Artist: philothea flynn

workshop at studio toru

Known for her bespoke versatile style, each jewellery piece is individually crafted with great care. Philothea creates unique pieces of jewellery with mainly recycled pure silver and sterling silver and also with brass, copper, gold and bronze. She consciously chooses products that are environmentally friendly and aims to make jewellery that is ethical and sustainable. Philothea enjoys constantly learning – whether it be about healing properties in gemstones or new ways of transforming metals and is unashamedly a tool geek! She enjoys creating special jewellery commissions to celebrate loved ones and life events.

My bio &  jeweller’s journey:

My whakapapa from Mum is Ngati Porou, Ngati Kahungunu, English and French and from Dad – Australian and Irish. I grew up between the Solomon Islands and Aotearoa New Zealand, and lived in Australia for many years, returning home to Aotearoa in 1992. I now live in Eastbourne with my husband, 3 children (they come and go), and our dog .

I have always had a strong interest in the arts and enjoyed working in a variety of creative areas including retail arts and video & AV production companies in Australia.  Returning to Aotearoa I completed a BA in Anthropology, Film and Māori Studies and a Post Graduate Diploma in Museum and Heritage Studies at Victoria University.

In Aotearoa, I have mainly worked in the Arts and Heritage sectors. Roles have included working with Manatū Taonga (Ministry for Culture & Heritage) as an Adviser, Image Researcher, Copyright Administrator and Community Liaison Officer. I also worked with The Film Archive (now Ngā Taonga  Sound and Vision) as Kaiawhina I Ngā Taonga Māori and freelanced with Te Papa, National Library and Workshop E.

My current passion for jewellery started with a class in Ubud, Bali, with my family in 2017. On my return home, a health scare made me re-evaluate work and life priorities. While recuperating I decided to pursue jewellery as a creative outlet and healing focus. This led to the desire to make a living designing and creating beautiful pieces of jewellery. Over the years, I have studied with and learnt from some wonderful local and international jewellers.

I am inspired by a variety of jewellery styles and techniques and often look at nature and wonder how I can express what I see in jewellery. Always curious to know more I see my learning journey will be never-ending. The deep satisfaction of making jewellery to adorn our bodies and gift to others is my way of showing appreciation for (my) life.

 Jewellery Website & Instagram coming soon.