Congrats, Danika!
I’m always so inspired by people who have a passion and turn that into a way to make a living. It’s so easy to think “oh one day I’d like to”, but never actually do anything about it. Too much work, too risky… we all make a ton of excuses.
When I heard my friend Lani Williams was creating amazing handcrafted jewellery from her Melbourne home, I was so excited for her. When I saw it was all elegant but also edgy (to this day I am obsessed with the Wu-Tang Ring), I was excited for ME. and everyone who wants Australian-made, locally-sourced items made into fun and funky jewellery.
It takes guts to takes something you love and make it a business, and Lani has plenty of that. (Quite literally – she’s about to have a baby in the next few months!) So I asked her a few questions, and she very generously offered some of her treats for a giveaway. What a legend.
What started as a little tradition of collecting jewellery from her travels soon turned into a hobby and then a passion. Lani met a couple in India who lived in Tibet and handmade sterling silver jewellery in the tourist off-season, then sold it when they all came to visit. “They were just so humble and happy, and lived a life they were so happy about, that it inspired me to quit the job I hated and start doing something I love,” she said. And so she did.
On her return to Australia, she took some courses, taught herself, and developed her style. But there’s always something a bit special that makes us get out of our comfort zone and make a proper go of the thing that we love. When I asked how she pushed past the doubt to make her dream a reality, she said: “my dad has always said to me ‘if you think about something long enough, you will find a reason to talk yourself out of it’. I think about this every time I start to question what I’m doing, push it behind me, and persevere”. Wise words, dad! sometimes the best decisions are bold ones you haven’t over-thought.
Creating her jewellery by supporting Australian businesses is also one of Lani’s main priorities. She sources her materials sustainably and locally wherever possible, and most of her supplies come from small businesses that are family-run and who have been in the industry for generations. “I don’t see the point in sending our money offshore when we are more than able to keep it all in-house within Australia,” she said. “I think there’s something beautiful about making something from start to finish with local materials, especially when it is specifically for someone that is going to cherish it for a lifetime.”
With the amount of Windfall Jewellery output, you could be forgiven for thinking it’s a multi-person operation. In reality, it’s just Lani putting long hours in her Melbourne studio, doing everything from making the bespoke pieces to selling them, fielding enquiries, packing, shipping, keeping accounts and answering questions like these! It’s a one-woman army (occasionally with the help of her husband, the equally-talented husband, Matt).
With everything from anchor rings to fang necklaces and custom designs, you’d be pretty hard-pressed to name a favourite. Especially if you were the person making them, and can make whatever you want! But Lani’s favourite piece is the wedding ring she made for her husband, which was created from melting down the yellow gold of a ring of her mother’s, a yellow gold band of her father’s, and set with a diamond given to her by her sister. “I really like melting down old pieces that I have accumulated from family over time, and reworking them into new, modern pieces I would actually wear,” she said.
The next step for Windfall will be creating a line of engagment rings (swoon), which Lani is super-excited about (and makes me want to get married again) – “big, sparkly, girly wedding rings with a bit of Windfall style”, she said. SO up my alley!
And how does she fit it all in? “It’s really hard when you work for yourself to find the perfect balance,” she said. “It’s also hard when you love what you do and the work doesn’t stop so you just keep going. My husband has a cool roster, 2days on 2days off an they are long 13 hour days. So if he is working so am I. When he is off then so am I. Which gives us this perfect balance of work and life ad gives us heaps of time together. I also travel as much as I can to recharge the soul. So when I work I work my butt off but then I take a lot of holidays to balance it out.”
So if you’re interested in collecting a couple of crazy, sustainably-sourced, handmade pieces made in a Melbourne studio to a hip hop and reggae playlist, then simply leave a comment telling us which of Lani’s pieces (found here) you totally love, and why. We will choose a winner based on their answers next Tuesday, December 10 at noon AEDT. One lucky winner will receive a Full of Love ring ($79.95) a Baby WF crescent moon ring (69.95), and an Under The Skies Above necklace (84.95), all in sterling silver.
Any questions, please ask! You can also find Lani on Instagram at @windfalljewellery, Facebook here, Twitter here, and Tumblr here.
Marie Biswell says
December 3, 2013 at 2:58 pmI’d have to choose the Curse of the Billy Goat necklace – cos seriously, Goats have beards & that is cool!!!
Lila Wolff says
December 3, 2013 at 3:27 pmNormally I’d have a hard time choosing from such an awesome range but I’m going to be getting (as soon as everyone else’s Christmas presents are bought) the brass riblet ring. It takes me straight back to this (if I’m objective awful) tank top that my brother used to wear and I used to steal, I wish I could have kept it. It will be perfect to have a piece that feels like a connection to him.
Min Gillespie says
December 3, 2013 at 3:45 pmWhat an awesome giveaway! I’d have to choose the Third Eye Ring as my favourite … because the third eye symbolises to me the following things: enlightenment, greater perception, higher consciousness. As I’m smack bang in the middle of fumbling my way through a massive life change, these are things I am seeking so that I understand myself at a deeper level and can find clarity for my new life path that is in tune with who I am, and what will make me happy. Having that ring on my finger would remind me to have faith in myself. xo
Julia Bowden says
December 3, 2013 at 4:57 pmI like the in the case of my demise ring because skull rings are awesome and eternally cool
livi_grace says
December 3, 2013 at 5:24 pmWhat a gorgeous collection! Love the Natural Spikey Quartz Pendant because sometimes nature does it all and we don’t need to do a thing to it. The natural clusters are so raw and beautiful.
Jackie @ Hippie Mumma says
December 3, 2013 at 5:47 pmThe baby bunny ring! It’s ADORABLE. I’d love a little bit of cuteness on my finger 🙂
The Healthy Collective says
December 3, 2013 at 6:27 pmI LOVE the Under The Skies Above Necklace! I’ve been so drawn to moons lately, and I have no idea why!
Hilary x thehealthycollective.com
kate leddick says
December 3, 2013 at 8:55 pmI just love the wishbone necklace..
We snap one of those babies once a month in this house and I never seem to get the winning bit.. I have always loved the shape of those wishbones… I’ve snapped heaps with lovers, family and hope to with my littlest too. She’s 20 months, and we involved her in last months snapping… x
Melanie Simpson says
December 3, 2013 at 9:26 pmWishbone necklace is still my favourite piece. Was gifted this beauty last year & wear it every day!
Constantly amazed at everything that pops up on my insta feed & wish I could get 1 of everything! Lani you are amazing!
Danika Ehlers says
December 3, 2013 at 10:10 pmWhen I turned 9 my brother gave me a necklace with a charm of the man in the moon, he was 7. I still have it, I wore it for several years every day, then I wore it when I was stressed or needed some good fortune (my high school and uni exams, graduations etc). My brother went to live in the UK for two years when I was 20 and he was 18, as I was saying goodbye at the airport I gave him the necklace and Mum asked what it was, he knew and he remembered, even though I had never told anyone that I wore it for luck, he knew and he knew why I was giving it to him.
Two years later, he returned and since then the necklace has travelled all over Australia and the world with my loved ones (it has special powers, I swear). It helped me through a particularly gruelling course of study to get a DipEd/Grad Cert RE (which required me to do six subjects a semester while doing Prac, all in one year), brought me good fortune in numerous hospital stays to treat my Crohn’s Disease helped me be brave when going in to have major surgery for the same thing. It helped me smile through a hellish break-up and still sits, with pride, in the small box of jewellery I wear regularly.
My moon necklace has magic in it, I am convinced, it reminds me of my brother, our shared childhood, the challenges I have faced and what those have taught me. It shows me that I can do many things.
I felt I needed to share this story with you, because I think you would like it, and, because the moon charm on the necklace pictured made me think of it and that brought happy tears to my eyes. I hope the one that someone wins is filled with magic also.
Jen says
December 4, 2013 at 5:30 amI can’t believe it! The necklace and ring I so desperate want I could possibly win!
I’ve been following the Veggie Mamma site for a while now and have been indpired to cook more food and enjoy a healthy life style- thank you.
The jewellery —
I was getting a tattoo last week and my tattoo artist was wearing the under the skies above necklace and I just fell in love with it. I jumped straight online to look at all the beautiful jewelery and came across the Full of Love ring and fell
In love all over again. I couldn’t purchase either just yet but they are on my Xmas list!
I would be so greatful to win this prize!!!
Jen
Jenny.kyna@gmail.com
amandagorton says
December 4, 2013 at 6:49 amWhat beautiful creative pieces – they could be worn as a real expression of feeling and personality.
I especially love the horseshoe necklace and would wear it as a token of luck!
PettyBlue says
December 4, 2013 at 7:19 amEvery windfall peice I have seen is full of love and positive energy, you can feel it when you holds friends items. To have an item to call my own would be a blessing.
Under the skies above necklace is so beautiful and has been one of my favourites for a while now but all her peices are so beautiful.
Alexandra Holmes says
December 4, 2013 at 7:59 amI love the horseshoe ring because I believe you make you own luck in this world and I feel the horse represents that to me. The Half Penny Sovereign ring as it is a reminder of the history of people and commerce. It represents change in our society, how we develop and change with invention. To me the ring represents our ever changing world and where we have come from.
alexcatriona@xtra.co.nz
Courtney says
December 4, 2013 at 8:56 amLani makes the most amazing pieces! I freakin love them all, but the two that really make my heart flutter are these: Chucho the french Bulldog Necklace (because my life revolves around my fur babies), and the Full of Love Ring. One of the things I love most about her jewellery is that they have an elegance about them that makes them suitable to wear in my corporate life, but are also quirky and awesome so i would wear them in my REAL life. I don’t really have any jewellery that crosses that border. The other thing I really like about the rings, is that they are beautiful but not too chunky. One of my problems is that I am a gigantic klutz. I always get rings caught on things and end up ruining them, I don;t think that would happen with these babies.
Lisa Mckenzie says
December 4, 2013 at 12:03 pmI Agree Stacey about people following their passions and making something of what they are good at ,it is so good to see your friend doing that and i love the sound of her wedding ring idea ,i like things to have a story or a past.
marypreston says
December 4, 2013 at 1:29 pmThe beautiful PEACE RING would be fabulous to wear. It would be a constant reminder that in our own way we can all make this world a better, safer and happier place.
JBMarigold says
December 4, 2013 at 5:21 pmI’m doing the family history and the stories of emigration from the UK in the 1800’s are mind-boggling.
So I love the AHOY RING (and necklace)… both as a tribute to my ancestors and onwards and ahead for me.
Elise says
December 5, 2013 at 12:29 amLove that “Full of Love” ring. I can see it as a perfect little pinkie ring, something sweet and a little special that could be worn on its own or mixed with other, chunkier rings on other fingers. My nanna had a pinkie ring that she was buried with, she wore it her whole life and I’ve always had a vague intention to get one myself, her ring and its permanence on her finger is burned into her memory.
Catherine Boyd says
December 5, 2013 at 6:57 pmThe Under the Skies Above necklace is absolutely beautiful. I once worked at a summer camp in the States where every new camper or staff member received a bronze crescent moon necklace during their first summer there. If you went there for five years you got a silver moon. I never got to go back, and therefore will never get my silver moon. Lani’s piece reminds me of that amazing summer.
The baby WF Kitty ring is my second favourite piece… Being a Catherine I often get called Cat or Kitty, plus it’s a really cute ring!
Kerry Santillo says
December 6, 2013 at 9:18 amA watery grave ring, a statement piece divine,
gemstones, rose gold, yellow gold and silver, so fine!!!
Making my outfit truly unique, a conversation piece, oh yes!
My treasure trove to wear, a smile it will bring to impress ♥
Diana O says
December 6, 2013 at 3:18 pmHigh and Dry ring, it’s timelessly elegant and utterly gorgeous.
Di says
December 6, 2013 at 3:19 pmGoat skull with moveable jaw. Without going into the whole story, goats have significance in our lineage and family history, so a very unique and interesting piece, utterly befitting for any member of our family.
wobblywibby says
December 6, 2013 at 5:08 pmI looove the full of love ring. Having just broken up with my partner of seven years, it might remind me that I am indeed full of love and will find love again *sob sob* x
Karina Wong says
December 6, 2013 at 9:12 pmLove the WF Stacking Rings – Mahalo. How cute!
Katrina Corbett says
December 9, 2013 at 11:08 amI love the Under the Skies Above necklace. It reminds me of my 6 year old son as he always draws half moons in his pictures.
Jemma Henderson says
December 9, 2013 at 9:23 pmThe ‘Under the Skies Above’ necklace is so great. I love it <3
katypotaty says
December 9, 2013 at 10:45 pmLe sigh. The Mahalo ring in Sterling Silver would be my ultimate Windfall piece (although making me choose kinda sucks balls).
I can already feel the warm breeze scoot over me, tangling my hair, every time I twist and play with the Mahalo ring on my finger. Freaking want!
Amanda says
December 10, 2013 at 9:41 amThe full of love ring is simple and stunning. No fuss, it’s not pretentious, it’s just love- pure and simple 🙂
Kym Potts says
December 10, 2013 at 11:54 amI would love the full of love ring. What a lovely Xmas treat to go under the tree too.