Double Geometric Ring Holder necklace on product card
[ Background Story ][ Eco ][ Ethical & Sustainable Jewellery ][ New! ][ Plastic Free ][ Small Business ]

The Ring Holder Necklace

It's A Kind of Magic!
Last year (2021), I was contacted in regards to making a customised ‘Ring Holder’ necklace. I have to admit I had no idea what that was - and had to look it up!

What I found was something magical! 🤩 It involved a chain with a shaped pendant - that was open at the top, enabling a ring to be passed around the whole pendant, so that it would then ‘sit’ on top of the pendant - without having to take the necklace off.

...

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Rainbow Smiles Collection
[ Background Story ][ Collections ][ Eco ][ Ethical & Sustainable Jewellery ][ Small Business ]

The Rainbow Smiles Collection

Be Uplifted
A few years ago, as part of an art exhibition at the Upstairs Art Gallery in Titirangi, I created a new collection along the theme of “Uplifting” - it was called the “Rainbow Smiles” collection.

The Rainbow Smiles collection comprises dangly earrings, a necklace, a bracelet and a brooch that all feature recycled Sterling Silver wire in the shape of a shallow u (or a smile 😊) with 9 different types of coloured semi-precious stones on each piece. For some reason, I never added the ...

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Wire Wrapped Christmas Jewellery including Brooch, Earrings and Necklace
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The Christmas Tree Collection

Many years ago...
When I first started making my Christmas Tree Earrings, they were made from one long length of gold plated copper wire (per earring), with a tiny white Mother of Pearl star attached.

Becoming Eco Friendly
However I later decided to no longer create these ‘gold’ ones, as my focus moved to sustainability and the use of 100% recycled Sterling Silver wires.  I also acquired some slightly larger Mother of Pearl stars - an ivory one, and a red one.

Now, my Christmas Tre...

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9 reasons to buy eco jewellery_blog post main image
[ Eco ][ Ethical & Sustainable Jewellery ][ Plastic Free ][ Small Business ][ Sustainable Packaging ][ Zero Waste ]

9 Reasons Why You Should Buy Eco Jewellery:

Firstly: What IS “Eco, Sustainable and Ethical” Jewellery?
“Sustainable and ethical jewelry means transparent and responsible sourcing practices and use of sustainable materials.”

~ sustainablejungle.com 

In my FAQ’s section, I talk about what “Eco-Friendly, Sustainable, Ethical and Eco Jewellery” actually is, and what sustainable practices Curlicue NZ follows.

In terms of metals - recycled Silver and Gold are considered to be a ‘sustainable material’. That is because they can be melte...

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[ Background Story ][ Collections ][ Mens Jewellery ][ Small Business ]

Men’s Jewellery

Creating Jewellery for Men
When I started out making jewellery, I mostly made it just for women - and kids - as at the time, I had a young daughter keen on sparkly things!However, after a few years I started thinking more about creating jewellery for men. Unfortunately though, I don’t really know many men who wear jewellery! Do you?The only jewellery my husband wears is his wedding ring - which is made from Titanium, as we knew it would need to withstand some heavy wear and tear over the yea...

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[ Pandemic ][ Small Business ][ Thank you ]

What ‘Supporting Small’ Means 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...

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Customised Peas in a Pod Birthstone Bangle in eco Sterling Silver product image
[ Background Story ][ Collections ]

Birthstone Jewellery ~ Behind the Scenes

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...

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NZ Christmas Tree, the pohutukawa
[ Background Story ][ Pandemic ][ Thank you ][ Uncategorized ]

Supporting Small

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...

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