Our freshest Meet The Maker is an amazing jewellery designer with a heart of solid gold (although she prefers to work with silver!) She is vivacious about her passion of jewellery design and creates one of a kind pieces toеКmake each and every one of us feel so special. We hope you love meeting Chloe, the one man band behind the beautiful brand Chloe McColl Jewellery...
Tell us about yourself and what you create...
My name is Chloe McColl and I am the one-man team behind Chloe McColl Jewellery. I create and hand make jewellery using sterling silver and found porcelain. I completed 5 years at Monash University studying jewellery and metals (Bachelor of Fine Arts with honours). I am based on the Mornington Peninsula with a studio in Rye.
My jewellery blends a love of the forms and textures of the ocean with the more practical need to be creative with my hands. Whilst my range has developed over time to incorporate more contemporary physiques, there always remains a strong connection to the organic. All of the jewellery is hand made in my studio on the Mornington Peninsula through traditional processes of creation, which leaves each piece distinctive and unique. I place strong emphasis on the process of creation, and the final piece is always a reflection of the inherent qualities of my materials. All my jewellery is crafted from precious metals, in particular sterling silver. One of the collections utilises porcelain fragments collected from the ocean shore. Each of these fragments is unique; their form dictated by the weathering of the ocean, thus each piece of jewellery it is set into becomes a one of a kind.
When did you know you first wanted to be a designer?
I always knew I wanted to be creative ever since I was young. After the first class of my university course, when I was taught how to craft my first sterling silver ring band, I knew this was what I wanted to do. I wanted to design and make my own jewellery. Being able to create something so fine, delicate and detailed with my two hands was such a thrill and sense of accomplishment that it formed an immediate passion for jewellery making.
What inspires you to be creative?
The ocean and its beaches inspire my work. Exploring beaches and collecting fragments from the ocean was a frequent activity of my childhood. I like to take inspiration from forms, textures and objects of the ocean and explore how they can be evolved into wearable objects.
Describe your perfect day...
A day in spring when the weather is just starting to warm up and the sun shines all day. I love to exercise on the beach in the morning then have a coffee at a local cafe on my way to the studio. A perfect day is definitely a productive day. Feeling a sense of achievement and accomplishment. It's also a day where I am finished working at a reasonable hour and can go home and relax for the evening. So I guess my perfect day is really simply an everyday, in which I have the time to enjoy the place I live.
What is your best ever creative moment?
That would be when at university having some of my end of year pieces selected for a prestigious exhibition in Munich, Germany called Talente. I went over and visited the exhibition and it was an amazing and proud moment to be exhibiting alongside such renowned artists.
Describe a lesson you learnt from creative failure...
In a series of works I created from reworked plastic I found that the settings I was using in the back weren't staying fixed properly. Some of these pieces were sent off to an exhibition and I was extremely embarrassed and upset to hear that they were coming unstuck I felt it reflected badly on me as an artist and a jeweler. However the curator of the gallery was understanding and fantastic. The pieces were still placed in the exhibition and I researched and reworked the settings so that they were better than ever. The gallery curator also gave me guidance and suggestions as she had a similar experience with a similar difficult-to-use material. The lesson I learnt here was there was no such thing as creative failure as long as I could learn and grow from it. I was never alone in having struggles with my work and that people weren't going to judge me for it.
What's the scariest movie you have ever seen?
Jaws.
What's your favourite childhood book?
The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton.
What's the best advice anyone ever gave you?
That whenever I come to a crossroad or a big decision moment to ask myself. What would I do if I was brave? Then to do it and take the chance!
What's your favourite tunes to get you in the creative mood?
Anything by The XX.
** Thanks so much Chloe for sharing your story - we appreciate it so much!! We can't wait to see you at the EPM tomorrow!
Connect with Chloe McColl Jewellery...
Facebook - Chloe-McColl-Jewellery-and-Wearable-Art
Website - www.chloemccoll.com.au
Email: chloemccoll@live.com.au
