‘I’ve always liked small precious things, both natural and man-made. So although the pleasure of jewellery making was an astonishing discovery for me it was also possibly a natural path to follow. As a kid I spent hours looking through my maternal grandmother’s jewellery collection, delighted with the skill and detail in the pieces. The most exciting thing was that everything had its own story; every piece came with its own piece of history which led to other stories… This brooch was her mother’s, that pendant was made by my grandfather’s grandfather, those fob tassels and the cigarette case belonged to uncle Albert who wore a fedora and smoked like a train… the narrative ability of jewellery delights me still.’

Frances Stachl (Ngāpuhi) completed her training at Whitireia Polytechnic in 1999 and is now based in Whanganui