The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
I know we’re all sick of hearing it, but Covid-19 and the resulting lockdown stopped us in our tracks and made us realise how fragile small business in NZ really is. We of course couldn’t take casts while maintaining social distancing, so all bookings were cancelled, and no new work was coming in. But when a door closes a window opens, and I found a new opportunity in memory making, that I quickly fell in love with. I had already mastered the art of creating fingerprint pendants, which then led on to using hand and footprints, even paw prints, pressed into pure fine silver. So I spent this time in lock down extending those skills and learning to create custom DNA jewellery pieces encapsulating breast milk, locks of hair and cremation ashes.
I started with breastmilk jewellery, because breastfeeding is such a special time in your life, building that bond and love with your baby. It’s also a very emotional time too when that journey comes to an end. So I started making jewellery such as pendants and rings using preserved breastmilk, as a special keepsake of that moment in a mother’s life. I hadn’t long finished breastfeeding myself, so it just felt like a natural path for me to explore. Mothers could send a 5ml vial of breastmilk to me which I then dry to a powder and create their custom piece. And finally it was something I could do for people with zero contact, in our new Covid-conscious world.
I also found a love for encapsulating hair and cremation ashes. I don’t have any ashes left of my mum, and I wish now I had kept some. But I did take a lock of her hair when she passed a few years ago. Over lockdown, I went through Mum’s belongings and found she had also taken a lock of her mother’s hair when she died a few years earlier, which she had buried in her jewellery box with a note describing her treasures (see, I told you I get my sentimental side from my mother). Mum always wanted a granddaughter, and after I had given her 4 rowdy grandsons, I don’t blame her! Within a few weeks of her passing I fell pregnant with my 5th child, a little girl we named Abby. I had always hoped to do a 4 generation cast with my grandmother, mother, myself and my daughter one day, as I have done for so many of my clients over the years, but unfortunately their paths would never cross. So I made a pearl bar pendant for myself which included strands of hair of my daughter, myself, my mum and my grandma. Finally, all 4 generations of women are captured together in this cherished keepsake I wear around my neck every day. And now I’m hooked, again!
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
It’s certainly not for the faint hearted! I think many small business owners would tell you that if they knew how much time, money, and effort they’d have to put into their business before they began, they probably would have never started. I feel very fortunate though that my business was born from my hobby. So yes there has been blood sweat and tears and a whole lot of swear words along the road, but what an amazing road it is to walk when you’re passionate about your work and you do it alongside the people that you love, and at your family home where you’re most comfortable. I could never go to work for anyone else again. I am ruined as an employee for sure!
We also love the freedom of being our own bosses, and the flexibility we have to work the hours we want. The flip side of that though is that if we have time off somewhere, we have to make it up somewhere else. So I love being able to close up the studio to go support the kids at school cross country, or take an extended weekend away at the beach with family. But then I find myself working evenings, often late into the night, to catch up on what I missed. So the work never stops, it just gets delayed.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
There’s so much more I want to do, so many creative avenues I want to explore. On the charity side, I’d love to extend our services to other areas around NZ. I’ve recently helped to train casters in Whangarei and Tauranga, to offer free services there. I’d love to see this gift available nationwide.
From a business perspective, I want to follow my passions more to dive deeper into my craft. I’ve been doing a lot of torso, breast, face and partial body casts. I want to explore that avenue and create large custom art works and sculptures, using live models to create full body gallery pieces.
Find out more about the wonderful work they do on the Hamilton Lifecasting Studio website. You can also join their communities on Facebook and Instagram.
