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14 STYLE | feature Self-taught, Debra prides herself on pushing her craft beyond its limits. Photo Acorn photography “It’s just not going to happen with Covid-19,” she reluctantly concedes. But with whiplash-like quickness, she is cheerful once again. You get the sense there is not much that can keep the Port Chalmers jeweller down, not even the February 22, 2011 earthquake, which tried its best to decimate her business. She was in her Lichfield Street gallery, by Poplar Lane, when she got a phone call from a neighbour that her two mastiff-cross dogs were barking up a storm in the neighbourhood. And now noise control was sitting outside her home. “So I went home, put the dogs on the couch and put the TV on and told them [the dogs] I had to go back to work,” she says. “Then the bloody earthquake hit. I was really lucky, the dogs must’ve known.” The back of her building had fallen off and, like many businesses, it was about six months before she was given 10 minutes in her studio to fill a wheelie bin and get out. Debra never returned to the building after that. It was the middle of wedding ring season and Debra had to get back to work. Her husband and builder, Dean Brewster, divided their bedroom, creating a workroom for Debra to continue her craft while the city slowly put itself back together. A couple of years later, Debra and Dean moved to Port Chalmers, charmed by its eclectic artistic vibe. She now manufactures from her Dunedin home and Dean has joined her in the workroom after hanging up his tools. Their constant companion is rescue dog Maia. “I’d say you are a wee bit needy, aren’t you,” Debra murmurs to Maia, as she pats her, reassuring the pooch that they will go for a walk soon. “All she wants is cuddles, hugs and love. Even if I have a fire going on in the other room, she still has to be in the studio,” she says. Debra became a jeweller quite by accident. She has always been a bit of magpie, she says, the child in the ballet class who had to have the dress with the most sparkles. At 12, she was at flea markets with her polymer clay jewellery, making enough to visit her aunt in Australia. At 19, as many people did in the 1980s, she packed her bags and left Dunedin for Australia, where she worked in publishing. When the industry started appreciating a more digital presence, she had to upskill, which is how, surprisingly, she stumbled upon crafting jewellery. “I was supposed to do a computer course that had been cancelled in Sydney and they said, ‘Do you want to do this jewellery course or do you want your money back?’ ” She opted for the course. Though if you say the word “training” to Debra, she’ll have a chuckle and a bit of a snort. For this self-taught jeweller, there was no “classical training”. “I have no manufacturing experience and I have no art school background either. It was just a hobby and it wasn’t until I moved back to New Zealand pregnant, 31 years old and living with my parents that I took it up seriously,” she says. The tagline on her website is: ‘Extraordinary jewellery for uncommon people.’ “I did wonder if that sounded a bit pretentious,” says Debra in that way she has of thinking out loud. “But it means that it is OK not to be completely normal. I’ve learned over the years, that you can’t please everybody. The world would be a boring place if people liked the same things, so that is kind of what my jewellery is about.” She has developed her own techniques, always challenging the “right way” of doing things. “I would ask, ‘Why can’t we do it this way?’ Often the answer was because ‘that’s not the way it is done’. To me, that is not an answer, that’s just a brush-off. Well, why isn’t it done that way? What happens if it is done this way?” Debra is not afraid of failing with her experiments either, because they have led to her “quite different techniques” and bespoke pieces. Rattling sounds ramp up in the background. It is time for Debra to head off to her gallery in George Street. It is already shaping up to be a busy day for the jeweller, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
STYLE | feature 15 Kathryn’s experience ranges from catwalks to dog collars. Photo Danielle Colvin THE LEATHER GOODS DESIGNER If you see a dog sporting a leather collar adorned with crystals, cameos and studs, it is highly likely it is a Kathryn Payne original. The view from Kathryn Payne’s Mount Pleasant workroom is rather spectacular. The Christchurch estuary melds with the light in different ways throughout the day. But today the Christchurch fashion and accessories designer may not see it as much. She has a very busy day ahead with a large list of orders for her bespoke dog collars. She has just done the dash from her Lyttelton home to drop off two-year-old Ottó to preschool and then to her mum’s house at Mt Pleasant where she occupies three rooms on the top floor of the house and part of the garage. Kathryn has seemingly done it all in fashion, from garments to homewares and now designer dog collars. Her IS YOUR BRAIN SHRINKING? Brain fog, forgetful, feeling old, low energy, mood swings, difficulty sleeping, pins & needles, numbness in legs SUPER PRICE OFFER Superior Methylcobalamin B12 (High Absorption Sublingual Lozenges) 100 LOZENGES ONLY $32.90 | 200 LOZENGES ONLY $59.80 MAIL ORDER AVAILABLE See a difference in as little as 48 hours! EXTRAORDINARY JEWELLERY FOR UNCOMMON PEOPLE BRINGING YOU THE BEST IN NATURAL HEALTH MARSHALLS HEALTH & NATURAL THERAPY 388 5757 | 101 Seaview Rd, New Brighton www.debrafallowfield.com | @debrafallowfieldjeweller
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