Like many New Zealand small business owners, my business came into being as I followed my passion for creating and the need to have an outlet for my self-expression. I was drawn to jewellery making by the alchemy of the torches and all the wonderfully tactile tools. It was like revisiting my childhood when I hung out in my grandfather’s workshop as he worked on race cars and speed boats.
Initially I learned through night classes and then, as my knowledge has increased, I have taken courses online, and sometimes in person, both here in New Zealand and internationally. I constantly look to improve my knowledge and techniques. With all the classes and practice I was doing, I needed to sell my work so that I could buy more materials. As I learned more this cycle snowballed from selling at markets and through my website to now also being represented in galleries across New Zealand.
Having a purpose-built workshop located in Mt Eden, complete with a repurposed cabinet makers workbench and crystal chandelier made up from crystals brought along Portobello Road, is a real bonus. It’s a wonderful space to work in so you will often find me there working away at all hours.
But why make jewellery? From my point of view jewellery is not just a fashion accessory, often pieces will mark the important moments in our lives – some celebratory and joyful and some poignant, but all beautiful moments. Your selections and how you wear them is driven by who you are – your choices provide a visual story representing multiple layers: the groups you belong to, where life has taken you and how you want to be perceived.
Jewellery can last for multiple lifetimes. In fact, the wear-and-tear on jewellery can make the jewellery more meaningful and on their way to heirloom status as they get passed down the generations. I love how you can take your gold and silver and their gemstones and remodel them, so you maintain the sentimental link but allow you to put your stamp on the jewellery as it moves between the generations. For instance, I redesigned my wedding band. This new ring celebrates our love, but it also celebrates my increased confidence and is a better representation of who I now am. The band uses the same gold, but instead of being highly commercialised, it is now wild and unrestrained.
My style is modern and sculptural, with an emphasis on surface and texture, the antithesis of the harsh lines of mass-produced and over-processed pieces. My aim is not classical perfection, but rather imperfect perfection, the look that makes a piece come alive, providing a softer, more authentic and individual look.
