March 09, 2012
jewellery designer rachel wightman
On a recent visit to shelf/life I came across the jewellery of Rachel Wightman. After working on interior magazines for 10 years she decided to focus on being a mum and "maker of stuff", such as clothes, cards and cushions. When she couldn't find the right colours or source the beads that she really loved to make jewellery, she decided to create her own. The result is Not Tuesday, jewellery made from polymer clay beads and coloured with Rachel's great eye for tones and combinations.
How did you get your career start and what path have you taken since? As a teenager I dreamed of working in interiors magazines and wanted to be the person who made things look pretty in the pictures. I didn’t know then that this was known as “styling”. After 3 failed attempts at university education, I was over the moon to get a job answering the phone and distributing the mail, amongst other glamorous duties at Cleo magazine. I got the opportunity to go along on a few shoots and after a while I was styling a homewares page each month. From here I moved to the 10th floor to House and Garden magazine as a stylist. Many years of photo shoots, and a few other bits and pieces, later, I have a three-year-old girl, and find myself creating necklaces from the dining table.
What’s the best lesson you’ve learnt along the way? Money is irrelevant.
What’s your proudest career achievement? Seeing my work on the pages of a magazine for the first time was pretty fabulous, as was seeing a stranger wearing one of my necklaces for the first time. Apologies to that stranger who I accosted in Cotton On Kids to tell her I made the necklace she was wearing. I was a little bit excited.
What’s been your best decision? To be my own boss and have the freedom to work in a way that suits me. Rules and structure are my enemy.
Who inspires you? My little family! My partner Pauly gets more enthused about Not Tuesday than I do a lot of the time, and my daughter Elke is just so funny. She likes to help out by passing me colours and telling me what colour to mix next. They went on a morning walk through Surry Hills recently to check out my necklaces in different shops.
What are you passionate about? Colour. And laughing.
Which person, living or dead, would you most like to meet? So hard! Maybe Miranda July. I would like her to be my friend.
What dream do you still want to fulfil? I would love to live in New York for a few years. Not to conquer it with my amazing design skills, but just to explore it all.
What are you reading? The Cat in the Hat, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, Winnie the Pooh, Mr. Tickle, the list goes on. What I should be reading is Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom for book club. Luckily book club is only slightly about the book.
images courtesy of not tuesday