Alice Tsakirakis’ jewellery is raw, highly textural and purposefully imperfect. After launching her label, The Line of Sun in mid-2012, The 28-year-old Melbournian has just unveiled her new collection ‘Formation’.
Comprised of eight designs, spanning rings, necklaces and earrings, the collection heros Alice’s obsession with Australian sapphires, which are set using the precarious cast-in-place technique and delicately ‘excavated’ out, appearing as though they are being discovered for the first time. ‘The textures of the rocks found in Australia made me want to be able to recreate this in metals, and it all stemmed from there,’ tells Alice, who is a devout worshipper of Melbourne Museum’s gemmology collection.
A self-taught jewellery designer, with a background in visual communications and textile design, Alice found her craft while in search of a hands-on-activity and way to spend less time glued to a computer screen (though she admits she was a YouTube sponge and dedicated trial-and-error girl in the early days). ‘I learnt about the process of carving wax and casting metals, and was immediately obsessed’ the designer explains. ‘I loved that I could create little sculptures that I could actually wear!’
Though establishing The Line of Sun years earlier, Alice really got things rolling while on maternity leave from her part-time textile-design gig. She was so determined to not have to go back to work, that she was out in our studio garage every second her little boy Van was asleep. ‘Learning, practicing and creating… I utilised time like never before,’ recalls Alice, ‘and the more I explored different methods of making jewellery, the more I knew it was what I needed to do.’
Sharing the studio space with her furniture-making husband (and lots of sawdust!), Alice makes every piece by hand, and she loves that the wearer can see and feel the handwork that has gone into their own, unique piece. ‘People are so used to buying new “stuff” that they have forgotten how lovely it is to treasure something, knowing how much time and love has gone into creating it,’ the maker muses. ‘It can be challenging to compete against a mind-set of fast fashion, but I think people are slowly seeing the value of investing in pieces that will last a lifetime, rather than just a season.’
Find out more about Alice Tsakirakis’ The Line of Sun jewellery, and custom custom engagement and wedding rings on her website. Keep your eyes peeled for a new collection of pearl embellished designs in the works.
