Blog - Curlicue NZ ~ Eco Jewellery Handmade in New Zealand

2020: The Year That Changed the World
2020 was a crazy one - wasn’t it? The world was taken over by the pandemic COVID-19 and all of our lives - the way we lived, socialised, worked and travelled - dramatically changed. Forever. I don’t think we’ll ever go back to being ‘how it was before’. In many ways, this is a good thing. Some things, however, will definitely be missed.

Like many people, my business was ‘not essential’ and so I had to stop making whilst in levels 4 and 3 of lockdown. I c...

Tags: creativity, curlicue nz, effects on small business, handmade in New Zealand, support local, support small business

By curlicuenz

[ Background Story ][ Plastic Free ][ Sustainable Packaging ][ Zero Waste ]

Sustainable Packaging

15/05/2021

Curlicue NZ's current packaging:
Back at the end of 2017, after quite a lot of thinking and research, I started using a new gift box to package and protect my Curlicue NZ jewellery.

It was made from a cardboard base and a food-grade PVC clear lid. I had believed all parts of the box and packaging were fully recyclable (even the re-purposed bubble wrap insert which could be recycled in soft plastics), so I called it my Eco Gift Box.

The idea behind these gift boxes was that you could...

Tags: curlicue nz, eco conscious, eco friendly, eco friendly packaging, environmentally friendly, handmade jewellery, packaging, reduce, repurpose, reuse, sustainability, sustainable packaging, wrapping, zero waste

By curlicuenz

[ Background Story ][ Collections ]

Birthstone Jewellery ~ Behind the Scenes

15/04/2021

The Peas in a Pod Collection
Background Story:
A couple of years ago, a good friend had another baby. I wanted to make something special for her, and to celebrate the new addition to their family. I found out the birth months of all her kids - and found that I had the birthstones for each of them! So I decided to make something that represented them all, especially for my friend. Previously, I have made jewellery pieces using a particular method of wire wrapping - called the “herrin...

Tags: creativity, curlicue nz, customised, handcrafted jewellery, handmade in New Zealand, lovingly, Peas in a Pod, Personalised, sustainability

By curlicuenz

[ Background Story ][ Jewellery Care ][ Repairs ]

Jewellery Repairs

04/03/2021

What do you do...
When you lose one of your favourite earrings?

Or your best beaded bracelet snags on a zip and rips it apart?

What about when your beloved child grabs the necklace your best friend gave you and breaks the clasp?

Or, the wire snaps on your treasured necklace and all the beads fall to the floor?

Well, you scoop up all those beads, contact me and I’ll see what I can do to fix it for you! 😁
Fixing Jewellery
Over time I have repaired a huge variety of costume jewellery...

Tags: costume jewellery, creativity, curlicue nz, eco conscious, environmentally friendly, fix, fixing, jewellery repairs, recreate, repurpose, zero waste

By curlicuenz

[ Background Story ][ Collections ]

Love Me Do: The Romantic Rose Collection

15/02/2021

The Romantic Rose Collection - which is one of my favourites, and contains several pieces that are customer favourites - has now been around for nearly five years.

It ultimately represents timeless luxury and sustainable elegance, and despite often being promoted as a perfect gift for Valentine's Day, it definitely doesn’t relate to just one day!
The Inspirational Rose:
The Romantic Rose collection was inspired by my first rose bush - given to me by my mum, that was called “Love Me Do”.

...

Tags: curlicue nz, design, eco friendly, handmade jewellery, love me do rose bush, nickel free, romantic roses, Rose Collection, support small business, zero waste

By curlicuenz

[ Background Story ][ Pandemic ][ Thank you ][ Uncategorized ]

Supporting Small

10/12/2020

The end is nigh...
Well, 2020 has been a strange, tumultuous, shocker of a year - hasn’t it?!

I know for some, it’s been horrendous. Many have lost family, friends, income and/ or jobs. 😔

For others, great things have come of it. Wherever you sit on that spectrum, I hope you are doing OK, and get a break over Christmas to recoup and reflect. ❤️

Admittedly, Curlicue NZ has done pretty well out of Covid. Although I had to shut down for two months during that first NZ lockdown, I’ve exper...

Tags: handmade in New Zealand, Kiwi made, local business, New Zealand made products, supporting small business

By curlicuenz

[ Background Story ][ Invisible Illness ]

Living with Invisible Illness

10/10/2020

"Don't judge a book by it's cover"
How do you know if someone has an invisible illness? I often think about the quote above - and try to use it when on the outside looking in to other people’s lives, in the hope that they can also use it with me.

Looks can be so deceiving!
What you see on the outside, is completely different from what I’m dealing with on the inside.

I have several different medical issues, or syndromes, most of which are a topic society deems as unmentionable - despite...

Tags: creativity, curlicue nz, invisible illness, jewellery designer, my story

By curlicuenz

[ Collections ][ Zero Waste ]

The New R3 Collection

02/09/2020

Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose
My "R3 Collection" is the second of two collections launching next Tuesday (8th September).

For some time, I had been thinking about how I could produce some jewellery by recycling or repurposing some sort of material. The material had to be one that I had easy access to, and also one that I had the tools to create something new from. But I don’t have the tools (or know-how) for woodwork, nor glass (yet!)

What could I use?
What can I do that is different, disti...

Tags: creativity, curlicue nz, design, eco conscious, eco friendly, handmade jewellery, minimise waste, nickel free, R3, reduce, repurpose, reuse, sustainability, zero waste

By curlicuenz

[ Collections ][ Eco ][ Ethical & Sustainable Jewellery ]

Leaves Collection ~ Behind the scenes

04/08/2020

How I Design & Create New Collections
I have two new collections that I’m hoping to launch on 1st September. One has been in the pipelines and on my brain for some time, the other is a newer idea I’ve been mulling over, but one which I’m no less passionate about. I’ve decided to keep the two collections separate for several reasons, but mainly because they use different materials. Also, one ‘collection’ is made up entirely of different types of earrings!

So this month I thought I’d g...

Tags: design

By curlicuenz

[ Eco ][ Ethical & Sustainable Jewellery ][ Plastic Free ]

Plastic Free July

05/07/2020

Are you up for the challenge?
Choosing a sustainable and plastic-free lifestyle is a choice only you can make. However, it is one that can be broken down into small, easy and everyday steps, that after a while, become habits. While a world free from plastic will not fix all our climate and environmental problems, it is something that we - as individuals can collectively do, and have an impact on.

I like to think of myself as an eco-conscious individual with a ‘green biz’, which means making ...

Tags: eco friendly, environmentally friendly, natural, recycle, reduce, repurpose, reuse, sustainability, zero waste

By curlicuenz