As a jeweller reaches their fourth and final year of their apprenticeship, they must showcase their set of skills that they have learned and honed. Last year, Hogans Family Jeweller’s very own Keelie Sanders was the proud recipient of the TAFE Queensland's 2023 Apprentice Jeweller of the Year Award. This prestigious accolade recognises Keelie's exceptional talent and dedication to her craft, particularly showcased through her extraordinary creations that align with the year's theme: Fantasy. Keelie was tasked with designing and crafting three pieces of jewellery that embodied the whimsical and imaginative essence of fantasy. Drawing inspiration from the timeless tale of Romeo and Juliet, Keelie manufactured a stunning set that tells a story through its intricate design and meticulous craftsmanship.

The first piece in Keelie's award-winning collection is a shield-shaped wax seal, signet ring. This unique ring combines historical elements with a touch of romanticism. Next, Keelie created a tourmaline and garnet-embellished dagger brooch. The brooch not only serves as a striking accessory but also as a powerful symbol of the conflict and passion that permeate the Romeo and Juliet narrative. The final piece in the collection is a fully functioning lipstick case, adorned with elements that detail the story of Romeo and Juliet. This innovative and practical piece of jewellery merges beauty with functionality. In an exclusive interview, we speak with Keelie about her inspiration, challenges, and overall process in creating these award-winning pieces.

Q: Let’s begin by finding out more about the inspiration behind the stunning pieces that you designed and crafted for your jewellery TAFE apprenticeship. The theme for the year was Fantasy, from this how did you decide on the direction you were going take regarding the design and, what was the significance behind your choice to draw upon the story of Romeo and Juliet?
A: I am a hopeless romantic, honestly. It’s probably why I work in the jewellery/wedding industry. But the story of Romeo and Juliet really resonated with me, a tale of tragic and terrific love. I loved the setting of the tale, particularly the paintings inspired by it. I love how the depth and mood of the paintings showed the duality and innocence of the characters. I wanted to create pieces that had a moody, dark romantic feel.

I also wanted to combine the tale of the star-crossed lovers with what my idea of fantasy was. Fantasy, to me, is not just a story of peace and war, magic and mystery, but where the mundane and ordinary meet extravagance and opulence. I wanted my pieces to be luxurious and to feel like it was a fantasy to own them, kin to owning your own bejewelled sword or crown. 

These three pieces took over my life outside of work, I worked on this collection for over a year before it came to the actual competition. I knew the pieces I wanted to make were going to be difficult to manufacture in the span of 4 weeks, so every detail had to be meticulously planned. Not only were we tasked to create a three piece collection but we had to include a detailed portfolio of the step-by-step process, draft sketches, and final painted renders, as well as a full display. 

Q: What stones and materials did you utilise to achieve your final designs? Was there any significance behind these?
A: To create rich, luxurious feeling pieces, I wanted to incorporate dual-tone gemstones. I used a mix of emeralds, tsavorite (green) garnets, ombré pink and olive toned tourmalines, rich dark rubies, and red garnets. My lipstick case with a mother-of-pearl backing, contrasts with the strong tones of the reds and greens to add a more delicate touch. This adds cohesion as a set with the pearls set into the hilt of the dagger brooch.

I wanted my collection to feel otherworldly as if they were pieces owned by Juliet herself, so I melted a custom 9k rose colour Champagne gold to add an antique touch to a few of my smaller details.

Q: Talk us through the process from designing to assembling the intricate lipstick case, that featured elements detailing the story of Romeo and Juliet.
A: Speak to anyone and they will tell you the two most significant scenes of the play. Firstly, the scene where Romeo meets Juliet at her balcony, and secondly, the death of the titular characters. I wanted to incorporate these pivotal scenes into my storytelling. The four sides of the lipstick case were the perfect canvas in which to show this.

I really wanted to create a twist mechanism with the lipstick and due to the mechanical precision required, I needed to use CAD design software to create this. Drawn digitally by myself and cast in brass, I spent a long time perfecting the twist so the lipstick would glide smoothly up the tubes and present the cosmetic within.

This piece was the most technical out of the three but after breaking down every single component and viewing the case not as a whole but as a simple step-by-step procedure I was easily and quickly able to fabricate my most challenging piece yet.  

Q: We heard that you had to create the lipstick formula for the case yourself, how did you go about doing this?
A: I have a background in theatre make-up and I wanted to incorporate this into my design. I didn’t have to make the lipstick, I wanted to. I wanted everything to be genuinely new and of my own making. Having a random brand of lipstick in my handmade, fully custom lipstick case was unthinkable. I mixed two different colours for the lipstick, a cool, pink-based red and a warm, orange-based red. I wanted to mix a colour like the checkerboard cut ruby on the top of the lipstick case.

To create the lipstick, I started by melting beeswax, the aloe vera base and mixing in the mica powder which is the pigment for the lipstick. This mixture was then poured into molds and set in the fridge overnight. Once the cosmetic was fully hardened, I used a vacuum mold extractor to remove the cosmetic from the mold and pressed it into the base of the lipstick holder. The fantastic thing about how I designed the lipstick is that the cosmetic can be easily changed and swapped out for new formulas and colours.

Q: Approximately how long did it take you to assemble the lipstick case, the dagger broach and the wax seal ring pieces in full?
A: The whole collection took just over 95 hours to manufacture, with the lipstick case taking up 71 of those hours, as well as a year’s worth of planning and trialling manufacturing techniques and creating the portfolio.

Q: What were your biggest challenges when designing and assembling these pieces and, how did you overcome them?
A: As most people know, rose gold gets its pink tones from being alloyed with copper. Copper is an incredibly hard metal to work with and can oxidise easily, which means it is slightly resistant to soldering. Thus, it needs to be worked at lower temperatures with a chemical called fire scoff. In my designs I have a combination of silver and Champagne rose gold. Silver is the most conductive metal meaning that the heat leaches away from your soldering point if the piece is not heat flooded. This means that the two metal alloys are not exactly suitable for combining large silver elements with small rose gold elements. Unfortunately, my whole dagger piece was constructed this way, so I had to find a way of working out how the two could be soldered together, ensuring structural integrity.

Q: What are you most proud of with this design?
A: I am most proud of seeing my vision come to life and fully completing all the things I wanted to do. We had a strict time limit, and I knew I was going to be pushing it to get everything done.

With a lot of planning, late nights, and long days at TAFE Queensland, everything came together in the end. I am proud that each component stands confidently on its own and that the collection tells a story together. I am proud of my portfolio, the level of detail and hard work that went into it, and the online gallery that accompanied it.

Q: We heard that you were able to utilise your created wax seal ring for your wedding invitations. What was it like being able to utilise a piece that you had designed, and handmade for such a monumental occasion?
A: I think it added such a personal touch to our day. As with my Fantasy Project, my wedding was designed and personalised to the finest of details. So, I loved that I was able to incorporate something so special and to use the piece to its full potential that in a modern day may have gone untouched. It also meant that I was able to share in my hard work with our closest family and friends, who now have a piece of my journey at TAFE and Hogans.

Keelie's dedication to her craft and her ability to transform a timeless story into tangible art has rightfully earned her this prestigious award. Her Romeo and Juliet-inspired set not only showcases her incredible skill and creativity as a designer and jeweller, but also highlights the endless possibilities of storytelling through jewellery design. As she continues her journey in the world of jewellery, we look forward to seeing more of Keelie's imaginative and beautifully crafted pieces.