Damselfly Jewellery Designer – Emerging New Talent

Spotted dangling from stylish celebs including Miranda Kerr, Gwen Stefani, Kate Bosworth, Emma Booth and Megan Gale, and garnishing the fashion week collections of designers the ilk of Lisa Ho and Zimmermann, Damselfly Jewellery has grown wings since launching in 2000.

Pretty impressive when you consider the designer is ‘basically’ self taught, give or take a Silversmithing Diploma from RMIT and a deferred dabbling in a Fine Arts degree.
“It’s a dream come true,” gushes 28 year old Christianna Heideman. “I am just so incredibly happy to be making a living doing something I truly love. It is crucial to me to work in a job you are passionate about. Otherwise, what’s the point?”

Citing a diverse range of inspirations, “it could be anything from a song, a piece of art work, vintage jewellery, travel or just people watching.” Christianna clearly lives and breathes fashion. She particularly admires the aesthetic of cutting edge labels Balmain, Alexander Wang, Ellery, Arnsdorf, Ann Demeulemeester and Rodarte, and Dominic Jones and Delfinda Delettrez are jewellery favourites.

“Urban, confident, creative, nomadic and free spirited,” is how she describes the Damselfly woman; words which perfectly sum up the Melbourne-based designer. Hobbies include photography, skateboarding, travelling, knitting, cooking, painting and boys. Oh, and in her ‘spare’ time, Christianna moonlights as a jewellery buyer for a number of leading chain stores.

So what stirred a young girl’s design aspirations?
“Looking through my mother and grandmother’s jewellery boxes as a child; they both have amazing collections. I used to sit for hours, entranced by the beautiful stones, settings and designs, imagining where the pieces came from, who has worn them, who made them…”

With collections that span from whimsical and girlie, to tough and edgy, Damselfly continues to surprise each season. The latest collection is all about earthy semi precious stones, a favoured material to work with.
“I’ve recently become obsessed with raw, fossilised materials, as opposed to the highly polishes, faceted stones popular in jewellery making. Call me a hippie, but I also believe in the healing properties of certain stones, which is reflected in my choice of materials and stones in recent collections,” says Christianna.

Next up is a collection of body jewellery for Damselfly, with bags launching next year. And Elias (the men’s label, launched in 2005) will expand into a leatherwear range that’s sure to fly off the shelves.

Check out www.damselfly.com.au to see some of Christianna’s gorgeous pieces!

China White