Charmed.

This year will see Melbourne contemporary jewellery, e.g.etal, celebrate it's 15'th birthday.
To celebrate this milestone, e.g.etal has asked it's artist to create bespoke pieces that explore the number 15 in any which way they wish.

I contemplated the idea of time, of milestones, and thought about ways in which we mark special moments in our lives. We take photos, keep journals, throw parties, give gifts, get tattoos... all manner of things.

This idea of markers of time led me to reflect on the humble charm bracelet. They come and go with fashions, but somehow they seem to remain and hold their own as treasured reminders of places, people and events in our lives that we want to keep close.

With this though in mind, i set out to create my own version of the charm bracelet. I had no intention to break any new ground, it's a simple bracelet, it's practical, comfortable and understated. The charms are small and quiet, their forms are abstract yet familiar, free of prescribed ideas and notions of what should be celebrated. Each one is open to interpretation and meaning.

Hand made from silver (bright or oxidised), 18ct yellow gold, 9ct rose gold, bone and resin, each charm is a one off.

The e.g.etal charm bracelet has 15 one off charms and will be available once the 15 year celebrations kick off.

Individual bracelets can be ordered with specific charm requests, with room to always add more as time goes by.

Two new pairs of earrings for E.g.etal.

Carnival Collection delivered to E.g.etal today!

Some new pieces dropped off at E.g.etal today.
Colourful playful silver and paint jewels inspired by recent doodles of mine.
I've called them the Carnival Collection as they remind me a bit of festive bunting and party decorations from times gone by.
A bit of joy as the Melbourne winter grey sets in.

New Deliveries to E.g.etal...

Some brand new pieces making their way to E.g.etal Gallery right now!!

Sprouts, buds, prickles and shoots.

A new collection of little stack rings has sprouted, possibly inspired by the amount of time i've been spending watching my little seedlings growing on the kitchen window sill...

These have only just been delivered to Pieces of Eight Gallery. They can be ordered in any number, from a single little treasure to a whole stack. Each one is individually sculpted in wax, then cast, so no two rings are ever exactly the same.

New earrings available at E.g.etal.

...and more rings.

I'm running out of ring pun titles for all the rings posts i've been putting up lately, but none the less, here's two more rings i made recently.

The first is Chilli Seed Ring and is a wee addition to my Bad Beasts Do Not Harm Me body of work which is travelling up to Sydney next week to be shown at Metalab Gallery in Surry Hills. I thought that as the exhibition is touring to a new home, a new little addition, just for Metalab, would be a nice way to carry the show forward.

Second is a ring i've nicknamed Eyes For You. It was meant to be a ring to go out as stock, but during the final stages of finishing it i realised, i never keep anything for myself. So, this one stayed with me and currently lives very happily on my middle finger.

I've had requests for similar designs since i started wearing it, so clearly wearing your own work is a good business move, pity i don't wear a lot of my own jewellery. People often ask why i don't wear more of my own work, or much jewellery at all for that matter. Part of the reason is simply because i find that when i work, i don't like having things getting in the way just in case i either a) damage the jewellery or b) get the jewellery caught in something that spins very fast or catches on fire, in turn, damaging myself.

Now 'Ear This!

Two pairs of new earring designs dropped off at E.g.etal late last week.

Mami and Luna...

Has a ring to it.

Seems to be ring season at the moment.

Here's two commissions i took on recently.

A very exciting couple of 18ct Yellow Gold wedders for two very special peeps, congrats you two!

And,

a spontaneous requests for a little double serpent ring in oxidised sterling silver with a stunning Tsavorite Garnet plonked in the middle.

Fun times.

Colours

Velvet Wedders: Sterling silver, Tsavorite Garnet. (Can be commissioned in white or yellow gold).

3 Stone Ring: Sterling silver, 2x yellow Sapphires, 1 x pink Sapphire.

I've really enjoyed playing with coloured stones recently, and, coupled with my rather 'unorthodox' setting methods, i think the results have quite a playful and joyous feel, like a cheeky wink.

At the moment i'm predominantly using a variety of coloured natural Sapphires, but have also started playing with Tsavorite and Demantoid Garnets for their amazing, other-worldly green colours.

Most of my rings are made in sterling silver, but, i'm more than happy to have them commissioned in either white or yellow gold, and i'm happy to work with other coloured stones and/or diamonds.

My stone set rings are sold at E.getal and Pieces of Eight in Melbourne. The lovely gallery staff in both galleries are more than happy to work with clients in having something extra special commissioned.

New E.g.etal work delivered.

Here's a taste from the new batch of work i delivered late last week. More to come in time for Christmas.

Excuse the lousy pics. I've temporarily lost the knack of photo taking. The earrings above are actually quite fluorescent. The two pics bellow are a front and back to a large pendant.

Rings for Pieces of Eight Gallery.

Well boys and girls, the news about town is that Pieces of Eight Gallery in the city is about a week away!!! Just in time for Christmas! Start walking by when you're around Melbourne town to see if the doors have opened. Head down Russel Place, (btw lt Collins and Burke st).

Here's a couple of rings that make up part of an exclusive collection i've been working on for PO8.

The reddish stones are carnelian, the other two in the last pic here are painted timber.

Some new works...#3

With Open Studios snapping at my heals recently, i found myself in a flurry of new work production. With no brief or boundaries restricting what i made, the output became quite random and diverse, which was quite nice and confusing at the same time. Here's an attempt (in a 3 post series), to organise some of the work, though by no means did these pieces necessarily come about in this order, but they did all occur roughly within a two month time frame. Phew! Now it's full steam ahead getting the last of my pieces ready for the upcoming exhibition... stay tuned!

Frond Pendants.

A little something something i'm working on. These should be out and about in the next few weeks. + Keep a look out for info to come on this year's annual Nicholas Building Studio Open Days. This range of pendants and their friends may well be making an appearance. Save the dates 19 + 20th of August, i'm pretty sure thats when we'll be opening our doors... i'll keep you posted.

Upcoming Craft Vic show and new E.g.etal pieces.

The first two images are to give a heads up and little update on my work slowly coming together for a very exciting show happening in September at Craft Victoria. Karla and i will be presenting a body of work in the main gallery exploring themes of talismanic and lucky charms titled Bad Beasts Do Not Harm Me. Each of us are approaching the topic individually, tapping into our own research into myth, ceremony, superstition and ritual, exploring the potent and transformative capabilities of materials and belief.

The last image is of some new work being developed for e.g.etal. This blue set titled Lagoon has been dropped off already, with more colours on the way.

Pieces of Eight - new work.

Photography: Andrew Barcham

Images Courtesy of Pieces of Eight gallery.

First batch of work getting ready for the new Pieces of Eight gallery opening up very soon in Russell pl, Melbourne CBD.

Rings

Some more rings. Seems to be the flavour of the month/s.

Top image is of a small batch dropped off to Craft Victoria using sapphires and oxidised sterling silver. The bottom image is a couple of commissioned wedders, with the small being in 18ct white gold, the larger in 9ct white gold.

New rings...

New rings for E.g.etal and Craft Victoria.

I have started introducing precious gems into my E.g.etal collection. Using fancy sapphires and rubies, i set my own stones, creating one-off, curious and enchanted treasures.

Craft Victoria is also having a one-off ring range introduced to their existing collection of my work. Lots of fun and mystery being born from our little studio.