All that sparkles |
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When success washed over Anne-Marie Forgie four years ago, she didn’t see it coming. Glitzy girls from Manhattan to Auckland and Invercargill are wearing the sparkling, bijou necklaces and brooches she makes at her home studio in Oamaru and she’s still surprised at the way it happened.
One minute her creative outlet was making plastic Christmas tree decorations for her daughters’ school. Then, within months, she had won an award in a jewellery competition and, a few days later, one of New Zealand’s leading fashion designers was wearing her costume jewellery at Fashion Week. A second fashion designer then offered to stock Anne-Marie’s creations in her Auckland store. And the orders began to roll in.
“It started as a hobby when I began experimenting with plastic beads to make Christmas decorations for my daughters’ teachers at Oamaru Intermediate School. Some of them decided to wear them rather than hang them on the tree,” she says. “The first costume jewellery pieces I made were only for myself and friends. I made some hideous things before I got the knack.”
A trip to Auckland Beads left her almost overwhelmed by the possibilities she saw for developing her materials and designs. And when she came across Swarovski crystals she knew she had found her medium.
“I have always loved sparkly things. I still wear glitter on my eyes every day and I’ve always loved beads. But all this was still a hobby until I decided to enter the 2006 Art of Costume Jewellery awards and was thrilled to get some pieces accepted. To be in the finals was more than I could have hoped for and I decided to attend the award ceremony to see what other people were doing.”
There she was, Anne-Marie from Oamaru as she puts it, surrounded by beautiful pieces crafted by talented artisans from all round the country. You can imagine her response when it was announced she had won the Swarovski crystal category for a piece representing a paua shell hanging on a pearl rope.
She was even more delighted when fashion designer Liz Mitchell, who was one of the judges, wore the piece at her show at Fashion Week a few days later.
Meanwhile, Anne-Marie had made the acquaintance of Trelise Cooper after writing her a note to say how impressed she was with her Auckland fashion store and its exceptional service. Trelise wrote back and a friendship developed.
“I have immense respect for Trelise professionally and as a person,” says Anne-Marie, “and I adore her clothes.”
After her awards win, the fashion designer offered to stock Anne-Marie’s pieces. “My jewellery and Trelise’s clothes are a good match. People who like her clothing will generally like my jewellery. A piece can take up to six hours to make and I like to create for particular individuals or for specific occasions. I guess my passion is one-off pieces.”
These custom-made pieces are usually commissioned for significant birthdays, or for race day or bridal party outfits. Her most exciting commission so far was for a lavish wedding in New York where both the bride and her mother wore Anne-Marie Forgie originals.
“I have never marketed myself,” she says. “My pieces sell at Trelise Cooper in Auckland and at Woodstock on Windsor in Invercargill but my commissions come through word of mouth.”
Anne-Marie now sees herself at a creative crossroads and is considering taking up formal training in jewellery-making. “What I do just comes out of my head and I have so much more to learn. If I’m going to turn it into a business and learn more, it’s going to happen now.”
At this point, she says, she’d like to keep the business boutique-sized. “Our children [Summer, 18, and Tasman, 15] are becoming more independent so I can spend more time in my studio. I’m very lucky to have a fantastically supportive husband in Michael. He was always happy for me to be at home with the children while I worked on this. I believe I’ve got the best of both worlds; I’ve got my family and I’m living my dream.”
Click on the "photo gallery" link above for more images
Story: Nathalie Brown
Photographs: Richard Scott
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