CONFESSION ALERT! Why I Started a Fine Jewellery Range

So, I have a small confession. 

For those of you who know me, you more than likely know my personality, my humour, the love I have for my cockatiel Larry Birb, and the fact that I listen to Heavy Metal (I'll blanket this genre here for the sake of my readers). 

Yes. I love heavy music. I'm no enthusiast, I'm not technical about it, I just enjoy heavy metal. There's not much more I listen to in fact.

Currently Playing as I write this: Destroyer 666 - Tyranny of the Inevitable. 

I started listening to this type of music in the 4th grade when my Uncle Ricky would mind my brothers and I when my parents went out. We'd play Monopoly and have one of the Big 4 Thrash Metal bands (Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax & Slayer), among many others, blasting through the CD player.

If it wasn't board games, it was card games and if it wasn't card games, it'd be us playing Resident Evil on PS1 or watching whatever horror movies we wanted, which he rented for us from Video Ezy.

Those were good times. We always looked forward to Uncle Ricky's babysitting, even if he came to the door, scratching at it and moaning like a zombie when he arrived. 

My love of metal has stemmed from a young age and whilst I listened to the burnt CDs from my Uncle, I still put on Spice Girls and whatever else a 9 year old girl listened to in the 90s.

The first CD I bought was On Parole by Motörhead when I was 12 or 13 from a Sanity store which I later started working at. I bought it off a whim for $4.99. At the time, I hadn't heard any Motörhead and to me it wasn't heavy enough so I gave it to my dad.

Sporting a Slayer T-Shirt I bought from their 2007 show with Mastodon and Mortal Sin at Hordon Pavilion. Circa 2013.

Sydney Pub Crawl in Psycroptic T-Shirt 2012.
Left: Jon Schaffer (Iced Earth). Middle: Me. Right: My best friend Belinda.

During high school, there weren't many of us who listened to Metal. I formed my close friends from enjoying the music with them and we hung out together. 

Dressing in black, always getting in trouble for wearing mascara and eyeliner to school, I was going through a self discovery and small rebellion which later resulted in stretching my earlobes. We all got plugs. I only had my first hole pierced, so I started there. The others stretched their second earring piercings.

This admittedly was super uncomfortable to force a tapered edge through that pin prick of a hole, but I didn't care about the consequences at the age of 15. 

I remember my Aunties being concerned about this new fad I had adopted, asking what I would do on my wedding day. I had the 'I'll cross that bridge when I come to it' attitude.

As time went on and the excitement of stretching my lobes large enough to hold a pencil through the hole wore off, I decided I would take the plugs out.

It was years before I would wear earrings. I didn't like the way they sat in my enlarged earlobe holes. Floppy, low and never secure.

I approached my doctor around 18 years old and enquired about surgery to get them closed. He told me just to leave earrings out for 3 months and they will close up. They didn't and I just wore earrings that looked like they weighed 2Kg. My hair covered them somewhat so that gave me a bit of comfort. I was still embarrassed to have my lobes looking like they'd aged rapidly.

For my 18th birthday, my friend Adrian took me to Industrie 8 in Cabramatta to get my lip pierced.
I got a centre piercing and would wear a ring through it. I loved it and only took it out when I secured a front desk reception job. I tried to put it back in on the weekends but it was getting irritated from semi closing during the week. That was the end of that.

Me with Lip Ring Circa 2009

I have always been a fan of Fine Jewellery. My Nonno owned a successful gem trading business back in the day and I still have an Uncle who is a Gemmologist and in the Jewellery trade.

My parents and my Aunties worked in my Nonno's shops helping assemble various pieces, sort opal and serve customers. There were many times we would help sort freshly plated findings on a towel on the dining room table. The work never stopped. ​

Nonno in his Gem Shop in Sydney

As time passed by, my style evolved from only wearing black and studs, to a more rockabilly femme look, to now what a friend once described me as looking like one of the Stepford Wives.

I went through my phases with no regret, as these have been pivotal in molding me into the person I am today. The only thing I once regretted was stretching my earlobes. That regret was soon after I took them out and realized that these holes are the way they are and will remain that way until I can work out how to mend them. But I no longer regret them.
This decision has taught me that there's a way I can still live my life the way I want to, wearing the earrings that make me feel like a million bucks. ​

My Husband and I on our Wedding Day - Note the saggy-ass earlobe hole aka 'The Slit'. 2016

How I wear earrings now is what inspired me to launch a range of Interchangeable Fine Jewellery. It is by using the base studs that I can wear diamond earrings and precious gems dangling from my not-so-taut lobes. 

I started by looking for round stud earrings that were wide enough in diameter, secure enough by a screw-backing and had a large enough fastening that it would cover my earlobe holes. I have hand selected this pair to work with my sized stretched piercings. They're like a miracle. They hold against my earlobe as tight as I desire, with security and comfort from the flat bases sandwiching my soft skin.

What's nice about these are they're lightweight in design yet are Solid 14k White Gold. I picked a diameter of 8mm as my holes in my earlobes are now approx 2mm, giving enough coverage to hold against the skin. They shrunk a touch, but if I hold the lobe out, you can tell they were initially larger. It doesn't seem like that's a big enough hole to even have an issue, but trust me, it is.

I now owned a pair of Diamond Studs - something I didn't think I would ever have, given my plug phase.

14k Solid White Gold Diamond Studs 

I thought to myself, there are so many people out there who went through the same thing as I did. Some may be completely in love with their plugs and not even want to change them. Some may be like me, with a new style and as years roll by, wanting to have that elegant and timeless look.

As I paraded around my new favourite earrings, I thought about how I could wear something a bit dressier, feminine and incorporate new look to my days and nights. I set out to buy some matching 14k White Gold findings and started my new Fine Jewellery range self-titled, Jessica Pizzin.

The first pair I made was after obsessing over some carved pieces of Mother of Pearl pendants. I found a liking to the Chinoiserie look and was heavily inspired by all things Oriental. There's something that's so elegant and rich about these looks. ​

Mother of Pearl Earring Drops

Mother of Pearl Earring Drops and Diamond Studs

I ordered the minimum quantity of carved Mother of Pearl and adorned each side with 14k White Gold chain and closed a jump ring on top. It was beyond exciting to finish the pair and hold them up to my Diamond Studs which were already in my ears. It was love.

It took me a good minute to unscrew my super secure studs and thread the newly created Mother of Pearl Earring Drops onto the post. I remember showing my husband and to my delight he smiled and said they were nice. His support has been the most influential during this entire journey and I can't thank him enough. ​

After this, it was the iPhone selfie marathon. I couldn't get enough. I couldn't believe that I could now wear Fine Jewellery that I designed and made, that I was able to change my look, and that I felt like I would keep in all my years to come until they would be appropriately passed down through my family.

iPhone selfies commenced. My Diamond Studs and Mother of Pearl Earring Drops. 2018

That was it. I was set out to create more Interchangeable Earring Drops that I could wear with my fresh and classic style.

Thus, the creation of my Trapeze Earring Drops. Solid 14k White Gold with White Freshwater Pearl and Faceted Ruby Beads. They reminded me of Gucci which I was obsessing over at the time. I would pack these Earring Drops when I stayed with my Mum and Brother's Girlfriend in Sydney on our girly weekends away. Diamond Studs during the day, and paired with my Gucci inspired Earring Drops for the night. They were perfect. Wherever I wore them, I would get compliments.

Trapeze Earring Drops with Diamond Studs

Trapeze Earring Drops

From then on, I carried on creating a bunch more Earring Drops, all with one of a kind stones. 

You can browse my current range on my Etsy Shop Jessica Pizzin.

I'd love to help you 

For those of you who have larger earring holes from your plugs, and would like to invest in these Heirloom Interchangeable Fine Jewellery pieces, send me a message or leave a comment below to find out how you too can create classic looks with your current earlobes. I would love to help you find peace in Earrings as you grow older and if your style changes.

Remember, who you are doesn't have to be a physical representation of the music you listen to, the stereotypes society places on you, or an absorption of your surroundings.

The girl who still listens to Heavy Metal (fave bands include King Diamond, Judas Priest, Accept, Megadeth, Opeth, Dio & more) and wears pink blouses, polka dots and high heels is 100% comfortable in her journey and who she has become today. ​​