These days it isn’t just gold and diamonds that women covet. Perspex, wood, fabric – even paper, line the jewellery cabinets of some of the coolest stores around the world. We caught up with Gina Costello and Bronwyn Eager to find out more about the charm of resin jewellery.
The BrandResin masters and co-creators of the self-titled brand, Gina & Bron met back at university where they both studied engineering. Not so keen on joining the monotonous 9 to 5 grind, the girls took their engineering skills and mixed this with their passion and knowledge of jewellery. “I decided that I was never going to wake up in the morning and think ‘yay, I’m off to work as an engineer today,’” remarks Gina. “Being a small business owner and designer makes facing each day enjoyable.”
The love affair with resin began for both of them while at university. “The ability to make moulds and continue reproducing products opened up a new world,” says Bron. “The beauty of resin is that each piece can have a unique visual appearance, but the overall design is constant.” The benefits seemed endless (not only is resin hard-wearing, you can create almost any colour you like) and to the delight of both girls, very few companies were using it to the extent that they wanted to.
Gina & Bron have a huge range of resin jewellery and homewares available from their gallery/store in Melbourne (at 5/15 Rankins Lane) as well as over 20 stockists Australia wide. Visit
www.ginaandbron.com to find a stockist near you.
The Workshops“Resin has always been perceived as a bit of a mystery,” says Bron. “This provided the perfect outlet to demystify it somewhat and increase the awareness of our brand and the nature of our work.” The workshops run for about three hours, during which you make your own resin items to take home. You can choose from a bangle & ring, homewares or a bead-making workshop. Classes are small so you get all the special attention you need and the girls also take bookings for hen’s nights and other special occasions. It’s also worth noting that you can buy vouchers to any of the classes – they make the perfect gift for the person who is impossible to impress.
For more information on Gina&Bron’s range or for workshop times and prices visit,
www.ginaandbron.com