YORKSHIRE
POST
6
JULY 1999
Kath
rings the changes from health to jewels
As a psychologist, Kath Libbert's day was spent working through
problems with her clients. Now in charge of her own jewellery shop
she finds satisfaction in matching the customer to the right designer.
As KAREN JOYNER discovers, the two worlds are closer then they seem.
With
her corkscrew curly hair and wild enthusiasm, meeting Kath Libbert
for the fIrst time makes you think she is either a mad professor
or an artist. In fact she is a bit of both. A psychologist employed
by the Community Mental Health Services Trust in Leeds, and the
owner of the eclectic jewellery section on the third floor of Salts
Mill in Saltaire. For now the balance is tipped towards the jewellery,
as she has just begun a sabbatical from her post to concentrate
on the precious metals and shiny gems. Her office is a peaceful
corner in the upper reaches of Titus Salt's mill, the looms and
Spinning Jennys replaced by glass cases filled with wacky and wonderful
rings and necklaces. Through the window there is a beautiful view
of the mill and surrounding countryside and there is a pitter-patter
stream of visitors who meander among the cases in this relaxed and
welcoming atmosphere.
Patients
It seems a world away from the stresses and strains of mental health
services, facing abuse, pain and suffering on a daily basis. Based
with a team in Belle Isle, Middleton and Hunslet, Kath dealt with
GP referrals, patients in and out of hospital and some desperately
sad tales which touch her even now.
"There
were an awful lot of women who had been abused, and with others
you could scratch the surface and find reasons for the problems,"
she says. "I've come from an analytical background and want
to find out what has happened to make life so hard for that person.
You cannot solve it, but try and make it easier or more understandable.
Make that life more fulfilling."
But woven among the caseload and sessions, Kath retained a love
of jewellery and design ever since she took a silversmithing course
in the ''70s while studying for her psychology degree.
A few years ago she started up a weekend stall in the Corn Exchange,
Leeds, getting a few jewellers to let her sell their work and building
up a mailing list of more tban 3,000 customers.
"I sold the jewellery at work places too, like a jewellery Tupperware
party, and found it was an antidote to the mental health work I
was doing," she says.
So much so that when a spot came up at Salts Mill, Kath leapt at
the chance to set up her business there. Working on a sale or return
basis she has built up her list of jewellers and designers to around
65, with new ones always being added on.
Interaction
But the business practices employed by this enterprise are weighted
on the side of personal interaction rather than cutting edge tactics.
Each of the four staff Kath employs to look after the shop have
a background in the arts, enabling them to discuss with the customer
exactly what they are after. "What I suggest to customers is a bit
startling at first, but I want them to look at what we have in the
cabinet and take that as a starting point," says Kath.
"We will help customers to develop their own ideas, and if possible
encourage them to visit the studio of the jeweller who is doing
the work. I want to find out what the person wants exactly and match
them to the right jeweller, and get them to be creative."
Since all the items for sale are individually hand made anyway,
the price will not leap up because another slightly diffferent piece
is commissioned.
And the shop itself is designed to welcome people in to enjoy the
pieces on show. "There is something about the whole ethos of Salts
Mill that appeals to me," explains Kath. "The reason I've never
made any entry or exit to the shop is that I don't want people to
feel inhibited or excluded. I want people to feel free to just wander
through and say 'that's nice' and carry on if they want to.
"I want the people who wouldn't normally enter a jewellery or craft
shop to not feel their background stops them from enjoying it. With
lots of places you have to make a conscious decision to go in before
you do, here you just find yourself in the middle of it.
"I suppose it is linked with my work in the NHS in that I feel that
everybody should have access to the good things in life, be it good
treatment or whatever."
This ethos works in relation to the work Kath includes on her shelves.
She chooses the jewellery because it strikes a chord in her. It's
not aimed at the wealthy, nor is the style or craftsmanship lacking.
Expensive
"I spend a lot of time with the jeweller discussing how they are
going to develop the range, and the sorts of things that the customers
coming in here would like.
"If someone really wanted a piece that was expensive, then of course
we would produce it for them, but if I saw a piece that was £5 and
was beautifully crafted and designed, then I would take it on."
she says.
In May Kath's skills were put to the test when Salts Mill director
Robin Silver commissioned a brooch frame for David Hockney's Millennium
stamp of the mill. With just 48 hours to spare Kath and silversmith
Fiona Mackay worked to create the gift which was presented to Hockney
in person.
The work attracted a great deal of interest with murmurs of a similar
design being reproduced, but the creative process has whetted Kath's
appetite to be involved in more pieces.
"I loved doing the piece for Hockney and I'd ideally like my
own collection of pieces, as I enjoy the designing side, " she admits.
"I'd also like to get in more jewellery from Europe, as there's
some really fantastic work around."
The very heart of the business means it will always be a personal
concern, with individual attention paid to customers and jewellers
to give more diverse and original pieces.
"This is a way of finding expression for a different aspect of me,
and as a Gemini one of my characteristics is that I have lots of
ideas and am happy following different paths," says Kath. "Before
I felt like a bird that had its wings clipped and was being kept
in a cage. This has been a healthy move for me and I'm doing it
really because it's my passion."
Kath Libbert's summer show Some Like It Hot is launched
on July 15 from 5pm-9.3Opm introducing work by eight new jewellers.
There will be 15 per cent off all items bought on the night, and
it runs until mid September.