Hi Marnie! Tell me a bit about your background and Marmalade Gardens.
I’m Marnie, a 1998 baby. I grew up in a small town on the border of New South Wales and Victoria, called Mulwala. Growing up I always had a creative outlet, whether it was scrapbooking pictures of my friends, or making home video skits with my brother on our family video camera.
Towards the end of high school, I was pressing flowers in my books and a darling friend of mine told me about resin and how you could preserve flowers in it. That weekend I bought a resin kit, and Marmalade Gardens was pretty much formed from there! Fast forward five years, I now have completed a bachelor of fine arts at RMIT, currently living in Melbourne and am now making mostly silver and gold jewellery, with a side of ceramic objects.
When did you discover your love of jewellery?
Great question, this has brought up so many memories. When I was little I always asked for jewellery on my birthday and Xmas lists, and I remember one year my beautiful Nan got me this silver necklace with a little butterfly and some clear gems on it and it made me feel so special, it was my first piece of silver. Then when I was 6 I went to Thailand for a wedding, and whilst we were there we got gifted a lot of obscure Thai show jewellery, my sister and I loved it and used to chuck it all on when we’d go to the pub for a family dinner haha. I think from there I always have had an appreciation for jewellery, but it’s flourished a lot more since I’ve started to make it.
How would you describe your collections?
Happy funny silly cute hot messes.
Your creations are simply gorgeous! Where do you find design inspiration?
Aw don’t make me blush :,) I think colour is a big inspiration of mine, I love making things that shine and aren’t plain. I also get a lot of inspiration from cartoons, pop art, nature and bold vintage fashion. I like things that are a bit wobbly and imperfect, it adds character.
How would you describe your own personal style?
I’ve always been right into retro stuff, a regular op shopper, which has been hard being in Melbourne the past two years with the op shops being closed most of the time </3. I’m a bit overly into the 1980’s and have been since my early teens, anything made before the 2000’s seemed to be so much better quality which draws me to those eras too. I like to feel cute and happy, and I like to reflect that with what I wear or how I style my spaces or how I make art.
What's your favourite part of the custom order process?
Bringing peoples ideas to life, and putting my own spin on them. I’ve realised how much humans love things that are one of a kind, which draws a lot of them to the custom order space. It is so fun getting to be able to get paid to do something I get fulfillment out of! I still have to remind myself this is real life and not some silly little happy Marnie fantasy. Custom orders also allow me to grow as a creator and learn new styles, get out of my comfort zone, which then allows more ideas to flow into my own designs.
What goes into creating sustainable jewellery?
A lot of time, trial and error, and love. I find it quite easy now, but to begin with it took a while to source the correct materials, and find trustworthy suppliers. I am also lucky to have a lot of people around me who are into sustainability and give me tips and ideas all the time to improve my business. The main things I do in my business that reduce my carbon footprint are using 95% lab created gemstones, and 100% recycled sterling silver. All my bubble wrap is also discarded from old parcels that my friends and family are always collecting for me (I love them).