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By Hanne Andersen Jewellery

06/14/2009

Last updated 12:14 11/06/2009
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Hanne Andersen talks to Carolyn Enting about her life-long love of jewellery.
Hanne Andersen opened her contemporary jewellery boutique in the wake of the 1988 sharemarket crash.
Now she's celebrating her 21st year in business in the midst of another recession, but as far as Andersen is concerned the future is as bright as the coloured gems she has a penchant for.
It's a love affair that developed growing up in Kolkata, India, where women - even her nanny - were bedecked in sparkling jewels.
Her eye for the unusual jewellery was also influenced by her Danish background, though Andersen is a big supporter of New Zealand contemporary jewellery, too.
From early on, she has supported New Zealand contemporary jewellery designers, though she initially set out to be an importer wholesaler of Scandinavian jewellery.
"I've always admired Danish design and been proud it is my background," she says.
Andersen, 60, lived in Kolkata until she was eight, when her Danish parents moved to New Zealand.
Memories of Kolkata are strong, especially regarding the tidal river Hoogli and talk of a tide coming that was so high, it would swamp the city, killing all in its path.
"So Dad went to the end of the jetty to film it. He didn't believe it was going to be that big. On the banks there were thousands of people, and the women were all decked in their best jewellery. If they were going to die, they were going to go with their goods on.
"At the time, I thought if the tide did come up that high they wouldn't be able to swim because of the weight," Andersen says.
The killer tide never arrived - good news for Andersen and her family, and future Wellington's contemporary jewellery scene.
When she first began touting contemporary Scandinavian jewellery from Denmark, she was told she'd "never sell that stuff here". Nobody, except one Auckland jeweller, would take it.
It was a time when the New Zealand industry was "stuck in a rut" of three-stone Victorian bridge rings, solitaire rings, diamond studs and fob chains.
Andersen was convinced, however, that there was a market for it, because like her, many of her friends bought their jewellery overseas - they could never find anything they wanted to buy in New Zealand. The only way forward, she decided, was to open a shop.
A Wellington jeweller told her she wouldn't last three months, which "got her back up". That jeweller subsequently went out of business.
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Looking back Andersen admits it was "hard yakka" but she is "very stubborn".
Her toughest year was 1990, when the impact of the 1987 crash hit New Zealand and saw a flood of mortgagee sales. At the time she was also paying 48 per cent import tax on the European jewellery she was selling.
"There was a move against importing jewellery and a lot of lobbying going on from here, which I felt was unfair on the general public. I felt they deserved a wide range to choose from," she says.
Andersen couldn't afford to pay for staff so she ran the shop alone, with the help of one part-timer. Her sister, who worked nearby, would pop down to the store to give her "loo breaks".
From the beginning, Andersen has sold other people's work, though she is now beginning to add her own designs.
The store is more like a gallery, presenting a mix of contemporary, art and "street-front" jewellery.
"We have people that come in regularly for a jewellery fix, to have a look around," she says.
Jewellery artists stocked in store include Tony Williams (Dunedin), Victoria Taylor (Wellington), Pandora (Denmark), Toftegaard Design (Denmark), Deco Echo (Poland) and Manu (Germany). The newest range to be added to the store is Thomas Sabo, designed and made in Germany - pendants and charms enamelled in vibrant colours.
Andersen's passion is particularly for coloured stones and pearls, which often influences what she chooses for the store, as well as dictating her own designs. She doesn't call herself a designer, though she has a strong eye for design and line - "it's been a 21-year apprenticeship".
"I think design is not something you can teach. You either have an eye for line or you don't. What people teach is how to apply the design," she says.
Most Hanne Andersen custom-made designs are interpretations of what a client wants.
"We got into custom work really early on because of the need to have jewellery made that was similar to what we were stocking," she says.
There are many ingredients to her success. One is the ability to predict trends before they develop, though she admits New Zealand is "tricky, because it doesn't slavishly follow what everyone else is doing". Another is her eye for design, and "good design never dates".
"When I opened the store, I decided that it would have to be the kind of place I would feel comfortable shopping in myself, and that has been our guideline ever since - give or take a couple of glitches," she says.

About This Author

Hanne Andersen Jewellery

Hanne Andersen Jewellery

Hanne Andersen Jewellery was established in 1988 and specialises in contemporary silver and gold jewellery from NZ and all over the world. Most of our brands are unique to us in Wellington and some are unique to us in New Zealand. We are proud to show Pandora, Thomas Sabo, Evolve, Skagen and Micha…

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