Jewellery Quarter-based designers James Newman, Kate Smith, Becca Williams, Rhiannon Lewis, Collette Waudby and Fei Liu will be the first group to supply over 500 pieces of jewellery which will go on sale when the £35 million shop opens on Thursday 24th September.

Designed to celebrate and support local independent businesses, John Lewis is working in partnership with the Jewellery Quarter to launch this initiative. The retailer’s buying teams handpicked the six jewellers from a shortlist of twenty designers submitted for the autumn/winter collection.

Jilly Cosgrove, Board Member of the Jewellery Quarter Development Trust commented “For these designers, who range from established businesses to small start ups – to have their collections in John Lewis’ new regional flagship shop is amazing.

John Lewis Birmingham Head of Branch Lisa Williams visits James Newman Jewellers in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter to meet some of the jewellers who will be supplying the store. Lisa chats with James Newman about his design.

James Newman has designed an exclusive range of limited edition pieces for the launch. Newman graduated from the Birmingham School of Jewellery 18 years ago and now has his own shop on Vyse Street in the Jewellery Quarter. He took inspiration for his collection from the exterior design of the new John Lewis department store, the Staffordshire Hoard and the Big Peg, a creative office space in the Jewellery Quarter. James’ collection of 180 pieces will be exclusive to John Lewis.

“Creating unique, distinctive and beautiful jewellery is something I am passionate about and the iconic design of the John Lewis Birmingham shop provided great inspiration for my collection,” he said.

Kate Smith, from Stourbridge, whose designs were also chosen, believes her jewellery will be perfectly placed in John Lewis. She said: “The expectations of John Lewis customers are on a par with my own; they demand quality, excellent customer service whilst taking something very special home that they are thrilled to own.”

Also part of the line up is Collette Waudby, who is the current British Jeweller’s Association Jewellery Designer of the Year and a graduate of the internationally-renowned Birmingham School of Jewellery.

Lisa Williams, Head of Branch at John Lewis Birmingham, added: “The Jewellery Quarter is such an iconic and important part of Birmingham and we were keen to reflect its significance within the new shop in some way. Our buyers were extremely impressed with the designs that they received and it was a very difficult job to whittle it down to just six jewellers. I’m really impressed with the pieces we will be stocking in the shop and look forward to hearing customers’ thoughts come opening day.

“Supporting the local community is extremely important to us and we hope that our partnership with the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter is the start of a long and fruitful relationship with a variety of businesses in and around the city.”

The jewellery will be available in John Lewis Birmingham and will start from £35.