I Don't have To Be Good At EVERYTHING

Being an artist/designer/craftsperson/writer or whatever creative area you are in really means that you are just not able be an artist/designer/craftsperson/writer or whatever. You have to be so much more if you are going to be successful. I guess we all tend to work this out quickly enough and realise that we can add marketer, web technician, accountant and many other titles to our job description.

At first I probably resisted this need. Hey I just want to make stuff. Shouldn't that really be what's all about? But it soon dawned on me that it didn't matter how great I thought my stuff was if no one else knew about it. So I started expanding my skills.

Although I have (generally) been happy to do this, I also realise that I will never be great at everything. I just don't have the time to learn as much as actual graphic designers, accountants, photographers etc. So whenever I can (cash flow or the kindness of others permitting)I'll get some help and hopefully in the future this will be more often.

I think to truly be successful you have to be good at many things. One of those things is choosing the right people to assist you. This way you don't have to be great at everything, just the thing that you really do best.

Stella Danalis has designed all my current stationery

Balancing Act

My studio schedule has changed and I am now only in at MoB one day a week. For the past few years, as a resident member of MoB Workspace, I have been dividing my time fairly equally between this group studio and my home studio. Since late last year I found that this balancing act just wasn't working out for me and something was going to have to give. The problem was simply that I was getting too busy and needed to be as productive as possible. Productivity meant time to make my jewellery with all my various bits and bobs and time at the computer. Both of these were just more easily done at home.

I have such mixed feeling about this change. I do feel less stressed and more organised (my house is actually sort of clean right now!). It is a little scary to be on my own more often because being a part of a group is stimulating and has helped my practice enormously. Luckily I'm still a part of MoB, and more recently Umbrella Collective plus I feel a part of this (very real) online community. So perhaps I shouldn't really feel alone.

For the rest of the year I'll be in the MoB studio on Thursdays. So if any of you are ever in Brisbane please pop by and see me as I'd love to meet you! Also I hope one day to have a short-term residency in another studio in another place. So if you know of any openings please let me know , because I'd love that too!

Funny Plastic People

"The most complete creative freedom – the greatest achievement in contemporary jewellery - was the discovery of plastic.." so says Graziella Folchini Grassetto. I'm with you Graziella. Read the rest of the presentation here.

Listed below are a couple of my favourite top notch plastic jewellers. They may not only use plastic, but the use of it seems to be an important part of their practice. Plus they all have a sense of humour that seems central to what they do and to the kind of jewellery they make.

Lisa Walker

Ted Noten

Felieke van der Leest


Felieke van der Leest neckpiece, pictured above

The Jewellery Shoppe

Here is a photo of my Dad in his jewellery shop. The shop was located on Elizabeth St Sydney City, opposite Hyde Park. This must have been in its early days because Dad is looking very 70's, and at the beginning the focus was on lapidary supplies, crystal and mineral specimens. Apparently much of their specimen collection was donated to the Australia Museum.

By all rights I should know a lot about specimens. Mum and Dad were both members of the local lapidary club (I'd fall asleep under the chair at meetings), they owned a mine in Queensland, they used to go fossicking, we had heaps of specimens at home and I remember once being picked up early from school (every kid's dream) to go to the Mining Museum at The Rocks (well at least I wasn't at school).It seems like none of this education has sunk in as I couldn't tell you the difference between agate and quartz.

Resin is the only jewellery that really stands out for me from the jewellery shop days. As a child I remember dad mixing up all the fabulous resin colours and casting brooches in silicone moulds. The bright colours, shapes and unpleasant smells are all easily recalled.

I don't really know why I only really remember a relatively small part of these jewellery years. All I can guess is that perhaps at such an early age my tastes were clear and my future direction was already set.

AUD + USD = Thank Goodness That's Done

Perhaps it was a weekend away at the Gold Coast that has inspired me to sort out my online shop. There was plenty of shopping to be had plus I've come back feeling rather queasy. So I just wasn't up for any making. Instead I have sat myself down at the computer for seemingly endless hours dividing my shop up into an Australian section and an International section.

It seems like an improvement to me, so let's hope it all works!
Now that's done I'm just going for a little lie down...

Newsletter # 2

The second newsletter has been sent and I am wondering if it is really worth all the effort? I think so, although it may be a little early to start weighing it up! I know it did help me be more organised this week and that has be be a good thing, because some days....

Here is a sneak peek (unless you have signed up already) at my new fortnightly Newsletter (#1) .

Thanks for looking.

FTV

FTV (Fashion TV) is one of the most painful channels to watch. I'm not sure what I dislike most, perhaps it's the irritating filming techniques (jump cuts, changing camera speed and a shaking hand held style that makes you feel sea sick) , the horrid soundtrack, interviews with models & designers in there native language (no subtitles) or the (far too regular) daggy promos. Anyway saying all that it is a channel that I think I should be watching daily. Whenever I switch over and watch it even for a short time (which is usually all I can bare) I see some amazing jewellery. When fashion designers incorporate accessories into their catwalk shows the jewellery more often than not appears to be big, bold and plastic.

For research purposes I will be adding regular viewing of FTV to my schedule. For sanity purposes I'll be taping it and fast forwarding to the good bits.

Jay McCarroll 2007, pictured above

Tamsin Howells Likes lollies Too

UK jewellery designer Tamsin Howells contacted me the other day to say she loved my work. Thank you Tamsin and right back at you. I took this opportunity to find out more about her methods.

Tamsin says she uses a lamination technique that employs resin to sandwich together two sheets of plastic (acrylic) with vintage fabrics and lolly wrappers trapped in the centre. The fabric pieces are really lovely but I do especially love the use of "sweets" wrappers, as seen in the bird series.

"I adore colour and feel by wearing a splash of colour around your neck or wrist can lift up an outfit and one’s mood", says Tamsin. I'll have to say that I agree there too!

Free The Pink Bottles

Free plastic - I like the sound of that! In fact very little of the plastics I use have been obtained without cost, although much is recycled. Yesterday I did get some for free and realised just how many opportunities for this there actually were.

After months of eyeing off the pink plastic bottles at the local ice cream parlor I decided to ask them if I could collect them once empty. The manager saying 'yes' wasn't terribly surprising although I was surprised at just how enthusiastic his 'yes' was. He carefully explained how he always put the bottles in the recycled bin but he was pleased to know that by giving them to me he knew they would definitely be recycled. He has promised to put them aside for me from now on.

The hairdressers were super busy last night but next time I'll pop in and ask for their bottles. Hair products come in such pretty coloured plastics. I hope that they will be just as happy to help. Well, there is no harm in asking!

TUPPERWARE



Tupperware has a lifetime guarantee. In Australia this means that if a piece is damaged through normal use you can take it back to your friendly Tupperware Lady for a brand new replacement. The damaged piece is apparently sent off for recycling and gets turned into flower pots and the like. In the US I've heard (from the lips of a US Tupperware Lady) the same deal applies, except the piece doesn't get recycled. Instead a black marker gets run across it before it gets tossed in the bin. The thought of all those lovely coloured lids being turned into landfill, when I could be making jewellery out of them, is just too sad!!!

Tupperware users of the world feel free to send your damaged goods directly to me. I promise I will put every last bit of it to good use!