Kia Ora. My name is Nellie Peoples, I am a designer and maker. My practice is based in contemporary jewellery and small objects. I am living, working and making in Tamaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand, from a home studio, which (when I open the roller door) over looks Rangitoto Island.
My original hometown is Canberra, Australia where I studied for a Bachelor of Architecture and Applied Science through the University of Canberra (2007). With my introduction to design through architecture I learnt to develop my skills in design thinking and how humans use and inhabit spaces. The first materials I was introduced to were steel columns, wooden beams and concrete structures. These industrial materials continue to be integrated into my practice today.
My love of jewellery and small object making began at the Gold and Silversmithing workshop at the Australian National University School of Art (2013) where I undertook Bachelor of Design Arts with First Class Honours. In the workshop I developed my hand and bench skills, as well as an introduction to machine assisted construction. During this period I began my exploration into the connections made between objects and people. I developed a thread, that continues to run through my body of work, that cherished objects, in particular jewellery, have the potential to act as a souvenir of special events, beloved people, or particular places.
After my bachelor degree I undertook a graduate residency at the ANU’s Gold and Silversmithing Workshop (2014). In the same year I completed a graduate certificate in Visual Anthropology at ANU. During this time there was an evolution in my thinking about the objects I created. I became interested in the mark that the owner of an object contributes to a piece. How jewellery bears witness to the wearer’s life and those who surround it. Worn through trials and tribulations, excitement and celebration, all marked by the journey taken. Every dent and scratch represents a happening or event.
Since that time I have been developing my arts practice from Ngunnawal country Canberra to Meeanjin Brisbane and now Tamaki Makaurau Auckland. I continue to bring my history of design, architecture, metalsmithing, and independent scholarship together to inform my making and thinking.
Nellie Peoples working at her studio bench.