email me :hellothula@gmail.com
My name is Jessica (You can call me Jess though).. and I am the one woman show behind Thula jewellery.
My passion for hand forging jewellery started when I began my first apprenticeship
in 2008. Even although I had studied jewellery design & manufacturing before, there
are many big differences between studying this work and actually doing it. I didn’t
fully realize what I was getting involved in until I began hand forging fine
jewellery, full time.
I began to develop a passion, and love for hand making fine jewellery. I began to
love everything about the process.
It wasnt until last year, after setting up a fully kitted out workshop at home that I
began to really think about what it really was that I wanted to make, and the type
of jewellery that I myself would love to wear. I really began to fully realize and
appreciate just what I could do with my tools, equipment and my two hands.
I found working for myself liberating , and I grew to find new energy and motivation - which I build on everyday.
I emerged myself in my workshop, and in my sketch
(doodle) books. During this time I began working for myself, and on my own, I
made a lot of mistakes, and didn’t quite know what I was doing a lot of the time –
and in turn, I learnt a lot. I have become a much better, and more confident jeweller through this.
I started day dreaming about having an etsy store about 3 years ago when I first
stumbled upon the site.
I really liked the handmade concept of the e-commerce site, and would always
spend hours scanning through the hundreds of items I'd totally buy if I just
knew how!
…Then one day, I did some research and realized that there wasnt actually much
holding me back from having an etsy store.. so I thought, why not just give it a
bash. It is a wonderful extra to my work, and I find that it keeps me busy when
local work gets a bit quiet. I am constantly changing and developing both my
etsy store aswell as my blog, and am excited to see where the online part of my
jewellery business will take me.
I put a lot of time into marketing and promoting online, through platforms such as
tumblr, twitter, facebook, pinterest & flickr just to name a few. It seems to pay
off, but it can be hard work.
As I have been trained by a number of professional goldsmiths, I can really
appreciate fine jewellery, but I also have a love for the imperfect.
I understand the concept of fine jewellery, and can deliver what the client wants
in terms of a fine jewellery piece, however - I also appreciate the character, and
what is unique about a rustic (roughed up, “unfinished”) piece of jewellery.
No two are the same. Each piece has their own sort of battle wounds which to
me is a little kind of... beautiful.
Jewellery doesn’t always have to look perfect and identical to the one made
before it. Perfect can very easily be boring. I like to celebrate this idea, with
my rustic jewellery pieces.
As I am still learning, and growing as a jeweller, I plan to offer designs in gold,
palladium and platinum in the near future.
For now... my appetite for "the shiny" is satisfied with the sterling silver I work
in, which also makes my jewellery affordable and within the reach of many.
I love doing custom work, and love to create something special and unqiue for a
client.
I have made jewellery for clients in Japan, Switzerland, Norway, Canada, America, Greece, Thailand, Germany, Belgium, Australia and South Africa.
Many are repeat clients - this is the biggest compliment.
Thank-you for taking the time to read a little bit about my background and my
work.
I hope you will take the time to read and enjoy my blog. ♥
I have been interviewed & featured on a number of blogs, take a look :
Thoughts on "handmade" ...
" The ascendancy of chain store culture and global manufacturing has left us dressing, furnishing, and decorating alike. We are encouraged to be consumers, not producers, of our own culture. Our ties to the local and human sources of our goods have been lost. Buying handmade helps us reconnect. " - http://www.buyhandmade.org/why-buy-handmade
Nothing you can find in any hypermarket, or walmart, can compare to something that has been handmade.
There is an undeniable piece of the maker in every handmade item – a spirit that invisibly marks every piece in a special way that no mainstream, mass produced item can.
I found this while reading Meagan Vissers' blog (meagenvisser.com) and I think her words just sum up what I'm trying to say perfectly.
"When you buy something that is handmade by an individual, whether you realize it or not, you are showing your support for another human being. You are saying, I’d rather buy this original oil painting from you and wait for you to ship it to me than head down to Rooms to Go and pick up a piece today that is twice as large and half the cost.
Why? Because of the quality. Because of the time, thought, and effort that went into your original work of art. The blood, sweat, and tears (figuratively speaking) that you went through to ultimately call this work “finished”. And most importantly, because I would rather give the money to you and help support a small business like my own, than to a corporation with mass-produced products that will never even know my name."
Buy Handmade ♥ Be unique.
