London-based, Lucie Heskett-Brem was born in Lucerne, Switzerland, where she completed her apprenticeship in goldsmithing in 1992. She has since designed primarily jewelry and sculpture using a woven chain technique she developed to create unusually fine chains,resulting in her being known as “The Gold Weaver”. Her interest in chains has been lifelong, which, when combined with her goldsmith training, and the use of alloys high in precious metal content-gold and silver, has enabled her to hand make intricate chains that are very supple in nature, a contradiction to the perceived nature of chains.
In 2014 she brought together a group of four- herself and three other artist-designers, Ruth Borgenicht (USA)-clay; David Licata (USA)-glass; and Tine De Ruysser (Belgium/UK)-paper money who created the “4 in 1 group”, to encourage each other to explore chain mail each through a different medium. They have moved to not only examining its physical properties and push its limits, but to discover its aesthetic potential. The group’s statement indicates that the name is significant. “4 in 1” “refers, not only to four artists working together, but also to a traditional chain mail technique, linking four links through each separate link. We will also use the wordplay on 4-in-1, which when spoken out loud sounds like ‘foreign one’. This interpretation of our group’s name refers to our unorthodox methods and improbable creations, which exist far outside the traditional practices of our chosen media.”