Portsmouth jeweller eliminated from BBC's All That Glitters tells of her 'amazing' time on the show
AN ASPIRING jewellery maker from Portsmouth has told of her ‘amazing experience’ after being eliminated from a new BBC talent show.
Kim Styles was one of eight contestants taking part in the Beeb’s new All That Glitters contest.
The show – similar to the format of Bake Off, but with jewellery instead of cakes – sees eight talented crafters battle it out in two tasks over the course of six weeks.
But 56-year-old Kim, who has spent years crafting bespoke jewellery pieces at her studio in Portsmouth last night became the second person to be eliminated.
Reacting to the news, she said: ‘I’m quite upset to be going home but I kind of did expect it really and they (the judges) were totally justified. It’s just the time constraint for me was too hard.
‘But actually, I’ve had a brilliant time and it’s been an amazing experience. I’m so glad that I have been a part of this.’
Hosted by comedian Katherine Ryan, the show sees the hopeful designers taking on challenges each week in a bid to impress judges Solange Azagury-Partridge and Shaun Leane.
Kim has spent the best part of 20 years making and selling her work at arts and crafts fairs but said showing off her skills on national TV was a daunting challenge.
Speaking on the first episode, the talented jeweller said: ‘For me this is a huge leap because I have kept myself to myself for years and years.
‘I just want to see how far I can go. I can’t say 100 per cent how I’m going to handle it but I feel I’m quite strong under pressure and just getting on with what I have got to do.’
During the opening episode, Kim and the other contests struggled with their first task – designing a set of silver ‘best seller’ bangles within three hours.
The second challenge saw contests creating a bespoke pendant for a dedicated foster carer who was due to be made an MBE.
Kim, a sculptural jeweller who specialises in bespoke designs, rose to the occasion and created a nature-inspired pendant.
‘It’s lacking a little bit of three-dimension but overall it’s a beautiful piece of jewellery,’ said judge and jewellery expert, Shaun Leane.
Last night’s episode tasked the contestants to make a ‘bestselling’ 18-inch chain collar, with interlocking links, using silver wire and grain
Kim – who now lives on the Isle of Wight – started well, impressing the judges with her piece. However, she failed to do the same during the five-hour bespoke challenge, with her pebble and holly leaf design being criticised for being ‘messy’ and not hitting the brief.
‘Overall, I think technically it could have been better and there was so much more from Chris and Kelly’s story that could have been incorporated into this piece,’ said judge Shaun.
All That Glitters continues on BBC next Tuesday.