Jewellery

To the Trees is the brainchild of Lauren Gero, a passionate artist whose goal is to encourage connection and love for the Earth and for each other. Living and working in the Blue Mountains, she is inspired by and protective of the natural world. This is done by creating heartfelt artworks and reproducing them in the most environmentally friendly ways available - using only 100% recycled paper, manufacturing all products within Australia and packaging with minimal to no plastic. To The Trees was the title of one of the first illustrations I created when I started out as a freelance illustrator in 2012. It depicts a person walking away from a city full of pollution and towards the trees. It is symbolic of the values that are so important to me in my personal and business life.

I am a Blue Mountains self-taught artisan residing in Katoomba who makes jewellery for the individual - not the masses. Jewellery making is a therapeutic outlet for me that is integral to my self care. When making pieces my focus is on the piece and the journey each piece takes me on. My creative time is my downtime and for this reason this time is focussed on the creative processes and the final piece, rather than a high output. I intentionally keep my work at a slow pace to ensure I maintain the love and lust to keep making. I specialise in sandcast jewellery pieces that are made in a rustic, brutalist style with the natural textures of the sand and tools imprinted in them. The simplistic process of pouring molten silver into a sand mould brings a beautiful fluidity to each creation and allows for a beautiful combination of intentional processes and natural elements of chance that can then be embraced and enhanced as its own form of beauty. I embrace the beauty of imperfections in life and this is reflected in my work by being more organic with a brutal rawness. I proudly create the wax moulds myself to ensure that the designs are authentically mine at every stage. I also make therapeutic jewellery for those of us who like to wear pieces with function. Spinner rings are popular wear for people who want to wear a feature ring that can assist in alleviating nervous tension by having moving components that can be fiddled with. My range of spinner rings are made to be enjoyed and feel luxurious while having the added benefit of self-soothing. I love to include textures in all my pieces and experiment with many forms to achieve rustic finishes. I enjoy experimenting and trying new things and am often unconventional in my approach. My jewellery appeals to those who enjoy wearing jewellery pieces that are unique and bear the artisans marks through the creative journey. I currently sell online through my website, Etsy and through private sales via social media. I also sell some stock through Little Village Cafe in North Katoomba. I sell worldwide with many customers based in European countries. I sell premade pieces and will make custom orders in my style of work.

Aprili Designs creates hand crafted jewellery in silver or brass complemented with gemstones and minerals. Aprili hand forges, beats, adds details with traditional impressions dies and sets stones. Meditating and breath work bring the unseen elements that are infused into Aprili Designs. She creates talismans, amulets and jewellery that lifts the wearer’s energy to bring joy, abundance and protection. Aprili completed a Bachelor of Fine Art (Hons) degree at the University of Newcastle in 2005. Her Major was in sculpture, metal work and bronze casting. Completing her degree she moved to the blue mountains to join modern fusion belly dance troupe ‘Caravan Dance Company’. Traveling, teaching and performing world wide has exposed Aprili to cross cultural use of jewellery for adornment as well as identifying status, religious beliefs, cultural heritage, and the use of talismans and amulets for protection . These principles inspire her work today. Aprili Designs began with adornment for dancers and has been sold world wide at festivals and workshops in N.Z, Germany, U.S.A, France, Sydney, Newcastle, Adelaide and Perth. When studying Classical Odissi dance in Rajasthan, 2009/10, Aprili found her silversmithing Guru who came from a long lineage of goldsmiths. Undergoing private tutoring, Aprili learnt traditional techniques using impression dies. Metal is annealed or softened and beaten into a impression die which creates detailed designs in low relief. These designs are then cut out and soldered onto backplates as stand alone pieces or used as accents in her work. You can find her work currently at Fire and Flood, Wentworth Falls, Atelier, Lawson and www.aprilidesigns.com.au