Redox Jewellery Studio

Where:    Shop 3, The Wintergarden, 51 McKillop Street, Geelong

When:    Tues – Sat 11am – 4pm

Web: http://www.redoxjewellerystudio.com.au

Let’s face it; we all love a bit of bling!

Tucked along side the iconic Wintergarden building in McKillop Street, Redox Jewellery Studio, houses a treasure trove of contemporary jewellery and objects, by a selection of Australian emerging and established artists.

We chat to Director, Annie Broadway about her work, inspiration and the studio.

Tell us the story behind the name Redox.

This name represents a combination of my background in Chemical Engineering and also its relevance in Jewellery making.  Redox is a chemistry term given to oxidation – reduction reactions.

How long have you been open for?

Redox Jewellery Studio opened in May 2011.

Tell us about the studio.

The ethos behind Redox Jewellery Studio is to showcase unique, high quality contemporary Jewellery and objects that have been designed and handcrafted by Jewellery artists from around Australia.

The studio currently represents 22 different jewellers – each having their own unique design perspective and style.

Another dimension to the Studio is custom designing and handcrafting one-off bespoke commissioned pieces.  This is one of the most exciting parts of being a jeweller.  Whether it be remodeling sentimental pieces or making something entirely new, it is very rewarding to see how happy clients are with their finished piece.

A unique aspect to Redox Jewellery Studio is the Jewellery making classes that are conducted in the studio’s workshop, which are available to the public and cater for all skill levels.

With a selection of amazing artists to choose from, do you have a favourite piece in store at the moment? Tell us a little bit about it.

Selecting my favorite piece is definitely difficult as there are so many amazing pieces in the studio!

A couple of my favorite pieces at the moment are; Chris Sherwin’s trapezoid and square form wedding bands and Jill Hermans‘ work using Shibuichi.

I am very inspired by geometry and love the way Chris has handcrafted these otherwise hard shapes into soft comfortable rings.

Jill’s pieces are made from a Japanese alloy of copper and silver called Shibuichi.  Jill achieves an amazing array of colour giving her pieces both depth and beauty.

You are a designer & metalsmith yourself; tell us about your background.

I have always had a fascination with creating objects by hand and love the satisfaction of seeing an idea transformed into a three-dimensional object.

Whilst studying Chemical Engineering at university I began making metal jewellery as a hobby, and it was from here that my passion for metal work began.  After many years of self-teaching I decided to leave my career as an engineer to pursue a career in Jewellery.  I went on to complete an Advanced Diploma in Gold and Silversmithing at NMIT, where I was awarded ‘Best Overall Student’.  I was also fortunate to win the Gold and Silversmiths Award for Excellence in Design and Craftsmanship at the Buda Australian Contemporary Silver Exhibition in 2011.

Running Redox Jewellery Studio has been both very challenging and a very satisfying experience, and I am incredibly happy that I made the career change to be able to pursue something that I am passionate about.

What inspires your work?

My work is influenced by both my background in Engineering and by my father’s artistic architectural pencil drawings.

My work is inspired by the interplay of geometric shape that is evident in urban and industrial architecture. I am fascinated by the infinite permutations that arise in geometry and I work to employ these forms into sculptural and ornamental objects.

I enjoy exploring the concept of enclosure of space by both shape and line, by using wire to construct freestanding forms. The use of wire allows me to fabricate objects that create positive and negative spaces.

What is your favourite material to work with?

I think it depends on what I am making – when I am making pieces of Jewellery, I love working with yellow gold.  It is such an amazing material and has such warmth and vibrancy.

With my sculptural objects, I enjoy working in Sterling Silver.  Sterling silver is definitely a challenging material to work with, especially on a large scale.  Part of my love for making sculptural pieces is overcoming the difficulties involved in using silver.

Do you have a favourite technique?

Whether I am making jewellery or sculptural pieces I love the process of hand fabricating.  Starting from as near scratch as possible and creating three dimensional pieces is the most satisfying part of what I do.

Alongside Annie’s handcrafted, custom designed pieces, you will find an amazing group of artists being represented by Redox: Chris Sherwin, Justin Siow, Susan Frisch, Helen Mok, William Griffiths, Kim Victoria Wearne, Tom Malchi, Roxanne Watts, Sunggee Min, Eleanor Hawke, Kate Higgins, Carla Garro, Emily Becher, Julia deVille, Naomi Walsh, Mary Hackett, Jill Hermans, Anjila Singh, Joanna Harris MacNeil & Bree Timmins.

We think you’ll be blown away by the amount of talent showcased in this contemporary gallery, and we weren’t able to include every photo of every piece that we loved; there were just too many!   We highly recommend you visit soon!

Nat & Jen xx