Studio Visit

Bianca Mavrick Jewellery

Bianca Mavrick’s jewellery stops you in your tracks. On more than one occasion, we’ve encountered her designs while speed instagram-scrolling, only to eagerly back-track, screenshot and flag – motivated by ‘work research’, of course! 

Today we’re excited to share a studio visit (above a mechanical repairs workshop in Moorooka!) with the bright, pragmatic creative, who is about to release her latest collection, ‘Bel Air’.

Written
by
Elle Murrell

Inside the Brisbane studio of Bianca Mavrick. Photo – Mindi Cooke.

The 28-year-old contemporary jewellery designer. Photo – Mindi Cooke.

Bianca will release her new collection, ‘Bel Air’, this Saturday. Photo – Mindi Cooke.

The designer is always pushing boundaries, using unconventional materials and creating her own production techniques. Photo – Mindi Cooke.

‘I love to create abstracted graphic motifs through my signature processes of powder coating metal and working with hand pigmented resins,’ details Bianca. ‘From the outset, I loved any material processes that could bring colour to my work.’ Photo – Mindi Cooke.

‘Bold, oversized earrings with interesting material combinations are what have become iconic in my work,’ tells the designer. Photo – Mindi Cooke.

Bianca worked out of a studio in Brisbane’s amazing Metro Arts building for many years. This month she moved to a larger space on a breezy mezzanine level of a, wait for it, mechanical repairs workshop in Moorooka! – ‘Not the space you’d expect my jewellery to come from!’ she jokes. Photo – Mindi Cooke.

Early on, Bianca was lucky to find some amazing stockists in Melbourne ( such as at Craft and Modern Times) who really championed her work. After an epic order from US-base Anthropologie, she hasn’t looked back. ’ Photo – Mindi Cooke.

‘A highlight is being a part of a wonderful community, and larger movement of contemporary jewellery culture in Melbourne, despite being based in Queensland,’ tells Bianca. Photo – Mindi Cooke.

The designer likes her forms to stand alone as sculptural pieces, and has continued her focus on abstracted motif shapes in interesting combinations of colour, in this collection. Photo – Mindi Cooke.

Writer
Elle Murrell
27th of November 2017

Bianca Mavrick’s  wildly popular jewellery looks considerably different to the first range she ever released… while in primary school. ‘I convinced my parents to let me sell the jewellery I had made at a local market,’ the designer, now 28, recalls. ‘They were made from seashells and beads back the,  and I would sell pieces like beaded toe rings for $2 pocket money!’

When she wasn’t earning her keep as pint-sized entrepreneur, Bianca would be admiring her Grandmother’s box of old costume jewellery from the 1960’s to 1980’s, slowly reconstructing the pieces into new styles until she had pilfered the whole box! This wasn’t just a phase. Bianca went on to study Industrial Design at Queensland University of Technology, while also taking gold and silversmithing night classes. Next it was a Bachelor of Fine Art, majoring in jewellery and small objects at Queensland College of Art, graduating in 2014. 

In late 2016, the designer was able to finish up her part-time job, and commit full time to design, in part thanks to  a really large order from US retailer Anthropologie. 

Bianca hasn’t looked back, and will this week launch her latest line, ‘Bel Air’. The range evolved from exploring private residences-turned-museums and art galleries, dreaming up what a visitor might wear in such spaces. ‘It has an interesting balance of composite materials, and is designed in a way that I can continue to make the pieces from my studio in higher volumes,’ adds the ever-pragmatic creative.‘It’s also wearable with lots of distinct motifs that are full of personal subtext, like magnets to symbolise personal power, and torso curves and archway shapes that symbolise empowerment and confidence in a space.’

The designer really draws on her Industrial Design background to inform her process, using industrial surface finishes like matte rubber coated metal, colour coatings and uniquely patterned Italian cellulose plastics.

Developing a visual language that is offbeat, original and unseen is a highlight for Bianca, and she is so chuffed her efforts have been embraced both at home and overseas. She is currently working on an exclusive body of work for Pieces of Eight gallery in the new year, and has new lines for Australian and international stockists in the pipeline. Taking style cues from our big-earring-loving columnist and constant collaborator Fiona Killackey, we can’t wait to pop a pair of Bianca’s pieces on for our next glamorous gallery visit!

If you’re in Brisbane, Bianca Mavrick’s ‘Bel Air’ collection is launching at the Institute of Modern Art in this Saturday night

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