Jewellers and artisans

I sent out copies of my Consignment Agreement to the first range of jewellers/artists I'd love to have involved in LORD COCONUT today. Let's hope they all like the LORD COCONUT concept enough to get involved. Fingers (and toes) crossed!

Beth Croce

Danielle Boal

David Parker

Deeana Michela

Fiona Griffiths

Hamish Munro

Jin Ah Jo

Justin Siow

Justine Austen

Katzinka Tschierschky

Mark Coulston

Melanie Rice

Polly van der Glas

Puneet Jodhka

Roxanne Watts

Toby Horrocks

Vikki Kassioras

Roxanne Watts

I met with Roxanne Watts today who specializes in working with Jet, particularly Whitby Jet.  Inspired by the history of Medieval and Victorian Europe, Roxanne is particularly influenced by mourning jewellery, which predominantly dates from the Victorian era.

I believe her work will translate into some very stylish men's jewellery for LORD COCONUT.

Deeana Michela

I had a great chat today with Deeana Michela who is a great new jeweller on the Melbourne scene.

Although a lot of her current work focuses on females, we were able to brainstorm ideas which will suit the LORD COCONUT male clientele. Deeana has also had a lot of her male friends asking where they can get contemporary male jewellery. I think I know where.........

One potential line she may produce are cufflinks with interchangeable inserts (inspired by the fob pendant below) which people may buy as a set. A great concept which I think should be explored further.

Exciting times.

Katzinka Tschierschky

I met another lovely jeweller yesterday in the Nicholas Building (next door to my apartment) who has a great studio on the top floor (despite the recent rain and indoor floods).

Katzinka Tschierschky makes some amazing work for both men and women and is a true artisan. She even has a range of brooches which are often purchased by men. I'm continually amazed at the direction the product range at LORD COCONUT can go.

Melanie Rice

I met another great contemporary jeweller today whose name is Melanie Rice. Melanie contacted me after speaking to Milly from Craft Victoria - thanks Milly.

Melanie creates some great "crumpled" pieces of women's jewellery which are then enamelled. It's a great effect and would translate easily into cufflinks and other men's accessories as I haven't really seen very much similar to this.

 Another great find which I hope translates into more stock for LORD COCONUT.

Danielle Boal

I met with Danielle Boal this morning who has produced a great range of cufflinks.

They may be a little more conservative than some of the others that LORD COCONUT will be stocking but I think they will be a great addition to the store. I'm keen to make sure there is a range for all tastes at my different price points.

I look forward to Danielle confirming her involvement in the coming weeks.

Teeth!

I'm happy to announce that Polly van der Glas has come on board as a supplier for LORD COCONUT.

I've admired the work of van der Glas for a while (and have been hoping that she could also do something with one of my wisdom teeth. Tam is getting some wisdom teeth out this year so maybe I can get some cufflinks made out of both).

Anyway..........

Her work is pretty amazing as you can see from the image below.

Sterling Silver and four human teeth knuckle ring

Lord Coconut jeweller short listed for Melbourne Design Awards

Could all readers of my Blog please vote for one of my suppliers, Puneet Jodhka, who has entered the Melbourne Design Awards.

Puneet was the first supplier to come on board and support LORD COCONUT.

I wish her luck with the awards.

This is the work she has entered. Find out more and VOTE HERE.

Justine Austen

I met with Justine Austen this afternoon and how impressed was I? Not only is her studio in an amazing building compound (part of Scotts Church), Justine was more than happy to spend time with me to explain her work and suggest other potential jewellers who may wish to get involved.

Her current work was amazing with a big emphasis on contemporary skulls.

It's also interesting what questions each jeweller asks and Justine was keen to find out if I was having exhibitions throughout the year and if so, when and what theme. I'll leave my answer for another blog post.

I look forward to working closer with Justine and thank her for her advice and suggestions which I'm sure will make LORD COCONUT a success.

Are all contemporary jewellers unbelievably friendly and helpful?
It seems the answer is yes!!!!!

Vikki Kassioras

I met with Vikki Kassioras this afternoon and it looks like I might have my first jeweller onboard from the Nicholas Building. The Nicholas Building overlooks my apartment and Vikki has a great view of my rooftop garden (note: must remember to wear more clothes when on the roof).

Vikki does a lot of interesting work with a great range in cufflinks and rings.

















As with most of the jewellers I've spoken to, Vikki was also happy to pass on the names/numbers of other suppliers and also give me advice on how best to proceed. I'm really looking forward to collaborating with all of the jewellers to make LORD COCONUT a success.

Fixtures & Fittings

Just spent a couple of days looking for the remaining fixtures and fittings for the store and I seem to have difficult decisions to make.

I discovered Warehouse 8 in Sth Melbourne and Mathew has been a geat help in sourcing things. I'm leaning towards some old, copper, wall mounted display cases which would look great and not take up any floor space.

On the otherhand, I still like that major 1880's bank display case down on the Mornington Peninsula (but it is pricey and difficult to move).

decisions decisions

As soon as I make up my mind, I'll put some pictures up.

Mathew from Warehouse 8 has also been assisting with chairs, cupboards and some potential business card holders for other stores who wish to promote LORD COCONUT. It's starting to come together more.

Thanks Mathew.

It's who you know!

Toby Horrocks from Freefold Furniture popped in today to take some more photos of the cardboard furniture Tam and I purchased from him a couple of years ago as there is an upcoming article on the boxes in The Age soon (and he's hoping for a photograph inclusion).

Whilst talking, he mentioned that he had a couple of small prototype models he recently developed and that Inside Out had expressed an interest in featuring them.

I had one look at the photo and asked how I could get them into LORD COCONUT. One conversation led to another and, fingers crossed, we may become a Melbourne retailer.

If all goes well, I think they will be a great addition to the store.

Craft Victoria Support

Craft Victoria kindly included LORD COCONUT in their most recent Craft Almanac newsletter under their "retail and market opportunities" section.










If you are interested in Australian Craft, this newsletter is a must read. Subscribe here.

David Parker

I had another great chat with a potential supplier yesterday who is keen to get involved.

David Parker had some great ideas for the store and offerred to teach me about ring sizes. David will be a great addition to the store (and a great help to me).

Below are some samples of his current work.

 

I look forward to seeing what he develops for LORD COCONUT.