Where did your love of jewellery-making come from?
It was passed down to me from my mother – together, she and my
father studied silversmithing in Taxco, Mexico, during the time they
lived there. It was also at this time that they conceived me, so you
could say it’s in my blood.
Tell us about your brand...
Holly Ryan jewellery was first imagined in 2010, during my final year
of university, where I was studying a Bachelor of Fashion Design
at QUT in Brisbane. All of my jewellery is hand-crafted in Australia
using recycled materials of the highest quality, such as solid gold
and sterling silver. We have a strong focus on sustainability and ethi-
cal production, and my team works between two studios – one in
Coolum Beach, Queensland, and one in Redfern, New South Wales.
My designs are art and nature driven, so they embody a sense of
organic minimalism.
What do you love most about what you do?
The freedom to create bespoke pieces and design precisely what I
want to design. I also love that I have the opportunity to create mean-
ingful items such as wedding and engagement rings, and to repur-
pose raw materials and constantly learn while I’m at it. I never get
bored if I’m always learning.
Why is operating as sustainably as possible important to you?
I’m a passionate environmentalist; it’s how I was raised and in
my opinion, it’s selfish not to take responsibility for our individual
impact. At this point, circularity, recyclability, durability and repair-
ability need to be the focus for all designers. I truly believe that
waste is a design flaw.
And how do you apply these practices to your business?
I believe sustainability is a constant journey, so we’re continually
reviewing our practices and trying to find ways to be more sustain-
able. Part of this was the decision to incorporate found materials
into our HR 19 collection, such as the ceramic tiles I collected on a
beach in Italy.
Another part of this was the 2018 launch of our Recycling Initia-
tive; this is a closed-loop production system, because the beauty
of the raw metals we use is that they never lose their value and can
be repurposed. But our closed-loop production really begins with
design – I try to design pieces that are timeless and will become“
”
In my opinion, it’s self ish not to take
responsibility for our individual impact