Alan Preston

Alan Chris Preston (born 1941) is a New Zealand jeweller. His work has been exhibited widely in New Zealand and internationally, and is held in major public collections in New Zealand.

Early life Born in Te Awamutu in 1941, Preston completed a Master of Science degree in psychology at the University of Canterbury in 1967, and took jewellery classes at the Camden Institute, London, in 1973.

Fingers gallery In 1974, after a stint as a guest artist at Brown's Mill Market, New Zealand's first craft co-operative, in Auckland, Preston approached jewellers Ruth Baird, Roy Mason, Margaret Philips and Michael Ayling to open a jewellery shop called Fingers on Auckland's Lorne Street. Fingers, which moved to Kitchener Street, its current location, in 1987, is now New Zealand's longest-running contemporary jewellery gallery.

Career and style After a 1979 trip to Fiji, Preston began to incorporate forms and materials from Pacific adornment, including the use of shell, coconut shell and fibre, into his work.

Preston was one of twelve jewellers selected for the landmark 1988 Bone Stone Shell exhibition, developed by the Craft Council of New Zealand for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that was shown in Asia, Australia and New Zealand. The exhibition was restaged at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in 2013.

Recognition Preston's work is held in many public collections including The Dowse Art Museum, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and Auckland War Memorial Museum.