Introducing Bec from West 4th Studio. Where every item is handmade!! From her home studio in Melbourne, Bec loves to create 'one-of-a-kind' earrings and pendants.
Find out why Bec started creating and why she is so passionate about the value of handmade.
Tell us about your creations and your handmade process
Hi I’m Bec, and with my husband Dave, we are West 4th Studio. We craft our range of jewellery with Japanese ”washi” papers and different graphic designed images to make pendants and earrings. Sealing the papers to glass and finishing off with quality lever back, hook and stud trays for our classic everyday earring range or resin and glass to create our unique “one of a kind” collection.
Tell us a bit about your journey to becoming a handmade artist
Dave is a self taught Artist painting his original style on canvas.. When we met in Vancouver I was quickly drawn into his artistic world. We started playing around with making jewellery with his art on it. I fell in love with the processes of handmade and creating something unique from a few materials. When we returned to Australia from Vancouver in 1992 we immediately started doing Markets in Melbourne. And all these years on we are still doing a Market each Wednesday and Saturday at the famous Eumundi Markets on the Sunshine Coast.
What is your inspiration or where do you find inspiration?
We have a beautiful tropical garden backdrop, which I use to photograph all our pieces for Made It. The garden fills our cup every day and inspires us with the changing colours, the bird life and foliage. We love to add new pieces to our range based on the view in our backyard. Little bird earrings, mandalas with their colourful patterns, sunflowers and cherry blossoms. Nature and our craft are intertwined
Where did you learn your craft?
One day we walked into our local craft store to buy some paints and canvas for Dave. They had just received a HUGE shipment of Japanese papers and had completely filled one wall with trays and trays of these beautiful papers..... I was amazed by them and instantly thought “how do I use these in our jewellery”..... I literally went home and started experimenting, refining and sourcing quality findings to create the range of jewellery we still offer 17 years on.
Why is handmade artistry so important to you?
If there is one thing we have learned from doing Markets it is that women LOVE jewellery! They love giving it as gifts, matching it to outfits and they love the feel that wearing jewellery gives them. But more importantly they love finding a unique piece of jewellery that is handmade.
Seeing the reaction on someone’s face when you tell them that our jewellery is “handmade” is priceless.
And in this world of fast fashion and Temu we think it is super important to be able to offer a product at a reasonable price that has been crafted specifically for our Australian customers. We love meeting people at our market stall and discussing the handmade process and we love the joy people get from our jewellery.
Bec is a much loved member of the MadeIt Collective, posting regularly in our Facebook Group ~ MadeIt: Handmade not Massmade Australia ~ and sharing her new creations as they are released. If you haven't connected with West 4th Studio. make sure you join our FB Group and say hi !
