By The Gem Monarchy
Established in 2007, Susan Ewington Jewellery has specialised in hand-crafted jewellery highlighting modern influence on pieces with timeless design. Based in Noosa, Queensland—Susan has been paving her way in the industry while utilising sustainable resources and ethical practices to source her materials.
Finding the Feeling of Home
After moving to Byron Bay and then Melbourne, she explored the idea of jewellery making as she remembered her mother’s “amazing collection of vintage and antique jewellery that she would meticulously care for.” She started learning about jewellery making by studying for an Advanced Diploma of Engineering and Design in Jewellery at TAFE. From the very first day when she saw the interactions between fire and metal—she knew that “this was it.” She had found what she had been looking for.
Conquering the Challenge of a Unique Stone
Susan loves the challenge of tackling intricate stones with “unusual cuts or combinations of gemstones.” As such, this is where she begins the inspiration for most of her jewellery. “Challenging balance and symmetry” and discovering the “visual harmony” that exists embedded deep within the facets of each stone are paramount to her jewellery design—and are a testament to the creativity that Susan details in each of her pieces.
Another factor Susan always regards when she makes a piece of jewellery is the ethics and sustainability of her pieces. “Every decision in business starts with assessing my own values and ethics.” With any of her pieces, it is clear that Susan prefers “quality over quantity” and always tries to “support local industry suppliers.”
“I believe the only way forward is for us all to support businesses that align their values with more concern or thought for the greater good of people and [the] planet.”
A Message to Future Jewellers
Susan was asked a few things about what kinds of advice she has received, and what advice she could give to other budding young jewellers. Her response was “There’s a lot of great advice I’ve had over the years, but there’s always a few sayings that I’m constantly repeating year after year. One is from a TAFE teacher about how ‘there’s more than one way to skin a cat,’ referring to the fact that every jeweller has a little knack for approaching a job a little differently from another jeweller. This gives me [the] confidence to just get on with it and give it a go and not to compare too much with other makers’ methods. And the other is from one of my wonderful previous employers Robyn Wernicke, who would always say, ‘You win some, you lose some,’ which I feel relates to almost every job, one way or the other!”
