Hello and happy Monday! Today we thought we’d introduce you to artist and designer Ann Lightfoot, the creative force behind our range of up-cycled silver jewellery. After re-locating from Bondi to the small coastal town of Tathra, south of Sydney, Ann is finding inspiration in the calm of her natural surroundings to create some great accessories.

The Tluxe range Perpetual Motion is my first jewellery collaboration with a fashion designer like Rebecca Powell. I love her designs and attitude to sustainable production. I also appreciate that her products are made in Australia, which is increasingly rare.

I’ve always been a maker of things. I studied art in Lismore and went on to major in sculpture and painting at the Canberra School of Art.

Coming from a visual arts background I’m influenced by abstract impressionism. I also adore Rothko and Anish Kapoor. These days the people I meet drive my art practice and the ideas created from those encounters. I’m also driven by the aesthetic of an object, which is as important to me as its function. 

The Tluxe jewellery girl is confident and relaxed, a lady who knows who she is. The snake chain and bar necklace (pictured above) is one of my favourite pieces. It’s elegant and modern. I love the way it moves and sits on the body. It’s a piece I will always be happy to make. 

My inspiration for the Tluxe accessories came from the name Perpetual Motion, and of course the clothes. I’ve incorporated movement and light into the pieces using sterling silver, flowing chains and moving repeated shapes. I’ve also created something solid and still - the leather and solid silver bar necklaces - to contrast against the flowing fabrics. Tess Schofield, the costume designer, used these particular pieces for the opera La Triviata, which was recently performed, live on Sydney harbour. The matadors wore them.

Xchain and bar earrings

 

I try as much as possible to use recycled materials. It just seems to make sense and appeals to my practical sensibility. I feel it’s my responsibility as I am making more stuff for a world that’s already very full. I’m not into mass production and prefer to keep my entire making in-house.