By Stephanie Williams at e.g.etal

There is a warmth as you enter the studio of Natalia Milosz-Piekarska. It could be the sun streaming in the window, or the glow of the timber furniture, but it’s probably more likely to be Natalia’s down to earth nature and sense of spirit.

I spent some time discovering the story behind Natalia’s graphic and tactile pieces.

Natalia at her desk

Pot plants taking in some sun

How did you become a jewellery designer?

After school, I completed a Bachelor of Graphic Design at Monash. My father is an architect and was always illustrating, painting and doing graphic design on the side so it wasn’t an unusual choice for me to do something creative like that too.

In my graphic design work I produced tangible and handmade designs, like collages. My teachers said the designs wouldn’t be sustainable in the ‘real world’ of graphic design. In my final year I took an elective with contemporary jeweller Marian Hosking, planting the seed of jewellery as a possible career choice in my mind.

After uni I spent time travelling and while on my journeys I sketched. The sketches all seemed to come back to jewellery and tangible objects. It was too much to ignore so I enrolled in a couple of short courses at CAE to learn more about jewellery making. I could see that the contemporary jewellery scene in Melbourne was evolving strongly with galleries like Ingot, Funaki and e.g.etal dedicated to emerging and established artists.

I went back to uni to study a Bachelor of Fine Arts  - gold and silversmithing and went on to complete honours. It took me a little time to work out where I slotted in to the scene. I was wary of oversimplifying my designs or the concepts behind them, or using casts to mass-produce my pieces. Remaining true to my fine arts background has sometimes been commercially difficult, particularly when I’m trying to constrain big ideas into small objects.

How would you describe your work?

My jewellery has a strong graphic presence and is very tactile. My work is often colourful and always handmade. Everything is a one off and hand rendered, it’s organic and doesn’t look technically minded or machined. My exhibition work challenges scale and wearability.

The materials I use vary. A piece could be made from bone, found timber, silver or beads. I use wax to model the components if they need forming, otherwise I use found objects that speak to me.

I’m currently going through a necklace phase, which relates to my interest in amulets and talisman, both historical and present day. To me a necklace is an object that you carry as well as wear, the wearer often grabbing it with their hands, enjoying the tactility.

Necklaces waiting for new owners

Natalia at work

Is there a common theme that links your designs?

Amulets and talisman fascinate me, their form and shape and the materials they are made from. Jewellery has a spirituality and emotion connected to it. I like to explore the connection of established practices such as spirituality or tribal symbolism to pieces of jewellery, and look at the personal aspect of why we imbue so much into it.

My goal is to create a piece with character and a story so that the right person will connect with it. I want the wearer to feel something for the piece, then it truly belongs to them.

Is your creative process ordered or organic?

It starts very orderly. Researching ideas is important to my process. Once the historical, material or cultural background is there the process becomes organic, for example I might start to whittle a piece of wood and see what happens. It might sound silly but I listen to what the material wants to do, what it is saying to me, and it begins to form a personality. It’s a very natural and evolutionary process after the initial research foundation.

Promise pendent by Natalia

What have been some of your favourite projects, exhibitions or collaborations to be involved in?

I share my studio with fellow contemporary jewellery designer, Karla Way. Karla and I have produced work for the upcoming exhibition at e.g.etal, FIGMENT, as part of the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival. I’m not just saying this because you are interviewing, but I am really excited to have the opportunity to break away from my regular work and concentrate on some bigger pieces. Karla and I are also looking forward to our duo show later in the year at Craft Victoria in the Gallery One space, that’s a first for us!

How do you stay connected to the wider creative community in Melbourne and internationally?

Being involved in exhibitions really helps to stay connected to the wider creative community, but it’s mainly through our friends. I’m involved with Penthouse Mouse, a pop-up space for emerging and semi-established artists and designers, opening on 5^th March. I stay connected through other friends in the industry, and sharing the studio with Karla introduces me to music circles, as she is a musician too. Collaborations with other artists and groups is a great way to connect.

Europe it a melting pot for contemporary jewellery, which is prolific and inspirational and has a knock on effect on the way jewellery is perceived and appreciated here. Many would say that Australia, and Melbourne in particular, are just as prolific in their output as Europe which is encouraging for the domestic industry.

Some desktop inspiration

Tools of the trade

Speaking of inspiration, where do you find your inspiration? Is this ever a formal process?

I find my inspiration everywhere. I am on 24/7. When I try to go to sleep, my brain starts filing everything I have seen and experienced in my day. I have to get up to write it all down! I always have my camera with me, and I spend time researching on the internet and in books.

With my work being research based as well as aesthetic, finding inspiration and then researching it to find out more about why it inspires me is important. Researching historical jewellery design as well as tribal, folk and ethnic traditions definitely informs the work that I do.

Conceptually I love the work of French artist Annette Messager. She uses found objects, photographs, prints and drawings to explore themes of domesticity and nostalgia but in a way messes up the traditional way we may think of it. Antony Gormly is another source of inspiration for me, the way he investigates the body as a place of memory and transformation. His landscape works are among my favourites.

Little pot plant friends

How did you find the transition from being a jewellery student to running your own small business? Was this taught in your course or did you have to rely on industry contacts or your own research for guidance?

Our teachers at RMIT spent a small amount of time on professional practice but probably not enough to confidently step out and set yourself up. I was lucky in the fact that during my graphic design degree I observed the students who worked in the industry in addition to their course, were the ones who succeeded much faster as they were able to start straight away. I remembered this when I was studying jewellery and tried to start while I was still at uni. I got a couple of stockists who, through experiencing their processes, taught me how to invoice, for example, giving me a soft landing when I started for real.

When setting up after finishing uni it was hard to know how to actually set up the space, so the annual Nicholas Building open studios are also a great way to see what other jewellers are doing.

You can see more of Natalia Milosz-Piekarska’s work as part of FIGMENT, showing from 16 March until 31 March at e.g.etal.

By guest writer, Lucy Feagins from The Design Files.

Anna Davern greets visitors to her city studio with an infectious smile and a warm, friendly welcome … so it’s no surprise to discover that much of her work also has a cheeky sense of fun about it! Inspired by kitschy images of Australiana with their references to native flora and fauna, Anna collects 1950’s biscuit tins, painstakingly slicing out the bright saturated images emblazoned on their lids, and giving them new life as unique assemblages to wear or to keep. In their own jovial way, these creations give a nod to the past – and seem to acknowledge the diverse and colourful nature of contemporary Australian culture.

But if there’s one thing that characterises Anna’s prolific creative output, it’s variety. Alongside her uniquely Australian keepsakes, Anna also creates intricate object-based work and striking silver jewellery, often finished with bright vintage beads and gemstones. Her earrings have a distinctive, vibrant personality about them – organic dangly forms, slightly irregular in shape, with tightly-packed colourful beads woven between their silver edges. Whilst varied, Anna’s work always seems linked by a brilliant sense of colour and fun – it’s as if each miniature creation is infused with Anna’s own cheerfulness and unique sense of humour!

Anna is another veteran of the Melbourne jewellery community – she’s been working from the same studio in Flinders Lane since 1994! She shares the space with fellow jewellers Nicky Hepburn and Cass Partington. After 15 years together, there really does seem to be a magical connection between these three talented artists.

Anna Davern in her studio space

Earrings just finished

Tell me a little about your background – what path led you to what you’re doing now?

I’ve been practicing as a jeweller for over 15 years now and so many different choices have led me along the path I have travelled. When I was at school, I was good at science and maths and so when I went to uni I thought this was the direction in which I should go. But after 3 years of study and no achievement of a degree I realised that that path wasn’t for me.

I did some short courses in life drawing and jewellery making while attempting to pursue a career in film and television and pretty soon worked out that my desire to make ‘things’ outweighed my desire to make films, although an element of story telling still informs my practice.

I did my undergraduate degree at Sydney College of the Arts in Jewellery and Object Design and then completed my postgraduate studies at RMIT in Melbourne.

I’ve been working from the same studio in Flinders Lane since I moved to Melbourne in 1994.

Inside Anna's studio

How would you describe your work? What common themes link each of your designs?

I love to make things that people want to touch, hold and wear and my work reflects a variety of influences and obsessions. I have an interest in the sentimental nature of jewellery and the miniature object, and my work is characterized by the use of floral and botanical references.

I am also interested in investigating an idea of ‘Australian-ness’ and I enjoy playing with cultural stereotypes to investigate notions of national identity. I use the images from old Bushell’s tea tins, Arnott’s biscuit tins and other tins scavenged from garage sales, op-shops and roadside skips. The images on the tins are used to construct fantastical hybrid creatures and strange altered landscapes and are part Aussie folk craft, part comment on cultural intervention, part humorous acknowledgement of the hybrid nature of contemporary Australian culture.

My interest in re-using biscuit tins to make jewellery stems from the practice, by early Australian artisans, of “making do” and using whatever materials they had to hand to build their domestic objects. I have a beautiful chest of drawers that is built from old orange crates and I’ve always loved the ‘bush pantry’ in the collection of the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, which is a rotary food safe built from an old 44 gallon drum complete with circular shaped drawers.

Biscuit tin Australiana brooch

You are described as a contemporary jewellery and object maker. How does your object-based work complement your jewellery? Do you clearly distinguish between these two areas when starting work on a new project, or do your creations flow freely from wearable to object-based?

It depends on what ideas I’m working with. If what I want to ‘say’ lends itself to being wearable then I’ll work out where it belongs on the body. My recent work has been concerned with identity so the brooch is the obvious format to use. In the past I have been interested in the physical engagement with objects so my jewellery has been more body focussed. I was interested in studying that physical response to an emotional reaction and that desire to touch and engage with small objects.

What have been some favourite special projects, exhibitions or collaborations you’ve been involved in?

Undertaking a residency at the Estonian Academy of Art in Tallinn in 2007 is one of the highlights of my career so far. Another is the collaboration I did with Brigette Cameron for the scarf festival at Craft Victoria in 2005. Brigette is a textile artist whose practice involves ‘performance knitting’. During the festival Brigette occupied the windows of Craft Victoria in Flinders Lane and invited 4 different artists to join her and make work responding to the theme of colour over the 4 days of the festival.

One of the main challenges faced by independent designer / makers is the challenge of working alone. Do you work alone or do you share your creative space? How do you keep connected to the design community, and who do you bounce off for valuable feedback?

I work from my light filled studio on the eighth floor of a building in Flinders Lane, Melbourne. I’ve been in the same studio for 15 years and have been sharing the space with Nicky Hepburn and Cass Partington for the last 10. I need to share my workspace. I love the camaraderie and the company. I occasionally entertain the idea of working from home and saving money on studio rent but never for very long. I love Flinders Lane and most of my suppliers are in the city. Craft Victoria is a great resource for keeping connected to the design community. They organise lots of events around their exhibition program and Craft Almanac, the monthly newsletter, ensures I’m up to date with the latest.

Anna's work space

Cut out gemstones

Where do you turn for creative inspiration – nature, travel, books, the web?

Nature and traditional jewellery designs, old magazines, op-shops, graphic design, architecture, everything!

Which designers, artists or creative people do you admire?

Kara Walker, Helen Britton, Karin Seufert, Kirsten Coelho, Louise Weaver, Fiona Hall, Peter Tully…

What would be your dream project?

Working with the Quay Brothers.

Written by Lucy Feagins from The Design Files.

Rings by Sarh Heyward

We recently went to the NMIT graduate exhibition, MINT. It was really impressive. There was a huge amount of work. The range of designs and concepts was diverse and the technical execution was of a really high standard. Congratulations to the students and NMIT staff for putting together a fantastic show.

As part of our philosophy to support emerging designers, we have established the e.g.etal graduate award. Our award is available to all accredited institutions teaching jewellery design or gold and silversmithing. The award involves a cash prize, access to e.g.etal staff for advice on starting a design business after graduating and the opportunity to show a range of work through e.g.etal.

This year the NMIT e.g.etal graduate award went to Sarah Heyward. We love her use of steel, gold and silver. This work, and other pieces will be available at e.g.etal early next year, when we will have more information and images.

Nicky, Amy, Anna and Camilla 2009

As you all know, e.g.etal is now into it’s second decade. That first 10 years seems like such a significant  anniversary in a life-cycle.  Recently there has been opportunity to reflect over  those years. So much has happened!  We have also noticed that we are now helping the next generation to buy beautiful pieces of jewellery. Recently a long-time customer of ours bought his son in to buy a piece of jewellery for the son’s girlfriend. How sweet is that?

Over these years we have represented many artists. And there are a few who have been with us for the whole 10 years!!   We decided this was definitely cause for celebration. As an artist there is no long-service leave, golden handshakes, gold watches and even public recognition can be hard to come by. In light of this, e.g.etal organised Christmas drinks for all our artists and the presentation of our Decade of Dedication Award to the four artists who have been with us for 10 years: Anna Davern, Camilla Gough, Nicky Hepburn and Amy Renshaw.

As contemporary jewellery designers, we work in a very small, niche, sometimes obscure, field. We use ancient and traditional techniques to create contemporary concepts in materials which range from society’s recycled cast-offs to global commodities such as gold.

Yes, you could call it obscure at times! Yet it is a field that e.g.etal is committed to keeping alive. And thriving. And thankfully we have some very committed artists who continue to inspire us on a daily basis. People who fan the flame of dying traditions  and who make valuable contributions to our cultural psyche.

As a tribute to these artists we began our annual Decade of Dedication Award program.  This year each recipient received a bottle of French champagne with strict instructions to celebrate this significant milestone with a group of friends. And to make sure they did we gave them each a voucher to one of Melbourne’s finest restaurants.

Over the next few months we will be profiling each of these artists on this blog…

by Guest Writer, Lucy Feagins of The Design Files

Camilla Gough in her Studio

Astro is ready to play!!

Within moments of meeting, it’s clear that Camilla Gough has an incredible energy – her green eyes are bright and animated as she talks about her creative practise, and it’s hard not to be enthused by her beautiful work and such engaging, lively conversation!  Camilla is truly the kind of person who is just completely present and focused during conversation – she looks you directly in the eye as she chats… and you get the sense that she’s really, truly listening! It’s hard to believe Camilla is a self-taught jeweller – her incredible skill and precise work speaks volumes for her determination to master her trade.  After studying sculpture at the VCA, Camilla lucked upon a private commission for a customised watchband.  It was this project that sparked her initial interest in jewellery, and encouraged Camilla to seek out the skills required to perfect her craft. Camilla views her practise as creating ‘small pieces of art’ – 3D objects that tell a secret story. She has a particular talent for storytelling. Camilla often coaxes highly personal stories from her clients and weaves these special details into their design.  When working on custom engagement rings, she learns as much about her client as possible – she’s been known to request photos of the recipient’s home, favourite clothes and shoes(!) to really ensure that each piece truly reflects the wearer. Her style is clear and self-assured, yet it’s ever-evolving and full of surprises – no two pieces by Camilla Gough are ever quite the same.

The view fro Camilla’s Studio

STUDIO VISIT AND INTERVIEW

Tell me a little about your background – what path led you to what you’re doing now?

I have a bachelor of fine arts in sculpture from VCA, my final year was on scholarship at Kansas city art institute in Kansas city USA. The path that led me to what I’m doing now wasn’t set from the beginning.  There are a few specific experiences that directed me towards jewellery – in particular, a private commission for a customised watchband, which was the first piece of jewellery I ever made after finishing university.  It was whilst working on this project that I taught myself the basics of making jewellery. The first time I made a collection of jewellery was for a Japanese buyer from a company in Tokyo that specialised in scouring the back streets of design conscious cities finding new design.  A friend was wearing a pendant I had made which caught the attention of the buyer and he called me and asked if I had a collection for him to see. I told him to come by at the end of the week and in three days I made my first collection of jewellery, and it was pretty wild.  I didn’t have time to consider a style – it just poured out of me as raw aesthetic. He bought the lot and I had my first show in Tokyo.  I taught myself how to work in precious metals, slowly over about 16 years now I’ve taught myself the trade.  I look at my work as small pieces of art, I decided from the beginning that if I was going to make jewellery I would only make my designs, it was to be my sculpture.

How would you describe your work?

Hmmmm…. I always find this tough, especially when I’m standing at a party and someone asks… I don’t wear jewellery  which makes it even more difficult!  My work is very considered in all aspects, from the design, construction, and materials used.  I definitely have a distinct style in my making and I think the manner to which I construct my work plays a part in this distinction.  I seem to have two streams of style, mechanical, and fluid/organic.  The work is entirely handmade, I’m useless at production, virtually everything I make is a variation of another.  I make constantly so there is delicate evolution going on everyday with my work.  It’s reasonably bold, but there is space in my work to keep it quiet.

The ring on the left was inspired by a bushwalking trip in Tasmania, and depicts the mountain range of Frenchman’s Cap. The ring on the right is entitled ‘Mallee Night Sky’ – inspired by the incredible star-filled skies in the Mallee, North Western Victoria.

Wedding bands designed for a  couple who were married in Cape Town, South Africa and who then flew to Mudgee, NSW for a ceremony in Australia.  The rings incorporate scenery from each of these special locations – on the outside Camilla has traced the outline of Table Mountain in Cape Town, on the inside of the rings, the scenery at Mudgee which formed a backdrop for the Australian ceremony.  Luckily the couple share exactly the same ring-size!  Apart, the rings are abstract – but when placed together they tell a story.

How do you structure your creative output – is there a common theme which links each piece of work?  Do you develop ranges for the seasons, or is each piece entirely unique and set apart from the rest?

Almost everything I make is unique.  My work is individually commissioned, and as I have a thing for making rings I’ve fallen into the wonderful market of love, engagements and weddings.  I work with people’s stories.  I want a client to leave my studio wearing something that represents the place they are at that moment, so the piece becomes part of them.

One of the main challenges faced by independent designer / makers is the challenge of working alone.  How is your studio structured?  Do you work alone or do you share your creative space?  How do you keep connected to the design community, and who do you bounce off for valuable feedback?

I’ve worked in my own space for years, I like the privacy of my own studio, I don’t have problem with working alone, in fact I treasure it.  I bounce ideas off friends most of whom are artists.  A friend, who I studied with at VCA, Jason Patterson, has worked off and on with me from the beginning, we learnt the trade from each other.  He’s an amazing craftsperson and my closest ally in jewellery.  Another friend Sia comes for two days a week as my assistant, she herself is a craftsperson so is great with feedback.

Where do you turn for creative inspiration – nature, travel, books, the web?  Do you pay attention to trends in the broader design world like architecture, fashion, etc?

I’m not dictated by fashion but at the same time you make for a current environment.  I don’t actively seek inspiration, I find it in everything around me. Sorry that’s a vague answer – it stumps me every time, along with ‘how do you describe your work’!

Which designers, artists or creative people do you admire?

A long list of artists – Sally Smart, Louise Hearman, Ah Xian, Ilka White, John Wolseley, Anna Davern…

What does a typical day at work involve for you?

I’m always busy with a lot of small detail.  I make everyday.  I quite often meet with clients to discuss the design of their jewellery.  The initial meeting with new clients I encourage them to talk about himself/herself or their partner so I can begin to formulate a thread of an idea to work with.  I sit and think about design quite a lot.  I always go for a run with my dog, Astro.  Then there’s heaps of boring paperwork/quoting etc to figure out.

What would be your dream project?

Gosh I always dream….  It would probably currently be;  realising two sculpture and drawing installations that circulate in my mind.  They’re both quite different and have no relationship to my jewellery.  I love to draw, it’s something I have done since I could lift a pencil.  My drawing style is very loose which is not like my jewellery.  It probably would have made more sense to have specialised in drawing but I’ve always liked to keep it as mine.  The line is immediate which is very freeing compared to jewellery.   I do need to have a space outside my workshop to do artwork, I find it difficult to combine the space.

One of Camilla’s drawings

IN THE STUDIO

What do you see from your studio window?

An amazing view over Flinders Street Station down St Kilda Road.

The view from Camilla’s Studio

What music is on your daily playlist right now?

Radio National, and my friend Christopher Coe’s new Digital Primate album (plug)

Your drink of choice whilst working?

Hot water, I ran out of tea about 5 years ago and still haven’t replaced it, and wine later.

“The best thing about my studio is…….” ?

it’s my space

Jewellery by Camilla Gough is available at e.g.etal

The beautiful Nicholas Building where Camilla works

Camilla’s Workbench

Camilla working on a ring