead characters adornment. I’ve worked on several productions such as Spartacus, Rings of Power, Cowboy Bebop, Shannara, and The Last Samurai.