Ndidi Ekubia uses traditional silversmithing techniques to create visually arresting, functional silverware. Sparkle Vase was made from a flat sheet of silver that was raised into a three-dimensional form using hammers, stakes and heat. Ekubia enjoys working the silver to its limits by stretching and manipulating it through repeated rounds of embossing and chasing, techniques of applying decoration to the front and back of the metal. The careful tool marks on the surface emphasise the fluid form of the vase.

Ndidi Ekubia trained at Wolverhampton Polytechnic, (now the University of Wolverhampton), from 1992-1995 where she undertook a 3D design course involving wood, plastics and metal. She then attended Bishopsland Educational Trust (1995-1996) a post graduate training programme for silversmiths and jewellers and then completed an MA in Silversmithing and Jewellery at the Royal College of Art (1996-1998). Her work characteristically combines traditional silversmithing techniques with innovative design. Born in Manchester to Nigerian parents, her inspiration stems from a combination of the British urban landscape and her African cultural heritage which gives a formal drama and a richly, textured surface quality to her silver.