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Her jewels are tiny ocean curios, mystical and magical by design. But behind the miniature handcrafted jewellery is a woman on a mission to create awareness about the ocean and all of its inhabitants.
Melbourne jewellery designer Megan Moss is so at home in her studio. The shelves are filled, and walls are lined with a lifetime of collectables. Jars and bowls filled with feathers, coral, fossils of seahorses and starfish. Alongside vintage posters of Hawaiian women and paintings by one of her favourite artists Luis Tamani. It’s difficult to imagine that such a vast collection is not of someone who has been collecting for many decades.
Growing up on a farm on the outskirts of Melbourne left childhood Megan with space and time to explore, imagine and start channelling her creative talents. It was in these younger years where she would make sculptures and accessories from just about anything she could find and self confesses that her art is not something she chose to do, it is part of who she is.
It was when she was guided by a teacher at University to start sculpting in wax, that Meg knew right then that she had arrived at the start of her career. “She gave me a ball of wax and told me to start playing with it. It was an exciting medium to work with, soft and pliable, so lovely to work with”. Fast forward to today, and Megan is building an incredible collection of rings, bracelets and necklaces, which she sells both online and as custom commissions.
As one of three recipients of The Grinders Coffee Grant, along with illustrator Antra Svarcs and artist/songwriter JANEVA, each of the three are $25,000 closer to meeting their goals as part of ‘From The Streets of Melbourne.’ The grant is a new initiative to support budding Melbourne creatives in the areas of Fashion, Art and Music. Each of the recipients will be featured in the Grinders Coffee campaign ‘From The Streets of Melbourne’, appearing in a series of short stories that celebrate their art forms and follows the journey that each of them takes, after having received the grant.
When asked what it means to have received the grant and be part of the campaign, Megan responds, “It feels so great to be supported and recognised as one of the emerging talents From The Streets of Melbourne. I have always been a Melbourne girl. This is where I started my business and I feel this grant is not only an accolade to creative talent but also a great tribute to Melbourne itself. We are a city that lives and breathes art in so many forms. This is a breakthrough for me and has allowed me to experiment more with my art and is gaining me more exposure in circles that I have never been in before. And for me, it is not just about the jewellery. It’s also about nature, particularly the ocean, which is such an inspiration. That inspiration is a gift and it is important that I repay this. I can do that by creating awareness of the importance of sustainability and completely reducing our use of plastics. Plastics are slowly destroying these beautiful marine environments and stressing marine life. They are the citizens of the sea and we owe it to them to manage and protect what we can”.
“There is also a ‘curiosity trade’ on seahorses, which I talk about in some of my Instagram posts. Such precious creatures should only be admired in their natural habitat. If people can see a beautiful ocean inspired piece of jewellery and then read information on the design, then the jewellery becomes a little reminder to the wearer to be more conscious and appreciative”.
