Jeweller has work on hand

Dunedin-based manufacturing jeweller Rachael Morrison works from her home in the city. Photos by...
Dunedin-based manufacturing jeweller Rachael Morrison works from her home in the city. Photos by Christine O'Connor.

It is safe to say that Rachael Morrison is probably the only person ever to have had the Eiffel Tower stuck to her finger.

While undertaking her jeweller's apprenticeship in Dunedin, she was soldering charms on to a charm bracelet, when she inadvertently picked up the tiny Parisian landmark charm and it burnt on to her skin.

She has also ''tattooed'' her fingers with tiny silver dots, so the life of a manufacturing jeweller was not always glamorous, she laughed.

As her youngest child was now at school, Mrs Morrison has been building up her jewellery business, working from her St Clair home in the former laundry, which has been converted into a work-room.

Brought up in Dunedin, she and her husband Derek, a photographer, moved back to the city seven years ago after living and working in Sydney.

While she initially thought she wanted to be a school teacher, Mrs Morrison left Bayfield High School at the beginning of year 13 to start a four-year apprenticeship with Dunedin jeweller Iain Henderson.

Having always been interested in art, she discovered it was a career that she loved.

After completing her apprenticeship, she went out on her own for a while and also did some repair work for jewellers in the city.

She met her husband, who was originally from Waikato, when he came to Dunedin for a national surfing competition while working for a surfing magazine.

The couple moved to Raglan for a year, during which time Mrs Morrison had her jewellery in several galleries around New Zealand, and then on to Sydney for eight years.

She worked in a jeweller's for four years, before the couple's first child, Taya, was born. Her time was divided between working in the shop and making her own jewellery.

She much preferred being ''behind the scenes'', rather than in sales.

''I'm definitely not a sales person,'' she said.

Sydney was an expensive place to live and the couple decided to move back to Dunedin, by which time they had a second daughter Rewa. Son Keo was born in Dunedin.

It had turned out to be a great, affordable lifestyle for the family, coupled with ''lots of cool arty things'' to do in the city, she said.

Mrs Morrison juggled her part-time work in her business around her children, working school hours.

With more time now that all their children were at school, she was getting some larger jobs, including a few engagement ring commissions.

The most recent was for her sister-in-law to-be, and she particularly enjoyed making it, as it involved ''a whole array'' of different techniques.

She preferred ''making stuff up'' as she went, rather than a client bringing in a picture of what she wanted, as that was more restricted.

''I like seeing where it takes me,'' she said.

While most engagement rings involved dealing with both of the engaged couple, several jobs had involved just the groom-to-be.

That was a little nerve-racking, because it was up to him and Mrs Morrison to ''nut out a design'' - yet it was the bride that had to wear it.

''You've got to get it right,'' she said.

Mrs Morrison, who made her own engagement ring, said designs had changed over the years and there was more individual style involved and people were becoming more adventurous.

Although she could make any jewellery, rings were her ''thing'' and the most popular item.

One difficulty was educating people that the jewellery was all hand-made, meaning there was an added cost to it.

But they would end up with something that was a ''one-off'' and crafted to a high quality, she said.

A more affordable range of sterling silver jewellery, made by Mrs Morrison, was available at Blackbird in Roslyn.

There were probably only a ''handful'' of trained jewellers in Dunedin and many others who were self-taught, she said.

While Mrs Morrison was happy to do repair work, she preferred to focus on ''new makes''.

But the repair aspect was also quite important for a jeweller.

''If you can break down something and build it back up again, you get a better understanding of how you make it in the first place,'' she said.

Mrs Morrison was keen to slowly expand her business and eventually get her jewellery into other shops.

She loved heading to her workshop, putting music on and getting to work.

''Sometimes you look up at the clock and four hours have gone. All your attention's just on this one ring and trying to get it right,'' she said.

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