HUMANS OF ŌTAUTAHI
Samantha ST ALBANS
“I love pattern design. It really, really excites me. “I moved to Melbourne when I was 19 with the dream of working for Julia Green at Greenhouse Interiors. With no experience, I found it really hard to find a decent job that would have me full time. I think I was a bit naive to think I could just turn up and slot into a dream role! “I came back home and landed a job in a trade design library. Every day I was around these beautiful fabrics and wall coverings and was able to keep in the know with what was happening with some of my favourite textile houses in the UK and Europe. That’s when I decided to make the move to London. “In March 2020, I packed everything up and had three months of backpacking planned before arriving in London. I had a job interview lined up at Chelsea Harbour, working in one of the showrooms there. I was in Nepal when things were really happening with the virus. “I was trekking the Annapurna Circuit at the time and was asleep one night, wrapped up in my sleeping bag, when my phone started
quacking – my duck ringtone. It hadn’t rung in four weeks, and it was my Dad. He said, ‘airlines are shutting down, borders are closing, you should try to get off the mountain tomorrow if you can’. I managed to get a jeep off the mountain, and I got a flight out on the 1st of April. “So I came home, and I thought, ‘what am I going to do?’ “I’m really passionate about jewellery design, and if I see something that I love, I want to be able to wear it. I started planning in lockdown how I was going to make these pieces of jewellery. I didn’t have any clay; I was living out of a backpack. My lovely friend delivered wine and art supplies! “I’m working on a range of wearable and functional ceramic art. I’ve been making earrings for the last year. I’m also doing classes learning how to take materials from the land to create glazes as an alternative to using commercially produced glaze. My work is ever-evolving as I experiment with different techniques and media.”
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