Selwyn Times: May 17, 2016

SELWYN TIMES Tuesday May 17 2016 25
fashion
People at their happiest buying jewellery
EMMA-JANE MCLENNAN
Garnet, granite and jade.
Three stones, from three
corners of the globe – collected
by a young man on his travels, to
be crafted into a ring for the moment
he gets down on one knee
and asks for his girlfriend’s hand
in marriage.
Jeweller Vanessa Stowers,
whose business Filigree is making
the ring, says it is this kind
of story that makes her work so
enjoyable.
“I think I’ve possibly got one
of the best jobs in the world.
I see people at their happiest,
when they’re celebrating,” she
said.
Mrs Stowers started making
jewellery 20 years ago, but her
love for sparkly things started
well before that.
Her earliest memory of buying
jewellery was at just seven years
old, when she and her twin sister
got their first pocket money.
Her sister bought lollies.
But Vanessa went straight to
Northlands Shopping Centre and
bought a blue enamel swallow
necklace.
“I can remember it like it was
yesterday,” she said.
When she finished school, she
started a degree in craft design
at the Christchurch Polytechnic
Institute of Technology (now Ara
Institute of Canterbury). Soon she
was specialising in metalwork,
and that turned “pretty quickly”
into making jewellery. It was an
unorthodox way to learn, but one
that has worked out well, she said.
“Normally to train, you’d
go straight to a manufacturing
firm. My advantage of doing it
differently was getting more of a
design concept – the arty side of
things.”
Being a female in the jewellery
industry was pretty unheard of
at the time. Traditionally, maledominated,
being female has its
advantages she said.
“Jewellery is predominately
worn by women, and it’s usually
an emotive purchase. I think as a
women I can really buy into that
emotional celebration and know
what they’re looking for.”
Now that she’s got her own
jewellery store, she employs two
female jewellers and three males.
“That’s pretty unusual in
Christchurch, post-quake.”
She sells ready-to-wear jewellery
through Filigree and its
PRETTY THINGS:
Jeweller Vanessa
Stowers spends her
days running her
boutique, custommade
jewellery
business Filigree.
sister-brand Filly, but focuses on
custom-made pieces.
She said she “simply cannot
understand” people buying the
likes of their engagement rings
online.
“You know if you’re buying a
fridge, whatever. But there are
very few things in life you’ll buy
that are this emotive. Time needs
to be taken in choosing it, and
making it uniquely yours.”
That’s what she’s focusing on,
and it’s working.
This year she’s celebrated 10
years of the business, and is
looking to expand Filigree’s online
presence, Mrs Stowers said.
“I’ve got a lot on my plate. But
I’ve got just the best team behind
me, and I love it.”
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Mobile 021 449 256 or andy@bushinncentre.co.nz
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