Two Bargara women are spreading the message about the beauty of recycling and using natural products through their new store, Artisans 4670.
Kathy Valks and Beverly Whip opened the jewellery and homewares store, situated at Bargara Berries on Hughes Road, on Sunday and said they had already received overwhelming support from the community.
Kathy, a professional clay maker, and Beverley a professional interior designer and owner of Elements Jewellery, crossed paths last year and soon realised they shared a passion for creating beautiful things out of all-natural and recycled items.
“Bev walked through my door one day and we connected straight away,” Kathy said.
“We had shared ideas about the future, what we wanted to see and what we wanted to bring to Bargara.”
The pair, both residents of Bargara, opened Artisans 4670 on Sunday and said it was the start of building a community of art and passion while teaching others how to recycle.
“I design jewellery which is 100% Australian Made, the only jewellery on the Australian made campaign certified as Product of Australia” Bev said.
“All my beads are made in Australia from Australian timbers and I also use local gumnuts, Poinciana, wood and logs which are all locally sourced.”
Kathy said her side of the business was the pottery products, which were also made from all Australian clay.
“My mother was a potter, I'm a potter, my daughter even my grandchildren – it's a lineage of passion as far as clay goes,” she said.
“I am functional potter- I love to make things that are actually useful like keep cups, bowls etc.”
Beauty in recycling and natural items
The creative duo said the idea of Artisans 4670 was to sell products which were created using recycled or natural items.
“We try to turn something that is thrown away or discarded and means nothing to anyone, into something special and unique,” Kathy said.
“For example, I have a clay cup that my mother made in 1935 and I still use it. That's what I want people to do- use what they buy from us for a long time.”
Bev echoed those sentiments, stating Artisans 4670 was all about “one man’s trash being another man’s treasure”.
“All of our creations are made from things that we walk past every day,” she said.
Workshops for children and adults
Bev and Kathy said they were also providing workshops for both children and adults alike to share their knowledge and to teach others how to create something out of “nothing”.
“We will have a range of arts and crafts activities including natural jewellery making, upcycled window planters, stepping stones and more,” Those workshops are for the school holidays.
“We've been really conscious in that everything we have thought about has to have a meaning,” Bev said.
“We are passionate about this area and less plastic and more upcycling in our eyes is amazing.”
The team said workshops would be updated regularly and adults workshops would be coming soon.
A list of workshop dates can be found below or by visiting the Artisans 4670 Facebook page here.
