George shines as last of the shell workers

George Hook is the last mother of pearl worker in the Midlands. He talks to Cathy Spencer.

He may be 110 miles from the seaside but George Hook's workshop in Smethwick is crammed full of sea shells.

"There was a time when the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham was filled with hundreds of Mother of Pearl workers," says George, aged 58.

"They were well known for making the buttons that the Pearly Kings and Queens in London became famous for wearing.

"However, when buttons started being made from plastic the number of pearl workers in the West Midlands started to decline and now I'm the last one."

George's trade involves buying exotic shells from as far away as Australia and New Zealand, and then cutting and polishing them.

Items he makes include spoons, brooches, buttons, letter openers, jewellery, cutlery handles and even the fretboards of guitars.

His skills have been called on by famous fashion designers such as Jasper Conran and Amanda Wakeley who have needed Mother of Pearl items for their catwalk dresses.

"My family started in the pearl business in 1824 in Hall Street, Hockley," says George, whose factory is in Pope Street.

"Five generations of my family have worked in the pearl trade and my father, who was also called George, worked with me until he was 95-years-old.

"As a young lad I would go to the factory and it was a novelty to see all the sea shells piled up.

"My dad had a factory in Barr Street in Hockley and in those days they didn't have dust extraction, so the air would be filled with clouds of dust and it would smell of the dentist.

"It was magical - you were in the middle of the city but surrounded by sea shells."

George uses large snail shells from Africa, colourful abalone shells from New Zealand, trocus shells from the Philippines, mother of pearl oysters from Australia and black mother of pearls from Tahiti.

"You can't just go to Barmouth or Weston-Super-Mare for these shells, or nip to the shops for extra material," says George. "It can take six weeks for an order of shells to come in so I have to make sure I plan well ahead.

"Oysters are similar to slugs in that they produce a silvery spit, called nacre, which coats the inside of their shell.

"The 'spit' then hardens and can be up to an inch thick, which allows us to cut and grind it to the shape we want.

"Pearls are where a grain of sand or grit has got inside an oyster shell and has been covered in the same layers of mucous."

There may once have been as many as 3,000 people engaged in the pearl button trade in Birmingham, importing close to 2,000 tons of shells a year.

"I think the reason our family business survived, when so many others didn't, is because we didn't just make buttons," says George.

"My dad used to make cufflink insets and so he wasn't affected by the new cheap, plastic buttons that flooded the market.

"Also, I have cutlery handles made by my grandfather that would have taken a day to carve each one by hand.

"They would have been used on only the best silver cutlery for people with money, such as members of the royal family."

George says when he retires it will be the end of pearl making in the Midlands.

"I started working with my dad in 1965 when I was 15-years-old and in 1986 we moved to our present site in Pope Street," says George.

"It is one of those trades where you feel like you are always learning something new - it is like your

training never ends. In 1965 there were only four mother of pearl companies left in Birmingham and now most of the work is done in India and China.

"Now most of my time is spent giving talks to groups across the Midlands and I take my work along in the hope that some people will buy it.

"Sometimes people contact me to do small jobs - at the moment I'm making a set of cufflinks to be given out as presents at a wedding.

"I also do repair work but I can't work for big manufacturers who want me to make thousands of the same item.

"My son George wouldn't come into the business as it is too labour intensive and you will never earn a fortune - he works for the benefits agency.

"I'm not going to retire for a while because I love my job.

"However, one day I hope to be able to pass on my knowledge and tools to the Black Country Living Museum so people can see the West Midlands wasn't just about going down dirty coal mines and making chains and nails.

"There were a lot of people working with beautiful, colourful sea shells making items which are still treasured today."

l George Hook can be contacted on 0121 5582186.