Sparkle and shine

Jewellery can add zing to an old outfit or create a bold new look. KATE MONAHAN talks to a Hamilton jewellery designer who is finding success putting personality into her beaded creations.

Blue glass beads glitter like hard candy on a tray.

Hamilton jewellery designer Delia Beuker begins stringing an ornate indigo bead on to a wire, hands moving deftly.

Beside her, bags of quartz and glass beads sparkle. Rainbow patterns dance across agate rocks.

Even the names sound exotic: African leopard jasper, Venetian glass, Javanese volcanic stone and Austrian Swarovski crystals.

"The beads come from all over the world; Korea, Indonesia, Europe, America and locally," she says.

Beuker is making a bracelet for a client's beach wedding, a gift for three bridesmaids, matching a range of blue-toned beads to the navy cocktail dresses.

She has been making jewellery for five years, leaving a corporate job and setting up her own Rototuna home-based business, D'zignz Boutique Jewellery.

It's been a big success.

"I wanted to be at home with the children (sons Bradley, 10 and Kyle, 12) and still contribute to the household," says Beuker. "I'm not the kind of person to sit at home and read magazines."

She did a bead course at Just Bead It in Hamilton East and within a few months started making jewellery. "I love it," says Beuker. "It was a way of expressing myself and it was a calling."

At the time boho chic and hippy styles were in vogue, and Beuker found there was a demand for colourful beaded jewellery.

Former work colleagues encouraged her, insisting she host a jewellery party. "That was five years ago, just at home with the old girls from work. From that day on it hasn't stopped."

Unlike other jewellery designers, who are be inspired by the material or an idea, Beuker starts with the person she is creating for. "I don't follow fashion. The most important thing to me is the person I'm designing for. Whatever their fashion is, is what I'm interested in."

She talks with a client to get a sense of personality, the occasion and style. "I look at their eyes, hair, skin colour, build, height and general size," says Beuker. "I get a general sense of their personality; whether they are someone who is conservative and likes to fade into the background or whether they are flamboyant and like to stand out."

She says she doesn't leap to conclusions. "Someone conservative might want to feel sexy for a certain event. I tap into whatever the person wants to be or feel. Jewellery has the power to transport people, it gives them more attitude. They may want to feel jazzed up for a day, to feel more feminine or outgoing. I always want people to wear something that makes them feel a million dollars."

She says many women come to her looking for a gift for others, but instead buy for themselves.

With the recession impacting on fashion spending, Beuker says a new necklace or earrings is an affordable luxury. "I think with the recession people are feeling quite tired and flat but they still want to feel good and go out there and have someone say 'Oh my God, you look fabulous' This is a way of changing your look without spending as much money."

It's also a way to add zing to something you've had in your wardrobe for years, says Beuker. "You can take an old black top you haven't worn for five or six years. You might think you can't wear it again but you can. A nice necklace can make it pop, and colour can make it come alive."

She makes customised jewellery and sells pre-made pieces ranging from $15 to $400 depending on the quality of the material and time involved.

She doesn't sketch her original designs, but just starts creating. "People can come and all the beads are there and we can sit down and play and create things," says Beuker. "I get the bead and the wire and then I start. I put the person in my mind and I make it for them."

She also takes her jewellery to people's homes, showing it and selling it at hen's nights and baby showers. On request she also hosts shows at local businesses and also has open days at her home.

Beuker says there is a psychology to choosing and wearing jewellery. "Making jewellery is fun, but I'm more interested in the people. I love watching people try things on, feeling and touching the jewellery. I don't believe I'm selling jewellery. People are buying an emotion or a way they want to be."

The right colour can make a person look amazing, while the wrong colours can make them appear tired or run down. "You could have had the worst night's sleep and be totally exhausted, but if you are wearing a colour that works with your skin, eyes and hair, then someone will tell you you look fabulous," says Beuker. "When colour is working for you, you look and feel good and people notice it."

She says no colour combinations are impossible, if you've got an eye for putting jewellery together. "When I first started I thought some things couldn't got together but I've found that's not the case - gold with silver, pink with orange. You make it work."

With experience in media sales, marketing and retail, Beuker says her previous jobs were the perfect training for running her own creative business. At 16 she was a window dresser at Farmers in Hamilton. "I didn't realise it then, but it was all about working with balance, colour, design and shape - skills I use now."

In her 20s she worked with the Marion Wright School of Charm and Modelling in Hamilton, giving models guidance in etiquette and fashion. More recently she worked in media sales, marketing and human resources at newspapers in Hamilton and Auckland.

Sometimes Beuker gets so caught up in making jewellery, she loses track of time. She often rents out a bach at Mt Maunganui when she wants to get her creative juices flowing. "If I get a block I walk along the beach and then I'll just come back and I can see (the design) and I make things for hours and hours. Sometimes I sit there until 4am or 5am. I get a real energy surge."

• To contact Delia Beuker at D'zignz Boutique Jewellery call or text 0274 724 494 or email jodee@clear.net.nz
• For more on jewellery making classes, check out justbeadit.co.nz

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