Holly Ryan
Noosa-based jeweller and sculptor, Holly Ryan, embodies an innate respect for the environment and natural world through handmade, considered design.
Photography: Courtesy of Holly Ryan
Holly Ryan in her Noosa studio. Photo: Courtesy of Holly Ryan
‘My home and my wardrobe both reflect the same energy as my store and brand. Organic, eclectic, colourful, upcycled, recycled, considered and of course, handcrafted,’ says Holly Ryan. Photo: Courtesy of Holly Ryan
‘I love art so much, I love how it makes you feel, can transport you or comfort you. My favourite artists or creators include Brancusi, Hepworth, Picasso, Miro, Matisse, Arp, J.B.Blunk, Calder and Basquiat.’ Photo: Courtesy of Holly Ryan
Holly Ryan believes that a piece of handmade jewellery is a work of art and it should be worn and loved for generations. Photo: Courtesy of Holly Ryan
Pieces in Holly Ryan’s collections include considered, seasonless, genderless and customisable designs. Photo: Courtesy of Holly Ryan
‘An innate fascination with the natural world shaped me from an early age and urged me to find unique ways to produce responsibly as a designer.’ Photo: Courtesy of Holly Ryan
Hi Holly! What has shaped the maker you are today?
Holly: My love and respect for the environment and the abundance of beautiful materials it provides for me to create with. I’m a very tactile person and love to work with my hands intuitively, which is why I love the process of lost wax casting in jewellery-making and stone or wood carving in sculpture. I love to get lost in the process of carving a design with no real end sight in mind, just pure freedom and perpetual motion.
Tell us about a regular day in the life of Holly Ryan – do you have any rituals that get you in the mood to create?
A swim in the ocean, a surf or a mountain climb for sunrise is the way I like to start my day to get the creative juices flowing. Living in Noosa I’m very spoiled - I had a nudie swim in the fairy pools at Noosa headland for sunrise the other week! I am so grateful to have returned home.
Your brand has a strong sustainability ethos. What drives this commitment to create responsibly and how do you oppose fast fashion culture?
I had a pretty alternative upbringing; growing up on the side of a mountain beside the beach, no television, no sugar, a whole lot of nature and outdoor activities. Mum made all of my clothes and taught me to sew at a young age. I learned potato printing and candle making and woke up for sunrise to watch flowers open every morning.
An innate fascination with the natural world shaped me from an early age and urged me to find unique ways to produce responsibly as a designer. Fast fashion is pure greed and destruction, selfishness and a desire for power or popularity at any cost. I believe in circularity, upcycling, recycling, reusing, repairing and caring for the things that we own, not taking things for granted, being grateful.
Tell us about the process of designing and creating a piece of jewellery…
There are many different types of jewellery making and I don't practise all of them. My preferred jewellery making technique is called lost wax casting. This is where I carve a design from wax to be moulded and cast to metal.
My favourite method within this process Is called 'cast-in-place' where I set gemstones into the wax to go through the moulding process and be cast into the metal. It gives the jewellery a very organic look and feel, which is another nod to nature and the wabi-sabi design aesthetic I’ve always leaned on.
‘I’m a very tactile person and love to work with my hands intuitively, which is why I love the process of lost wax casting in jewellery-making and stone or wood carving in sculpture.’ Photo: Courtesy of Holly Ryan
“I believe in circularity, upcycling, recycling, reusing, repairing and caring for the things that we own, not taking things for granted, being grateful.”
‘My home and my wardrobe both reflect the same energy as my store and brand – organic, eclectic, colourful, upcycled, recycled, considered and of course, handcrafted.’ Photo: Courtesy of Holly Ryan
You’ve mentioned before that artistic influences play a significant role in your design process. We would love to hear more about the things that influence you…
I love art so much, I love how it makes you feel, can transport you or comfort you. My favourite artists or creators include Brancusi, Hepworth, Picasso, Miro, Matisse, Arp, J.B.Blunk, Calder and Basquiat.
These influences led you to create a sculpting practice back in 2017, can you tell us more about that?
I originally created sculptures to display my jewellery at fashion week but was approached by Jerico Tracy, the director of Jerico Contemporary gallery to be represented as an artist and exhibit. This came as quite a shock to me as I hadn’t planned a second career path. It has been incredibly rewarding and has already taught me so much.
Sculpture can be very similar to jewellery, it’s on a much larger scale, but a lot of the same rules apply, using much larger (scarier) tools. I now have a full tool shed at home that most of my male friends are envious of!
Learning to use these tools has really empowered me and has recently led to me building and designing furniture for my new boutique in the form of a mirror, shelving, a soft close mitred edge draw for our packing station, an appointment table and a wooden collage feature wall, all from locally sourced, upcycled or recycled hardwoods. Who knows what’s next!
How do you think the ethos of your work shapes you as a person?
I think at this point it’s pretty difficult for me to separate self-self from work-self. It’s all one in the same. My home and my wardrobe both reflect the same energy as my store and brand – organic, eclectic, colourful, upcycled, recycled, considered and of course, handcrafted.
What are you most proud of about your work?
Trusting in my intuition and never selling out to produce offshore. Sticking with handmade from the very beginning (2010), before it was cool.
What is coming up for your business over the next year or so?
I’m currently designing a new range but I have three different equally strong concepts, so I am struggling to commit. A metaphor for life right there haha! I really want to go slower this year, thrive not just survive, work smarter not harder.
I will be meeting with the Noosa council and local environmental activists in a couple of weeks to partner and promote circularity and climate change awareness in our region, which is exciting. I will also continue to work with tech companies such as Lenovo to turn e-waste metals into timeless jewellery pieces.
Lastly, if you could give younger Holly Ryan a piece of advice, what would it be?
Trust your gut, girl.