Naomi Schwartz is one of South Australia’s most prominent contemporary jewellers, specializing in hand crafted pieces and is based in Henley Beach where she’s been for the last 5 years. Naomi has been making jewellery for over 20 years, and displays a range of work from over 40 artists in her gallery – all South Australian and hand made.
Where did it all begin?
The young budding jeweller started with a four year Bachelor of Design at University of South Australia, and finished in 1998. Naomi worked from various studios in Adelaide such as the Gray Street Workshop before receiving a grant to work in London with other jewellers where she stayed for two years.
Naomi fondly remembers working at a huge exhibition called Dazzle – which inspired her to start in retail. It was a temporary exhibition in the national theatre foyer and when patrons visited the theatre, they could browse the art on display. Naomi really enjoyed the interactive nature of the exhibition, speaking with visitors about the jewellery, and hearing their feedback.
London gave Naomi a new experience, working in a bustling collaborative workshop where lots of artists would work together in a small studio including established and Uni students learning the craft. It was extremely different to Australia where everyone has so much space.
On returning to Adelaide from London, Naomi initially hired a studio in Jam Factory for two years, then partnered with Kath Inglis who focuses on handcrafted Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and set up shop in North Adelaide for the next five years.
Life then took them in different directions with family and Naomi set up a home studio where she continued to create. The customer experience and personal touch that Naomi provides has meant that her many customers followed her no matter where she went.
Naomi opened her current studio and shop front in Henley Beach which is close to home and suits her business while providing lifestyle balance.
Tell us about the jewellery you create and your style?
Naomi explains, 'I manipulate the metal into organic forms through a variety of handcrafted processes. It’s a distinctive style that I have. Customers are attracted to it, and I think a lot of people enjoy working directly with a jeweller. They know me, they can come here and we have a chat…it’s a nice experience to know the person who’s making something for you, it makes it a lot more personal and I love that as well!'
She points out that unlike some industries where online shopping has provided an alternative to visiting bricks and mortar stores, when it comes to bespoke jewellery creation you can’t beat touching and feeling materials, seeing colours in person and speaking face to face with the creator.
Naomi also does a lot of remodelling for customers who have gold or stones they’d like to reinvent, or that has a sentimental value, and they trust Naomi to create something custom for them or a relative.
There’s a lovely thing about handmaking something, and it’s just nice if someone comes in, appreciates it and buys it – that’s a bonus!
How do you select which artists to showcase in your store?
A lot of it comes down to clientele taste. After being in Henley Beach for five years Naomi has a good idea of what her customers like. Combined with the benefit of having other artists on show, customers can choose from a wide range of different styles and materials – titanium, stainless steel, glass and even timber! Materials aside, it’s no surprise being so close to the beach, that blue is the most favoured colour.
The creativity doesn’t just stop with the jewellery - Naomi’s husband, Dave Payne also played a hand in the store fit out.
A metal worker by trade, several of the displays in the front window are handcrafted metal shelves, integrated with glass cabinet doors, designed by Koush Design – it adds an extra degree of personality to an already very creative space. Other jewellery pieces are displayed on beautiful hand-crafted timber, from the Moonta Bay jetty, Naomi and Dave retrieved.
Naomi also looks beyond the typical materials a jeweller uses in their craft
The artist passionately believes 'precious materials aren’t necessarily diamond and gold, it can be wood from a jetty we walk over, where we create memories.'
In the recent Henley Beach jetty renovation, Naomi put her hand up to salvage some of the wood, going all the way to the hills to collect it. Sharing some of her current creations including rings with wooden features, you can see Naomi is truly inspired by organic materials and the environment around her.
At this point, she reflects on a time after the North Adelaide shop, when she curated an exhibition called “Wear a piece of Adelaide,” a group exhibition including novel pieces such as Coopers Ale glass beads and Malls Balls shaped earrings. The novel concept even extended to the types of pieces that incorporated bitumen from a certain place, with a classic pearl – an extreme juxtaposition of the rough and beautiful – a unique style Naomi is really interested in.
Bringing a taste of Dazzle to South Australia
Naomi loves collaborative projects. Together with Director of the Adelaide Fringe, and previously head of Roma Mitchell TAFE, Christie Anthoney shared a passion for Dazzle with Naomi. They went about re-creating their own Adelaide version of Dazzle, during Fringe, with “Wear a piece of Adelaide” in the theatre foyer of the TAFE.
'As much as I enjoy a pop-up environment, it’s great having a studio because I can showcase our jewellery in a retail environment and keep working on new pieces at the same time.'
The industry has changed in some ways, but Naomi recommends aspiring jewellers start as she did - surround herself by experience in workshops and galleries.
'We have a great arts and jewellery community here, there are a lot of artists who have workshops that you can go to for learning. Like for me I got a lot of support and help through being at Gray Street. There’s a scholarship program to go there and work with them, but also just being involved with other galleries like Zu design in Gays Arcade are really supportive of new artists. Also the JamFactory associateship is an excellent stepping stone, after you’ve gone to TAFE or Uni.'
Seemingly COVID didn’t have too big an impact on the industry, quite the opposite.
Despite an initial downturn, when COVID first hit, Naomi noticed a lot of people were still buying jewellery and in some cases spending more than usual. Many customers were really generous with their friends or family who might have been in lockdown, or interstate having a tough time. She also noticed there was a genuine appetite for people wanting to buy local and support the business community.
A Grant recipient in 2020, Naomi utilized the funding for her online presence
In 2020 Naomi applied for the City of Charles Sturt Business Support Program set up to support local businesses adapt and innovate during challenging times. With the help of a business advisor, and subsequent digital specialist Naomi set about improving her website, and offering the ability for customer to purchase online. Naomi is currently looking forward to unveiling her new website – and is busy with the final stages of getting images ready for it. It will be a great way to be able to reach new and existing customers no matter what happens in the short term.
Naomi is also taking part in SALA with a show titled ‘Reflections by the Sea’ a group exhibition of handmade works inspired by the unique patterns created by the sea.
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Urszula Richards
Business Marketing Advisor - Urban Projects
E: urichards@charlessturt.sa.gov.au