Goldsmiths’ Centre director Peter Taylor to retire in 2026

Peter Taylor, director of the Goldsmiths’ Centre in London, is to retire in February 2026 after a 37-year career in the jewellery and silversmithing trade.

Taylor has held senior roles with both the Goldsmiths’ Company and the Goldsmiths’ Centre for the past 24 years. He was appointed the company’s first director of technology and training in 2002, before becoming the Centre’s founding director in 2011.

Taylor began his career after graduating from the Birmingham School of Jewellery in 1988, co-founding a design and making business before launching the DesignSpace 2000 initiative in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter to support graduates and entrepreneurs. He later helped establish the Jewellery Industry Innovation Centre at the University of Central England.

He joined the Goldsmiths’ Company in 2002 and went on to oversee the development of the Goldsmiths’ Centre, which was created from a derelict Grade II listed building. The project has since become a recognised training and business support hub for the sector.

Taylor was awarded an MBE in 2021 for services to the jewellery and silversmithing industries.

Michael Wainwright, chair of trustees at the Centre, said: “Peter has the Goldsmiths’ Company and the Goldsmiths’ Centre in his blood. He has been absolutely dedicated to both in the last 24 years. As Stuart Devlin’s disciple he set up the stunning Goldsmiths’ Centre in 2012 and has run it since then.

“Everybody who has worked for or come into contact with Peter adores him. I have never heard a bad word about him. He has been absolutely dedicated in nurturing Jewellery and Silversmithing Talent of the Future, and extremely successful. He is held in the highest regard by everybody and will be a tough act to follow.”

Taylor added: “I have always felt blessed to have found the jewellery industry as a seventeen year old. Throughout my career I’ve always been focused on giving others similar life chances to those that I have benefitted from.”

Since its opening in 2012, the Centre has grown into a hub for craftspeople, designers and businesses near Hatton Garden, the capital’s jewellery quarter.

It now provides workspace for 130 makers and offers training, business support, exhibitions and events. In 2023/24, it trained 281 people and 29 apprentices, and supported 842 businesses.

The Centre’s senior management team will lead the charity until a successor is appointed.