The contemporary jewellery scene in Ballarat is in bloom, with one of its own opening the doors on her practice next week, allowing the public into her workshop with the unveiling of her first physical storefront.
Alana Catherine Smith, owner of Cut Off Your Hands Jewellery has been honing her craft for over a decade, using flames, wax, and hammers to build each necklace, bracelet, earring and ring she sells herself.
The name: Smith said that one of the questions she gets the most is, why that name?
“When I first started, I figured when people put my rings on, they’d never take them off,” she told the Brolga. “So, if people wanted to steal them, they'd have to cut off their hands.”
Smith added some customers have flagged the violence of the name, but she ultimately decided it encapsulates the aesthetic of the brand too well to shift.
The style: Smith’s work is inspired by brutalist architecture, and she works with a variety of metals to capture rough, eroded textures. She said that she has always loved the “decay of worn concrete”, so she started working with it.
“I’m into everything brutal,” Smith told the Brolga. “I like aggressive, harsh music, I love abstract art, I like movies that are a bit messed up”.
Ideas come in all forms, including the local heritage skyline.
“In Ballarat, every time I walk past Town Hall and see the bluestone, I’m like that’s a ring right there,” she said.
The new space: Smith told the Brolga that through attending in-person events and selling at markets, she realised “people want to touch and feel and be able to suss out [their jewellery]. You can’t do that online”.
The hardware: Smith showed The Brolga two pieces; the Petrichor Ring, and the From the Depths Necklace.
She said she sourced an Australian sapphire for the ring with “beautiful inclusions”, meaning it came with natural flaws that turned the gem “kind of milky”. Smith said this reminded her of the “smell of the ground after rains”.
The necklace is a handmade chain with freshwater pearls.
“I love the contrast, the delicacy of a pearl against the rough, textured chain,” she told the Brolga. “Chain-making is such a meditative process, and I love adding my own touches.”
Smith said that the support from the creative community in Ballarat has been “incredible”, citing the monthly catch ups organised by the City of Ballarat’s Creative Ballarat program.
“It’s so helpful being in a room full of other makers,” she said.
What next: Smith will be opening her new storefront to the public from September 17th, with appointments available Tuesdays and Wednesday, and the shop itself open 11.30 - 5pm on Thursday and Fridays, and 10 - 4 on Sundays.