Hello, my name is Allison and I joined as a new member of the Bristol & District Lapidary Society in September 2025. The club has been running since 1970 so celebrates its 55th anniversary this year.

It's special because it's run by volunteers and the only Lapidary Society serving the people of the southwest! For many local jewellery makers the club is a lifeline in providing equipment that most couldn't dream of purchasing themselves.

About the Bristol & District Lapidary Society

It is an incredible place, based in a workshop in Kingswood (BS15) in Bristol where every Tuesday you can come along and learn how to turn raw rocks and semi-precious stones into beautiful faceted gems and cabochons, just the same as those used in antique and modern jewellery.

I love the club because it's an encouraging community of people, all very generous with their skills and experience, sharing their knowledge and teaching others the heritage craft of lapidary.

Everyone is made welcome to join - young and old - and the organisers are the most friendly people you could hope to meet. It's also a place for people to come together and forge friendships and social connections over cups of tea and a love for rocks. The practice of lapidary is very therapeutic so the benefits on wellbeing are felt by all.

Sharing and passing down this craft to the next generation is particularly important to the society, so it isn't lost forever, ensuring that Bristol can continue to be a hotspot for creativity and artisan practices.

The Challenge

But this important community asset has a big challenge. The current setup includes a bank of seven grinding machines, dating back to the early 1990s. Though they’ve been carefully serviced and maintained over the decades, they are now dilapidated and getting beyond repair with some critically worn and no longer fit for service.

Their replacement and modernisation is essential to keep the workshop running safely, sustainably and as energy efficiently as possible. They really are in desperate need of new equipment but these specialist machines are expensive.

To cover its running costs, the society relies on membership fees but these are purposefully kept minimal so as many people as possible can have access to the club and equipment. The only other income for the club is through grants and charitable donations which have helped to maintain its existence over the years but take long application processes and are very hard to win.

The society is completely run by volunteers. No one takes a salary or wage for their time or work, so there are no cost saving opportunities they can make here. Without the volunteers there would be no club and what they do for the community with the resources they have is truly inspiring!

Add to all this the continual rise in operating costs, like electricity, rent, water rates and everyday tools and supplies and it's clear to see (even to a newbie member like me) that the club is in a precarious position.

The simple fact is, they need investment to keep the lights on and the polishing wheels spinning. They really need help to buy new equipment now before the club has to consider closing, which would be absolutely devastating for the south west of England.

New Courses Create Sustainability

As a way to create a new revenue stream to help the society meet the rising costs, they created and delivered their first one-day faceting course in November. Run by society volunteers, this allowed three students to spend a day learning some basic principles of lapidary, before getting on the stone cutting machines (called Facetrons) and learning the techniques needed to cut and facet their own gemstone to take away. This educational day was a great success with the youngest student being 10 years old!

More courses are planned for the future, however the club only has three Facetron stone cutting machines, which limits class numbers to just three students per course. With more machines they would be able to expand their class numbers, giving more people access to learning this heritage craft and maximising funds from teaching.

Clearly if they could buy more machines this would help improve this community asset and ensure the future of the club, giving the community more opportunities to have a go. It would be a win-win for everyone!

Why I Am Raising Funds

I feel passionately that we must not lose this unique asset in the southwest and that the volunteers who have kept the society running for so long should have a bit of help from us in the wider community.

This is why I have started this GoFundMe, to raise funds for some desperately needed equipment to help secure the future of the society for all of us in Bristol and the south west!

Funds raised would be used to buy the following equipment:

Grand Total £24,710

If you are in a position to donate anything as an individual, or as a corporate entity, business or organisation the society would be so grateful.

Please help if you can, and if you'd like to come and see the society for yourself and give lapidary a go, you can join us for a FREE taster session on Tuesdays.

Find out more about the society here : https://bristolanddistrictlapidarysociety.com/

Address:

Kingswood Estate, Studio 3

Britannia Road,

Kingswood

Bristol

BS15 8DB

For any questions about the GoFundMe, donating as a business or Trust, or for media enquires email Allison Parkes-Norris via the contact button. Society Treasurer is Mike Stinchcomb.