Hakea laurina sketch by Eileen McQuisten
Hakea Jewellery has been a relatively new development for me. For many years I have worked as an ecological research scientist and more recently as a high school biology and environmental science teacher. I have a deep love of native Australian flora and have spent many years studying, photographing and enjoying our flora all over Australia. My favourite botanical family is definitely the Proteaceae family, that includes Banksia, Grevillea and Hakea, to mention a few! I chose to call my company 'Hakea Jewellery' to highlight my love of the genus Hakea.
I also have a passion for beautiful jewellery so when I had all of my jewellery stolen from my home I started looking for replacements online and in stores. I was shocked at the exorbitant prices and dismayed at the use of mined gemstones and precious metals - this was an aspect of jewellery production that I had not fully understood until I was faced with the task of buying several pieces with my insurance money. This is when I decided to learn how to make my own jewellery using lab-created gemstones, Swarovski crystals and recycled precious metals. I enjoyed the process so much that I decided to sell my jewellery through my on-line store, eBay, Instagram and at markets around my local area.
Obviously, any kind of processing of precious metals, man-made crystals and gemstones will create some unwanted environmental impacts, mostly through emissions, but my aim is to minimise these as much as possible while still creating beautiful, hand-made jewellery.
I hope that you love my jewellery as much as I love making it for you. You can be confident that my jewellery is made with love and minimal impact on our precious environment.
Yours sincerely
Sam Clarke
I also have a passion for beautiful jewellery so when I had all of my jewellery stolen from my home I started looking for replacements online and in stores. I was shocked at the exorbitant prices and dismayed at the use of mined gemstones and precious metals - this was an aspect of jewellery production that I had not fully understood until I was faced with the task of buying several pieces with my insurance money. This is when I decided to learn how to make my own jewellery using lab-created gemstones, Swarovski crystals and recycled precious metals. I enjoyed the process so much that I decided to sell my jewellery through my on-line store, eBay, Instagram and at markets around my local area.
Obviously, any kind of processing of precious metals, man-made crystals and gemstones will create some unwanted environmental impacts, mostly through emissions, but my aim is to minimise these as much as possible while still creating beautiful, hand-made jewellery.
I hope that you love my jewellery as much as I love making it for you. You can be confident that my jewellery is made with love and minimal impact on our precious environment.
Yours sincerely
Sam Clarke
Hakea francisiana - bottlebrush hakea Banksia grandis - bull banksia Banksia sp.