By Abbey Cannan
A new jewel of Hastings Street has been discovered as guests lined the street for the grand opening of Freya.
Eumundi’s Lilli Frey has come a long way since she first began creating and designing polymer clay jewellery to sell at the Eumundi Markets.
Seeing much success at the local markets, Lilli moved her business online to Lillipop where she became a much loved designer for teacher accessories.
“I grew up with a single mum who was studying gold and silversmithing. When I was kid she had a home studio, so I was always watching how she was creating,“ Lilli said.
“I paid attention to her creative process and how she worked with clients, and so it was always there in the background of my life even when I was pursuing another career path in other creative industries.“
After a few years of growing and developing her Lillipop brand, she decided to sell her business and focus on fine jewellery, following in her mother Simona’s footsteps.
“I got the opportunity where I could open a shop, and I thought it was the perfect time to open a place in the heart of Noosa that would showcase both my Mum and my Dad’s work, and also the collection that I had slowly been creating myself,“ she said.
“The response has just been insane.“
The grand opening on Thursday 18 August was a huge success, with a line of people out the store waiting to purchase their new jewels.
“It means so much to me that so many familiar and new faces showed up to the grand opening to show their support,“ Lilli said.
“We were lucky enough to have a representative from Katie Rose Hospice here as we donated 10 per cent of all sales to the charity.“
The jeweller said her creative process starts with an idea, where the inspiration can come from something as simple as the shape of a flower or a shell.
“I then do a sketch until something comes to life, and then my designs are drawn up in 3D imaging, and then our family gem-setter in Doonan sets the stones for us,“ she said.
Find Lilli’s work at 18 Hastings Street under the storefront FREYA.
