Hey folks,

I just wanted to touch base and tell you how I have been travelling during the last few months. Business is still going well during Covid-19, which has been surprising, I am super grateful for all your support. The silver lining of covid is that I have been wanting to open by appointment only for a while now and it has given me the opportunity to operate this way and have proved to myself it is completely viable to do so. I am reaping the benefits of more creativity, productivity and hoping my wait times stay reasonable, fingers crossed! I do ask that to view items, purchase in store or have a something redesigned that you make an appointment here . You would have noticed the website looking super flash, filled to the brim with all the stock I have been working on, new pages of my loose stone collections, galleries and the likes. I have had the amazing help of my friend and fellow stone addict Sarah Beckett, who is a technological whizz. The afternoon the Premier announced retail closures, we both raced to the shop to get everything online. It ended up being almost a week long marathon to get everything up, but it was the push I  needed to complete the move online and streamline the business in the direction it needs to move in. Thank you Sarah for being a legend. 

I will continue trading this way until the end of October, then will open up for retail Christmas trade for November and December. After Christmas I will go back to via appointment only in February after a month’s break in January. Speaking of Christmas, my cutoff for Christmas orders will be October this year. So, if you want something made for Christmas now is the time to book a design appointment here.

Working by appointment only means I will be able to aim to stick to my schedule better and prevent burn out. If I’m honest, I had 3 big burn out periods last year, over committing myself and taking on too much. So far, so good this year, with an enforced slow down thanks to ‘Rona. Working by appointment only, I can spend  the time with my clients uninterrupted during design consults, give you my full attention and focus on what I’m working on. It also gives me a bit of freedom for family life, I can get to school drop off and pick up a little more, the little things, you know. I also need time to work to my best creative ability, create stock and work on some passion projects. Basically, I want to balance work and home life a lot better so there is no burn out. It’s a constant work in progress!

I would like to take this oppurtinity to thank my clients so much for being respectful of social distancing during this time and for using hand sanitizer as you come into the shop for appointments. I am focusing on remodelling and new makes only so am not able to accept any repairs. There is such a huge demand for my custom work that I have no time for repair work; when I am booked 3 months in advance constantly it does not leave space for repairs, no matter how simple. Repair work also limits my creativity. There are several jewellers across the coast if you do need something repaired. In saying this, I will repair my own work as a courtesy to my clients.

My favourite stock make for Autumn has been the 9ct rose gold opal ring sitting in the shop window. The opal is from Coober Pedy with bright red flashes which is highly desired in opals. It screams Australiana, with the rose gold texture inspired by the corrugated red dirt of the outback. The chocolate diamond is from the Argyle mine in Western Australia. It is a one of a kind piece; something a little different than the standard opal jewellery you see. The opal is set simply in a bezel but offset to give it a point of difference and balance on the finger with the Australian Argyle diamond to one side. If you would like a truly unique and Australian piece, it can be found here – feel free to make an appointment to view it.

I am working on a new Tasmanian shell range in time for summer. If you’re a mermaid at heart these will be of interest to you. All the textured pieces I have been making have been amazingly well received and I want to have some more fun with textured metals and mixed metals for stock. I need to start working on stock for Christmas now so there will be plenty of choice when I open for retail in November. There will be a pre-opening soiree late October; if you would like to be on the VIP list, please subscribe to my newsletter as invites will go out that way. You can do so at the very bottom of this page.

I have just bought a new camera, a Fuji x100v, so I am hoping to take photos with my jewellery on location soon. At the moment I’m just having some fun with it and getting used to using it. I’ve really only taken photos with my phone, so I’m a complete novice but lucky I have super talented friends in this field to shoot questions to. I’ve never really had a hobby, so its a really lovely change and challenge to learn something new, something digital, cos everyone who knows me, knows I’m not super with technology! It will tie into my work, but its nice to have the freedom to create without expectation and to have a hobby without it turning into a hustle.

I am also currently working on some real wedding blogs with three different sets of clients. Each story is amazingly unique and I can’t wait to share these with you! They will come in the form of a 3 part series blog. Each blog will be dedicated to each couples unique story. I have their favourite photos to share with you and they are incredible! Look forward to those!

Keep safe,

Over and Out

Nic x