If you’re a jewellery lover (let’s be honest, who isn’t?!) then you’d no doubt be familiar with Natalie Marie. Known for her beautiful fine and bespoke pieces, all hand-crafted in Australia, Natalie has created one of Australia’s most loved jewellery labels. For part three of our Meet the Makers series we spoke to Natalie about how she’s created a mindful and sustainable brand, in an industry that’s typically slow in adopting eco-friendly practices.

Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us. We’ve followed your brand since the beginning. Can you tell us how you got started and why you decided to create your own brand?

I started Natalie Marie nine years ago, shortly after finishing my university studies in Jewellery and Fine Arts. Initially I worked solely on creating individual pieces for friends and family and creating one-off designs, driven by the desire to explore materials and processes and develop my own style and practise as a Jeweller. When I first started out, my goal was just to create. I didn’t have a business plan or a long-term vision for the brand, I just wanted to make jewellery. The journey of our brand has been a very organic one as a result and the goal posts have continued to move. The last five years have seen NM grow from a three-person operation to a team of forty. While our scale may have rapidly changed, I am proud that our core ethos stands strong, and that we are still creating consciously and with intention.

All of your pieces are produced sustainably and ethically. Can you share a little about your sustainability journey and why it’s so important to your brand?

At NM, all of our pieces are made to order, which is key to how we have grown consciously and sustainably over the years. This model has also allowed us to maintain control over production as we have scaled. Being made to order ensures that we are a minimal waste company, which is vital from a sustainability perspective, alongside strict recycling and sourcing initiatives.

Our production methods and processes have remained largely the same since the brand was born. At the core of this is in-house production for the majority of our pieces, allowing for control and supply chain transparency. Our sustainability efforts have strong foundations in our long standing, evolving relationships with a very tight network of suppliers who we have worked with since our inception. Growing sustainably can present challenges, but with growth we also have more control and power to invest in long-term change for the industry as a whole. We approach sustainability as a journey, rather than a destination, and appreciate the weight of responsibility to make conscious progress in an industry which has been notoriously slow to do so. In order to continue this important work and expand our awareness and understanding of the industry’s challenges and shortfalls, we have partnered with some international industry game changers who act as our mentors and assist us in connecting with a broader community of conscious jewellers globally.

You mentioned that you produce majority of your range at your studio in Sydney, Australia, which is such a beautiful point of difference. What made you decide to go down this path and have you faced any challenges along the way?

We have always been extremely proud to handcraft our pieces in our in-house studio using predominantly locally sourced materials. This was a natural evolution of my independent practise as a Jeweller and is something we have, until recently, been able to maintain and scale with our growth. One of the greatest challenges we have faced over recent years, has been keeping up with the increased demand for our pieces, whilst not degrading our customers’ experience by extending our production times or failing to meet expectations.

Our production demand has recently expanded beyond the capabilities of our in-house team of ten jewellers. The location of our studio as well as a shortage of skilled, qualified jewellers has led us to reaching a production capacity. In order to maintain reasonable manufacturing windows for our pieces, which all remain made to order, we have had to adapt and expand our vision for conscious production, seeking out like minded partners to contribute to the timely manufacture of our pieces. As it stands, currently 92% of our online collection pieces are manufactured in Sydney, with 81% of these made in-house, 3% are manufactured in New Zealand, and 5% are manufactured overseas. 100% of bespoke and One of a Kind pieces are made in Sydney.

We have a planned central expansion which is intended to facilitate more local manufacturing jewellers, so that we can return to our ideal goal of manufacturing 100% of our pieces in-house, but for now we are confident in the conscious partnerships we have formed, which in turn have alleviated pressure from our team and done a great deal for their individual well-being.

Your biggest ‘pinch me’ moment in business so far?

My biggest pinch me experience will always be witnessing the brilliance of our team members who choose to commit their time and energy to furthering our vision as a company. I am always in awe of the talent, dedication and skill harnessed by our team, and am passionate about creating a dynamic, supportive and enriching experience for them as a part of this journey.

What’s next for Natalie Marie Jewellery?

We are quite inward focused currently, making some big changes to our internal systems to support our customers more throughout their journey with us, and to streamline our production processes. This work will facilitate our next exciting project which we hope to bring to life this year. The last twelve months have really encouraged us to realign with our purpose and re-evaluate what’s important, and our next steps are deeply rooted in our clear intentions as a business.

Lastly, what’s your key piece of advice in life that you would pass onto anyone?

This quote has stuck with me since my teens, it translates to so many areas of life and is something I often refer back to when navigating change or challenges.

“It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.”

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