Hello 🙂 I’m Annette, a designer, gemmologist and artisan… mother to 3 (1 at home on weekends, 1 at uni, 1 working on our farm) and wife to an aviator/farmer (he’d rather be flying!). We live in our passive solar house on our beef cattle farm, situated atop the Great Dividing Range in NSW, with our “pet” working dog ‘Lucky’ (he doesn’t really work, he just goes for rides on the bike/ute), the purely pet husky ‘Akela’ who loves to run fast and longs for icy days, and many (as yet) unnamed cows, calves and the occasional bull.
When I’m not helping out on the farm I get to escape to my studio space – sometimes a place of calm and sometimes a place of creative frenzy. But no matter the mood, this is where I get to play with my collections of gemstones and pearls and create beautiful handcrafted jewellery for the woman who wants to feel and look special <3
I travelled extensively as a child with my adventurous parents and we spent time in the bustling medinas and mountain villages of Morrocco, the ancient ruins of Greece, history soaked towns and cities throughout Europe, whimsical countryside in Ireland and closer to home, deserted stretches of the wild Australian coast. I now travel with my family and am sharing some of my favourite places with them – and finding new ones! This love of exotic, ancient and fabled places in the world inspires me daily and you will see many of them reflected throughout my jewellery collections.
I am also inspired by the glamour and elegance of the 1950s – as I have got older perhaps I have come to appreciate a time when women dressed up to go to town and an outfit ALWAYS featured jewellery! I like to think that I can bring a touch of that old world glamour to you through my jewellery.
Sometimes the gems themselves inspire me… and hailing from far flung places like Russia, the Dominican Republic, Africa, Brazil, Afghanistan, Spain and Finland, their stories can be just as interesting as the piece of jewellery they lead me to use them in.
All of my jewellery is made with quality natural gemstones and cultured freshwater pearls and any treatments are disclosed. There is a world of synthetic, imitation and misnamed gems out there now, so as a gemmologist I check each stone first to ensure you are getting genuine natural gems, correctly identified. All metals are either sterling silver, 12 or 14ct gold filled or gold vermeil so you don’t have to worry about allergies, and they are far sturdier than base or plated metals. (Have a look at my materials page for more info !). Plus all my work is fully guaranteed so you never need to worry – just wear them and enjoy!
Do pop in often and see my new designs, and if you like a daily bit of inspiration, join me on my Facebook page 🙂 I’m a bit more random with Instagram since living in the sticks mobile coverage is a bit ‘dodgy’ to say the least, but I do post there too. If you prefer to get the occasional email, do sign up for my newsletters where I will tell you about some new designs, info about gems and some jewellery hints to make your life easier. If you are in the central west/central tablelands/northern tablelands and upper hunter areas of NSW, keep an eye on my Events page where I list upcoming events/shows I am attending – and if you’re a bit further flung but would like to host a designer trunk show, do let me know and we will see what we can do!
Ciao
Annette
I am happy to have you email me at annette@annettepiper.com with any enquiries you may have!
Qualifications:
Dip Gem: Diploma of Gemmology, Gemmological Association of Australia, 1986 registered number 2345.
CPAA: Certified Pearl Specialist, Cultured Pearl Association of America Inc. 2018.