Julia Gandy is an art jeweler based in Coventry.

After raising two children she returned to studying, gaining a 1^st class Degree in Art & Craft at Coventry University. There, she specialized in jewellery, more challenging than your traditional pieces. Encouraged to explore her experience of anxiety and depression through her work, a collection was created that offered a sense of protection. Other pieces made by Julia gave the wearer electrical shocks and made high-pitched sounds when worn, but as you can imagine, these were not commercially viable. So with a family to support Julia then went into special needs teaching before gaining her last position as Life Long Learning officer at Coventry Transport Museum.With a need to create and subsidise her income, Julia stumbled on a tin of buttons that had been in the family and it brought back a wave of childhood memories.  Believing there must be a way to breathe new life in to these forgotten surplus treasures she began to explore ways to make wearable pieces out of the buttons using wire. Julia now creates a range of unique, colourful, and, most importantly, wearable items including hats, chokers, and brooches under the name ‘hOle’. This is in reference to the part of the button that has been discarded – the button hole. The button must now carve out a life on its own without the support of its other half. 
Julia is now working on hOle full time looking after being made redundent from the Museum. With a fab new home workshop its all systems go for Julia and hOle x