Metal

These studs are made from fine silver, with a sterling silver post and backing. They are thin and delicate, made to imitate fabric. As fabric is malleable, these earrings are also malleable if too much pressure is applied to them. 

Fine silver is even more precious than sterling silver with 99.9% purity. These earrings should be handled like the precious objects they are.

Materials: Fine silver, sterling silver

Dimensions: L 12 mm x W 4 mm x D 7 mm 

Meet the Maker: Nicola Knackstredt discovered silversmithing as an adult, and stepped away from a career as a human rights lawyer to pursue her interest. She studied Gold & Silversmithing at the Australian National University in Canberra, where she was recognised for excellence in gold and silversmithing in her first year of studies. Nicola has since turned her interest into a business.

Photo: Maddie Manning Photography 

The This Mess series explores our values and relationships with single-use plastic, transforming discarded waste into precious and one-off artefacts.

Each piece is individually sculpted from polystyrene, transformed into sterling silver and hand painted. 

Materials: sterling silver, enamel paint, stainless steel fastener.

Dimensions: Approx H 25 mm x W 20 mm

About the Maker: Polly Dymond creates contemporary jewellery objects from her studio at JamFactory Adelaide.

Dymond's current practice is driven by a deep love of the natural and elemental combined with despair over the loss of craftsmanship and disposability of contemporary objects and materials (plastic, plastic, plastic)! The resulting jewellery and objects possess a duality of process; forging and forming exploring ancient traditional techniques alongside the manipulation and metamorphosis of discarded single use packaging and plastics, transforming them into precious and permanent artefacts. 

"Roman Holiday" series is based on forms from ancient Roman archaeological digs. 

Materials: Recycled sterling silver, cast from a hand carved wax model. 

Dimensions: 250 mm curb chain | Pendant D 20 mm

Meet the Maker: Erin Daniell is a contemporary jeweller and visual artist in Adelaide, South Australia.  Her works explore the concept of beauty and imperfection, in the form of small-scale sculptures cast from hand carved wax or natural materials with traditional silversmithing techniques. As a female artist she believes that jewellery can be a powerful marker of identity and expression.

"Roman Holiday" series is based on forms from ancient Roman archaeological digs. 

Materials: Recycled sterling silver, cast from a hand carved wax model. 

Dimensions: D 20 mm

Meet the Maker: Erin Daniell is a contemporary jeweller and visual artist in Adelaide, South Australia.  Her works explore the concept of beauty and imperfection, in the form of small-scale sculptures cast from hand carved wax or natural materials with traditional silversmithing techniques. As a female artist she believes that jewellery can be a powerful marker of identity and expression.

Dimensions: 3cm diameter; length from hook, 6cm 

About the Artist: Sarra Tzijan is an Indian-Australian artist originally from Melbourne currently based at JamFactory in Adelaide, South Australia.

Tzijan’s practice spans sculpture, jewellery and design, focusing on the combination of traditional craft hand skills with contemporary art.

There is a strong reference to illustration that featured more prominently early in her career. Tzijan often treats the metal like paper, marking it in a way that is intuitive and spontaneous.

Tzijan often brings in other hands, voices and materials in her processes, acknowledging the importance of others in the making.

Dimensions: Internal diameter 14mm

Meet the Maker: Sarra Tzijan is an Indian-Australian artist originally from Melbourne currently based at JamFactory in Adelaide, South Australia.

Tzijan’s practice spans sculpture, jewellery and design, focusing on the combination of traditional craft hand skills with contemporary art.

There is a strong reference to illustration that featured more prominently early in her career. Tzijan often treats the metal like paper, marking it in a way that is intuitive and spontaneous.

Tzijan often brings in other hands, voices and materials in her processes, acknowledging the importance of others in the making.

Materials: Hollow, pale blue titanium

Dimensions: 32mm

Meet the Maker: Sarah Murphy maintains her practice in Canberra at M16 Artspace where she creates her work to exhibit nationally.

She says of her work ‘Rhythm, repetition and movement are the fundamentals which are often the driving forces behind my work. I use repetition as a rhythm and a play between worlds of colour, movement and shape. In life we experience repetition every day. The simple act of walking, breathing or the sound of our own heartbeat. The gesture or movement of the human body, creating its own random yet syncopated pattern. The use of repetition in my work creates structure.  The presence of structure in our lives gives us the sense that we are somehow in control of our own existence. I enjoy creating jewellery with these characteristics and exploring how this might affect the relationship between the wearer the viewer and the piece itself.’

Artist statement: My work examines the loss of habitat and our concept of identity. Replacement by the generic that diminishes who we are.  I produce fragments of Australiana as a demonstration of how easily we lose the detail and cultural stamp of our personal landscape.

I am researching the ceramics of Wembley Ware that produces uniquely Australian images and prosaic generic images.

Works are lush to highlight how easily we are seduced by pretty things. This Wembley Ware series is identified by the use of white earthen ware, use of lustres and potent Australian images.

I use lots of generic items to highlight how readily we accept the generic. This acceptance erodes national identity and leads to the devaluation of all things native to Australia.  The devaluation of the personal process is aided and abetted by globalisation.

I am a classically trained artist from the National Art School East Sydney.   I have a long history of teaching in the secondary and tertiary contexts.  I am now concentrating on my personal practice.

Materials: Recycled Plates with gold over glaze detail.

Dimensions: Approx diameter 17cm

Meet the Maker: Sophi Suttor's work examines the loss of habitat and its replacement by the generic she is looking at specimens through the filter of the work of Rohan Ellis. Producing fragments of the generic as a demonstration of how easily we lose the detail and cultural stamp of our personal landscape

Works are childlike and toy like to highlight how easily we are seduced by pretty things. Using lots of generic flowers and toy like items to highlight how readily we accept the generic. This acceptance erodes national identity and leads to devaluation of all things native to Australia this process is aided and abetted by globalisation.