Earthquakes, a shattered city and the desire for a fresh start has drawn contemporary jeweller Debra Fallowfield back to her hometown of Dunedin after living in Christchurch for the past two decades. Amy Parsons-King reports.
Debra Fallowfield grew up in Mosgiel and attended The Taieri High School. She recalls a desire to create from an early age, but says she lacked the confidence to study art after finishing high school.
''For as long as I can remember I've been interested in art. My mother was very supportive of me and used to let me fill the sink with plaster-of-paris and glue glitter to every surface I could find.
"I really should have gone to art school but I was such a shy wee thing back then and just didn't have the confidence,'' she says.
Instead, when Fallowfield finished high school she went to work for printing company Hughes Lithographics in the hope of becoming a graphic designer.
After two years working there she felt she needed to leave Dunedin to further develop her career.
''It got to the point where I really felt like I needed to get out of Dunedin. Dunedin in the '80s was quite different from what it is now; it was the Muldoon/Lange era and there just wasn't much work around in the arts.''
Fallowfield left for Sydney, where she continued to work in the printing industry.
She also attended night courses in jewellery making and completed a diploma in fashion design at the East Sydney Polytechnic.
''Although I did a couple of short jewellery-making courses, which I quite enjoyed, I decided I really wanted to work in the fashion industry.
"I got a job for the chain-store Dotti as a pattern-maker, but working behind the scenes in the fashion industry made me realise a career in fashion wasn't for me.''
She packed up her life again and headed to London. It was during this time she realised she had an innate skill and passion for crafting jewellery.
''I seemed to just always go back to jewellery and when I was in London I began to think `I've got a bit of a knack for this' and decided to take it seriously and start trying to sell my work.''
Fallowfield sold her jewellery at local markets as she travelled and on returning to New Zealand settled in Christchurch, becoming a long-term stallholder at the popular weekend Arts Centre Markets.
After eight years at the Arts Centre, Fallowfield found she had developed an extensive client base, so decided to open a studio from where she could create and sell her work.
Just six months after opening the gallery in the Christchurch CBD, the February earthquake hit.
Despite minimal damage to her building, the entire central city was cordoned off, and she was not permitted to access her studio again.
''Thankfully I wasn't at the studio the day of the September earthquake. We only lived a few blocks from town, so I ran through the liquefaction to get to my son, who went to school in the city.
''I knew I wouldn't be able to get into my studio to get my jewellery and tools, but thankfully my husband, Dean, had the brains to jump on his mountain bike and get in there before the area was completely cordoned off.
''Unfortunately he wasn't able to get my tools, but he managed to get all my jewellery.''
Like many Cantabrians, Fallowfield's attention was focused entirely on her family and surviving the initial devastation of the earthquake.
However, as life gradually began to return to normal she was able to purchase more tools and create a makeshift workspace in one half of her bedroom.
She continued to wholesale and sell jewellery across her kitchen table, but she no longer felt connected to Christchurch.
''I remember Dean and I visiting Dunedin in June 2013. It was freezing cold and we were standing in the Octagon looking up at the hills, which were covered with low-hanging clouds and something just clicked.
"I turned to Dean and said `I want to live here' and he replied `I don't know why we never have'.''
Six months later Fallowfield and her family had relocated to Dunedin and bought a house in Port Chalmers.
Less than a year later, she is celebrating the opening of jewellery boutique Precious, exclusively selling her jewellery.
The store is located on the main street of Port Chalmers, nestled between a fish and chip shop and a chemist.
The space is small and intimate and reflects Fallowfield's design aesthetic through its clever and contemporary detailing.
Decorative circles of different sizes have been carved out of the walls, some illuminated by coloured LED lights, while others display her work - the gems reflecting their glass encasement beautifully.
Fallowfield's designs are bold and distinctive. Each item is handcrafted, ensuring no two pieces are the same. She is particularly sought-after for her unique custom-made wedding and engagement rings.
She's passionate about using age-old techniques, such as forging, wax carving, piercing, soldering and fusing and only ever uses ethically sourced gems and internationally certified conflict-free diamonds.
Visit
Precious is located at 26A George St, Port Chalmers.
For more information, visit debrafallowfield.com or phone (027) 201-4835.
