Julia Usher, founder of Ashes Memorial Jewellery, has discovered she is following in the footsteps of her great-great-grandfather Samuel Usher, who made mourning rings in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter 150 years ago. The 44-year-old, who trained at the School of Jewellery in Birmingham in 2001, now creates memorial pieces from ashes, hair and fingerprints, a modern version of Samuel's Victorian craft.
Julia, who was born in Whittington near Lichfield and lives in Barton-under-Needwood, said she was always drawn to sparkly things. "I was like a magpie, even when I was two, I wouldn't leave the house without something sparkly on," she said. "I always wanted to be a jeweller."
Family secret revealed
The connection came to light when her father Mark was told by his brother Dennis, who had been tracing the family history. "One day, my dad told me my Uncle Dennis had been tracing our family history and rang my dad excitedly to say 'Julia seems to have picked up the family trade'," she said. "That was the first any of us had heard of Samuel. Our family had always been in the automotive industry so we couldn't believe it."
Samuel Usher had a workshop at 123 Vyse Street in the Jewellery Quarter, just one street from where Julia studied. She initially focused on building her career, opening a high street shop after university, and didn't dwell on the discovery for 10 to 15 years.
Turning point in 2016
In 2016, after the birth of her daughter Sophie and the loss of her grandmother Eunice, Julia changed direction. Unable to find a modern way to preserve her nan's jewellery, she developed a technique to roll ashes into the surface of silver and gold. "I wanted something more personal, a secret piece, where nobody would know the ashes were there," she said. "So I worked out a way of rolling ashes into the surface of silver and gold."
She shared a few pieces on social media, and Ashes Memorial Jewellery quickly became one of the UK's leading memorial jewellery companies.
Victorian connection confirmed
Just a few weeks ago, Julia found Samuel's firm in the 1872 Birmingham directory, listed as making 'gold signet & mourning' rings. Mourning rings were the Victorian way of remembering someone you'd lost. "I discovered he had been making jewellery to help families remember the people they had lost," she marvelled. "That is exactly what I do now. I make memorial jewellery from ashes, hair and fingerprints. It's so niche, there's not many of us that do it. The trade disappeared from our family for three generations until I started doing it without realising he had."
She also discovered Samuel's hallmark was available at Birmingham Assay Office, and she has revived it. "It turned out his hallmark had not been touched since 1936, since he last had it so now I have his hallmark and that's really cool," she beamed.
Samuel's legacy in Birmingham
Samuel was also a political activist in Birmingham, setting up the Erdington Adult School to teach men and women to read and write. Julia, who is dyslexic, said: "I found out he was a strong, determined man and a political activist in Birmingham. He set up the Erdington Adult School teaching men and women how to read and write to help them get into better work. I'm properly dyslexic and I've always been so determined, my dad used to say I don't know where it comes from. Now we know!"
Samuel is believed to have been a founding member of the Birmingham Jewellers' and Silversmiths' Association, which started the School of Jewellery. His son Gus became the Association's President and, in 1932, Queen Mary invited him to Buckingham Palace to talk about Birmingham enamel work. Gus took over the family business, Samuel Usher Ltd, but the firm closed due to the recession after the Second World War. Their 70-year service was commemorated in the Birmingham Evening Mail, and they were given a silver teapot and tray that Julia would love to trace.
Julia's father Mark now works with her on the business, and her daughter Sophie, 13, enjoys making beaded jewellery. Julia works in a woodland cabin near Yoxall in Staffordshire. She said: "My bench doesn't look a whole lot different to how Samuel's did. Yes I use modern lasers but people have been working at jewellery benches like ours for over 300 years. For me, it is the greatest honour to do what I do, more so than making wedding or engagement rings. It's something for people that will hopefully go down their blood lines, being passed through generations, and it's something I can do to help give someone comfort through their grief."
Julia is writing a book about her family's jewellery story called The Golden Link, covering the history of the Jewellery Quarter, the Victorian Industrial Revolution and entrepreneurship.
