Portrait by Andy Pilsbury
After working for a year as an assistant at the jewellers George Pragnell Ltd. in Stratford-upon-Avon, Wendy joined her family’s business in 1969. She first began working at Alabaster & Wilson as a junior clerk, which involved office work and examining pieces of jewellery sent in for repair.
Although she spent most of her time working in the office, Wendy had a keen interest in jewellery, which she pursued through taking gemmology and diamond courses at Birmingham School of Jewellery during the 1970s. She eventually progressed to become joint director of Alabaster & Wilson with her two brothers in 1985. Wendy cherishes the time she spent at Alabaster & Wilson, both due to the ‘spectacular’ pieces of jewellery and the lasting friendships she made at the company. The company closed in 2018.
– Wendy AlabasterI liked the people I worked with very much all through time. We had a much smaller workforce when we finished working but the people were all very nice and they remain as friends...we never felt much of an ‘us and them’ type of thing, it was much more like being part of a family.
Listen to Wendy
Wendy recalls what it was like when she started working at Alabaster & Wilson and her role.
Listen to Wendy
Wendy talks about some of the pieces made by Alabaster & Wilson, and who they were for.
