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 The Age December 22, 2006 At the time when Jan Phyland was co-writing the recently published Handmade in Melbourne, she admitted to being surprised to learn of Melbourne's world-wide reputation for contemporary jewellery design. "We have so many talented designers here - we are right up there," Phyland says. "We could have done a whole book just on jewellery design." It's a comment that doesn't shock Kate Rhodes. As the curator of Flinders Lane's Craft Victoria, she describes "the great university and TAFE system for jewellery design" as well as a thriving collection of boutique stores, as just a couple of the reasons behind such an impressive reputation. Melbourne's innate sense of style is, Rhodes says, another factor. "As has always been true, too, Melburnians think long and hard before stepping out of the house when it comes to dressing and accessorising so, the combination is self-perpetuating. In this light, it's a city of mirrors for both worn and wearer," she says. Just what is currently being worn, Rhodes says, is a mix of "unusual materials and unusual combinations". "Jewellery is direct from the forest right now: most often the enchanted, European kind, rather than the Australian bush. Lots of deer, owls, small birds. Otherwise, ugly jewellery is hot, but ugly-beautiful, that is," she says. On the way out, apparently, are mass-produced, off-shore manufactured pieces. "Jewellery with no personality, or sense of humour," she says. "Jewellery with no effect." Some designs that, Rhodes believes, have an effect, include the taxidermy-like stylings of Julia deVille, the conceptual body jewellery of Tiffany Parbs, Roseanne Bartley's performativestyle pieces set to feature in next year's L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival, the "crazy combinations of various stones" by Nina Oikawa and the graphic designs of David Neale's work with wood, plastic, gold, silver and bone. "I guess a theme that has been big in the contemporary jewellery scene for a while now is recycled materials," says Julia deVille, 24, whose fascination with Victorian mourning jewellery and penchant for casting her designs in the bodies of dead animals has seen her regarded as a designer du jour. While budget-priced chain stores might be fi lled with regurgitated replicas from a rose-coloured past, such as Diva's slightly amended take on the 1970s classic Kissin' Cousins, "real jewellery", says deVille means "hand-made pieces from precious materials - not necessarily expensive, just precious to the jeweller and the person who buys it". "Jewellery is sentimental and I still believe people purchase it with the intention of having it forever and passing it down over generations," she says. Melanie Katsalidis, from North Fitzroy's Pieces of Eight jewellery gallery, believes designers in the fashion world are always looking to overseas trends for inspiration, but "jewellers who are artists are more independent in their thinking, and generally operate outside of major fashion trends. "People seem to get most excited over pieces that are really original, fresh and a talking point. Knowing they were hand-made locally means they also have something very special that they won't see being worn everywhere," Katsalidis says. "Our Melburnian customers are people who enjoy feeling a sense of discovery and creating their own trends, rather being than dictated to. They also love limited-edition, unique pieces, and wearing unusual, hand-crafted and beautiful jewellery with confidence." Katsalidis admits to seasonal impact and says that this summer's aesthetic is more about colour than Melbourne's traditional black."We have beautifully made and innovative jewellery by Melbourne-based Craig Spark, who uses the typically industrial technique of powder-coating to add bright colour to his handmade gold and silver chains." And while the popularity of charm bracelets has already been a few seasons strong, Katsalidis points to Zoe Crowder's interpretation of the classic design. "Running free around the bangle itself, she adds cast vintage beads in precious metals, uses porcelain birds, glass and gold," she says. Then there's the whimsical work of Melbourne-based Lucy Folk, featuring food-inspired jewellery such as "gold Dorrito and Burger Ring earrings, a crocheted mini hot dog necklace, and giant wood and silver carved apple slice earrings". Gallery Funaki director Mari Funaki says that "contemporary jewellery is not just about making jewellery with different materials or forms, but is about a committed exploration of what jewellery can be or what can be expressed". And the future, it seems, will only get brighter. "There are many jewellers - Robert Baines, Marian Hosking, Carlier Makigawa, Sally Marsland, Mascha Moje, Simon Cottrell and Kiko Gianocca - who make strong and interesting work in Melbourne," Funaki says. - Claire Halliday 
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