Old friends: Mukti and Renee Blackwell at her exhibition
I was feeling a little fluey on Friday night but I couldn’t miss the opening of Renee Blackwell’s jewellery exhibition in Maleny.
Renee was one of my mentors in the early days, when I was still developing my skincare range and trialling names for the brand.
Originally from the USA, Renee has been creating handcrafted jewellery for 30 years. While most people know her through Renee Blackwell Design, she also founded her own natural skincare company in 1997.
While Renee let the skincare go after about five years in order to concentrate on jewellery, she was more than happy to share her knowledge and experience with me.
She helped me to develop my ideas and set the direction and focus for Mukti. A woman I admired deeply, it was easy to to listen to her and take on board her wisdom and advice.
Renee felt strongly that I should use my name for the brand because it really is the essence of me, however I’d had concerns in regards to people being able to pronounce it correctly.
This was overcome when Renee and I made a trip together to the bustling Queen Street mall in Brisbane and surveyed people to see if they could pronounce the name ‘Mukti ‘ — 75% of people pronounced it ‘mooktee’ (correct!) and 25% pronounced it ‘muckti’ (wrong!).
Renee's new series uses glass such as that found in the highly ornamental windows of this beautiful temple in Jaipur, India
As Renee was one of the first people who really encouraged me to go for it with my business, I wanted to share some of her creativity with you.
Temple glass and sterling silver rings from Renee Blackwell Design
Her ethnic-inspired pieces are all one-of-a-kind, and there’s an interesting story behind the pieces she exhibited on Friday night.The glass ‘stones’ are actually temple glass taken from highly ornamental leadlight windows in temples located in Jaipur, India.
When the glass needs to be replaced or the temple is renovated, gem cutters work the glass into beautiful faceted ‘stones’ that Renee uses to create her unique pieces. It’s the ultimate in upcycling!
Thanks Renee for all your support and I wish you every success on your journey with jewellery as you inspire people with your wearable works of art! x
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