Meet Our Team
Ellie Smith-Barratt - CEO
Ellie Smith-Barratt is CEO of Vanilla Ink Jewellery School and the founder of her own jewellery brand, Silver in Eden. Her own passion for jewellery making began just like you, diving into a Taster Session after a long-standing desire to make beautiful, sparkly pieces!
After studying Literature at Glasgow University, she worked for many years as a Private Banking Manager in London, before going into Events Management within the hospitality and travel industry. Add into that the fact she has also been a successful free house publican, this of course means Ellie is firmly in charge of organising staff nights out and team building!
Alongside teaching, Ellie is responsible for the important goings-on here at Vanilla Ink, from ensuring operations run smoothly, to looking after the staff and dealing with the HR side of the business. Sexy stuff indeed.
Ellie is immensely talented and has soared like a rocket in the years since she began making! She is understanding, patient and incredibly approachable… the perfect recipe to be a jewellery tutor here at Vanilla Ink!
ellie@vanillainkcic.co.uk
@ellie.vanillaink
SCOTT - CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Scott McIntyre is a Founding Director of Vanilla Ink Jewellery School CIC and is responsible for commissions, class content and being a clown.
With over 28 years of experience in the industry, there isn’t much Scott doesn’t know! His jewellery journey began early, embarking on an apprenticeship when he was just seventeen in one of Glasgow's top workshops. In his career, he has picked up an extensive set of skills from a variety of other jewellers while creating and finely tuning his own techniques.
After years of plying his trade across Scotland’s Central Belt, he found his calling as a naturally gifted tutor. Scott has a wonderful ability to connect with his students, making sure everyone feels at ease and ensures that each student leaves his department with a far greater knowledge of jewellery making. His abilities, patience and tolerance are famous, as is his love of a life-enhancing playlist. Recently his book ‘Stone Setting’ was published. How fancy.
Diagnosed as autistic as an adult, Scott has always been open and honest about his mental health and aims to use his own experiences to help others who are struggling or have had similar issues in the past.
Margo Ritchie - tutor
Margo mostly always lived in the beautiful North East of Scotland.
A teacher by trade, she has been teaching in local schools for over 30 years.
She always enjoyed making things from small knitted dogs to curtains, but it wasn’t until she found the Smiddy in 2020 that she found her true vocation of jewellery making.
She has been avidly learning and honing her skills ever since and is now an incredible maker!
In 2023 her training as a teacher and her passion for jewellery combined as she came on board as a Smiddy tutor, and my my is that a winning combination!
Margo loves a statement earring and dogs!
Drew Markou - Tutor
Drew is a designer/maker that works in the field of jewellery and objects. He originally trained in Horticulture,Landscape and Design, and then later retrained in Jewellery Silversmithing and Related products. After achieving both my BA and MA in this field, he went on to start his career by making one-off bespoke art jewellery/objects that he exhibited both nationally and internationally.
He went on to lecture at both Staffordshire University on their BA in Contemporary Crafts and at Birmingham City University, School of Jewellery on their BA in Jewellery Silversmithing and RelatedProducts.
After a decade of studying, practicing and lecturing jewellery in Birmingham he decided to move to rural Aberdeenshire to set up his own studio practice, where he would be able to surround himself again in the natural landscape and allow his creativity to evolve and develop.
Milly Munday - Tutor
Milly is an independent jewellery designer and maker who moved to Scotland to pursue her creative spirit. She graduated in 2019 from DJCAD in Dundee in Jewellery and Metal Design.
She’s deeply inspired by the rich shapes and textures found at Scottish beaches, Milly often works in wax and creates her own molds, although she has used a variety of techniques to ensure the essence of shells and beach treasures are captured. She creates handcrafted luxury designs, made to be worn and enjoyed.
As well as creating designs for her stockists and online shop, Milly also enjoys sharing her skills in workshops.