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• creative peoplenatural to keep on with it,” says Jennie.“The overseas thing just kind ofhappened. We didn’t really plan it.”Mother to two boys now aged 10and 11, Jennie says earlier years weredevoted to being a Mum amongst otherthings and so one gets the impression“It’s the piecesI have collectedwhich inspireme. I just startthreading andlet the beads dothe talking.”that the business has developedorganically, powered by Jennie’s eye fordesign and Jason’s creative energy inthe marketing and business arenas.“I guess I have the philosophy that ifyou should be doing something you willdo it. Admittedly when I do something Ialways do it big,” says Jennie.The couple spent some timein Victoria getting the companyestablished before making the seachange to Lennox Head, not far fromByron Bay. “From here we can go tothe city centres as often as we want,”says Jennie, “but I don’t think I couldlive in the city again. I would be toodistracted.”While she would prefer to bunkerdown in the workshop and concentrateon making new collections, a significantportion of Jennie’s time is spenttravelling. In recent years she haswitnessed numerous folk trying to copyher work but she says she no longercares about this, saying, “We just moveon. It’s like an artist copying a painting.It’s never really going to be the same.And, because I do four to five big tripsa year – to Europe and Bali – no onecan collect the pieces I do that will gointo each new collection.”Jennie says she’d love to delegatethis part of the job to someone elsebut concedes that it’s her eye that isthe cornerstone of the brand. “Thetravelling is definitely not my favouritepart, the making is,” she says.“I’m not someone who does lots ofpre-sketching and the like. I’d love theluxury of peace and quiet to design butthis is a business and I have to get inand get it done. It’s the pieces I havecollected which inspire me. I just startthreading and let the beads do thetalking.”These days she has 20 people inthe Lennox Head workshop. Jenniedesigns the pieces but oversees themaking of them by her staff. She iscompletely realistic about the demandsa business like this makes on thecreative spirit.“To build stockists we do tradefairs and they’re hard work,” shesays, though word-of-mouth hasalso been one Riley Burnett’s bestmarketing tools. The company hasnever purchased advertising space inmagazines but maintains an extensivewebsite. “We’ve done fairs in Londonand the USA but frankly it’s notsomething I’m that desperate to push.120 spotlight.com.au