Faces behind Made on the Left - Part 5 - Rosanna Elizabeth

Rounding up our introductury series is our highly valued regional Made on the Left founding member, Rosanna Vinci. Rosanna has introduced you to all the other committee members as Made on the Left's 'Blog Queen' but went all shy when it was time to show herself, so I had the pleasure of interviewing her about her lovely jewellery, life at the doorway to WA's wine region, and her plans for the future - allow me to present Rosannna Elizabeth:

Tell us a bit about yourself & your craft.

Hi, I’m Rosanna and I create jewellery under the brand Rosanna Elizabeth.

I grew up on a farm in Donnybrook (the apple capital of Western Australia!) and now live in Bunbury, two hours south of Perth. I studied at Murdoch University and graduated in 2005 with a degree in Media Studies. After working in radio for a couple of years, I became a fundraising campaign coordinator for a not for profit organisation during the day, and a jewellery designer by night! I love creating jewellery that is a little bit different, like button necklaces and jewellery that incorporates vintage pieces. Something a little bit out of the square I guess that no one else will have. I have a driving need to keep learning new things and improving my craft.

What made you want to get involved with organising the Made on the Left craft fair?

I originally wanted to organise a market in the south west around the Bunbury area, but it was a little difficult by myself. So when Dara kick started the first event, I thought that I could learn a lot from it, and I have! I hope that we can extend our events to other regions of WA, including the south west, and also through to the northern regions of WA if there is a market for it.

What do you cherish most in your life?

I cherish life in general. You never know what can happen in the space of a day, or in 10 seconds for that matter. Life is too short. I also cherish my family, I wouldn’t be here without them, they are the best and I love them dearly.

What could you not live without?

My GHD hair straightener! I have really curly hair and if I let it dry, it’s a frizz ball! So I need to blow dry it straight after I wash it, which takes almost an hour (I have really thick hair), then spend another half an hour straightening it with my straightener…it works though and everyone thinks I have straight hair. If only they knew : ) If I’m being slack I just let it dry over night and then go over it with the straightener in the morning, but it doesn’t look as nice. My sister is a hairdresser - I blame her for me wanting to have nice hair all the time!

What inspires you?

Anything and everything! Colours, fashion, nature, people and personalities – I love it all! Colours are a huge thing for me though…it sets my mind off in all directions and I tend to mix different colours together, which makes for cool combinations!

Do you think being in Western Australia affects your craft in a negative way?

Not really. I think the internet makes it a lot easier these days to put your work out there. I have my jewellery in a boutique in the U.S. and without the internet, this probably would not have happened. I also think a lot of my creativity comes from the relaxed atmosphere here in Bunbury, so that’s certainly a positive!




What is the most important thing to you when you create your work?

I need to have some inspiration while I’m creating and be in a creative mood. If I don’t have that creativity in my mind, I just can’t seem to put anything together, or things just don’t work. I went though a creative drought not long ago, I didn’t make anything for about three weeks and I was starting to doubt myself. But thankfully the spell has been broken and I’ve found the motivation to get my groove back!

What are your plans for the future?

I hope to have my work in boutiques around the world and also making my mark locally with both my jewellery and bags.

I am learning to sew at the moment and I’d like to use this in the future to expand into making other crafty things. While doing this I’d also like to continue learning new jewellery making techniques. I am currently learning more about wire work, but I’d really love to get into Precious Metal Clay…I just need to remind myself to stick with one thing at a time!

In the long term, I hope to expand my jewellery range and launch a line of bags and possibly even clothing! My plan is to establish myself locally first and then go from there.