From journo to jewellery designer...

Aloha!

Not so long ago, I was busy chasing firefighters (not such a bad job as you can imagine!) as the "emergency reporter" for a newspaper in beautiful New Zealand. When I wasn't covering breaking news, I got to try awesome stuff like flying a plane, covering The Lord of the Rings World Premiere and photographing popstars.

Biggles goes flying. Don't be afraid - be very afraid!

It was a great life - but pretty full-on at times - so when I got home after a long day's work, I would chillax by hitting the beach, exploring a nature reserve - or playing with beads and wire. Some of my first efforts were pretty cringe-worthy in retrospect! But as my fabulous former boss was fond of saying, "imagine if there was no failure - only feedback?" Making mistakes and learning from them is all part of the process after all.

Fast forward a few years to March 2011... I was living back in Britain, working in PR and heavily pregnant with my first child. In the past couple of months, we had moved house and I was about to be made redundant as my whole department was being axed by the government. It was a stressful time - but also one of opportunity. Could I turn my passion for making jewellery into a part time job?

That question wouldn't get answered for a while. Cyclone Issy (my baby girl) arrived in a whirlwind, and suddenly, I barely had time to glam up in the morning, let alone make jewellery! But in those hazy moments between getting up for night feeds, I would occasionally dream of gorgeous gemstones, twinkling crystals and luscious pearls... And eventually I found an evening class where I could meet up with fellow bead freaks and exchange ideas! Two hours a week where I could focus on something other than nappies, dribbles and nibbles! Don't get me wrong - motherhood's the best job in the world - but we all need a creative outlet now and again!

How life has changed! But in an awesome way.

These days I'm a mum to a baby and a three-year-old - as well as two fur babies (of the feline kind - adopted from the RSPCA) and 20 odd fish.

The nearest beach is almost an hour away, so I don't get much time to surf! But I've definitely developed my love of jewellery making and incorporate my passion for sun, sea and surf into my pieces. I love mixing up handmade polymer clay beads with gorgeous gemstones, crystals, glass and pearls to make bold, bespoke jewellery.

My Etsy shop name - Tallulah does the Hula - partly stems from my childhood nickname, "Tallulah", given to me by my late grandfather - and reflects my love of surfie couture. (You can also find me on Facebook!)

If I close my eyes, I can almost smell the sea salt, hear the crash of the waves against the rocks, see the sun spreading its welcome rays across the sand...

Do pop by and say g'day! ♥ 

Winner of the silly hat competition!

Queen Elizabeth Park on NZ's Kapiti Coast - a place very dear to my heart.