ULVERSTON blacksmith Chris Brammall has been working with an internationally acclaimed jewellery designer.

Shaun Leane has launched his first foray into the architecture and public arts realm with the unveiling of, Arbour – a major bronze artwork across a 40m building façade in Kensington.

Shaun, noted for his one-of-a-kind catwalk jewellery and longstanding relationship with Alexander McQueen, was commissioned to design the building’s exterior metalwork by FutureCity and Grainger plc.

The launch of 21 Young Street is the culmination of a five-year long project and pushes the boundaries of conventional design.

He chose to work with British award-winning architectural and sculptural metalworkers, Chris Brammall Ltd for the fabrication and installation stage of the project.

Each balcony, railing and gate has been handmade and the leaves finished by the hands of blacksmiths from Chris' Cumbrian workshop.

Each of the balcony railings is unique, featuring hand-formed curves with the leaves cast and grated into steams, then patented and treated to give a rich bronze finish.

Almost 3,000 linear metres of bronze sections are used to form the handrails. The leaves were cast at Brass Founders in Sheffield and all hand-finished at Chris’s workshop in Cumbria with the project taking more than twelve months to complete.

For Chris and his team the project has been a privilege.

“It has been a complete honour to work with Shaun and to know that he has put his trust in us to execute his design - we’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with him and congratulate him on his ground-breaking work," he said.