Logan/Yugambeh country, Australia

“Keeping my inner spark shining bright is something that I’ve been a bit obsessed with for years.

Without medication, my energy is either high as a kite and overflowing, or it’s utterly gone.

I have bipolar 2 disorder. Onset happened in my mid-20s, but I was misdiagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome for the first twelve years. That meant that in that time I didn’t have access to medication. For 12 years, I swung between long, dysfunctional periods of depression where it was a mammoth effort to move, speak and think, and highly productive periods where I felt like I was superwoman. I kept thinking I was well in the high periods, but in hindsight, I was ‘hypomanic’.

In a hypomanic state, my energy vibrates at an extremely high frequency. I feel pure joy and love. Ideas and solutions flow through me, and I have the energy and cognitive acuity to follow through and make big things happen. But they are short‑lived, especially on meds.

And my meds don’t protect me from those dysfunctional lows either. Far from it. My daily challenge and focus is getting the balance right so I can maintain all the good practices I learnt early on as a preventative; so I can maintain my spark.

Travel and being in nature are the things that make me feel most alive. I’ve done some spectacular solo travel in Latin America and Europe – and done some crazy things in those hypomanic states.

Bipolar is a blessing because it forces me to keeping focusing on my physical, spiritual and mental health, day after day. But it also makes it hard to fit in well in the normal world. In a regular job, I inevitably hit a bipolar low. Being an introvert and extreme empath adds to the complexity. With difficulty, I finished a Bachelor of Community Education, and I already had a Diploma of Health Science (Massage Therapy).

Over the years I’ve had more admin jobs than I can poke a stick at, and I’ve tried copywriting, web design, life drawing modelling and working in a float tank studio (that, I adored!). In my home town of Canberra, I celebrated women with the massage business that I founded for pregnant and postnatal women and their babies, looking after women at that precious time in their lives.

Inevitably in a regular job, I become disillusioned from trying to encourage my company or workplace to become more sustainable – to create less waste, use less energy and recycle and re-use more. Nowhere was this more extreme than when I worked at one of Australia’s biggest jewellery and watch retailers. In 2022, this company was still sending millions of single-use zip lock packaging bags to landfill, instead of re-using or recycling. They accepted shipments from massive global brands like Guess and Seiko that were packaged with polystyrene foam peanuts and huge single-use plastic boards to protect posters, without ever challenging those companies to create less waste.

This company owned Angus & Coote, Prouds and Goldmark and they had a lot of money. But they didn’t have any sustainability frameworks because they actually didn’t care. They put money before people and the planet. Their supply chains were a secret, so it was impossible to tell if the people overseas making their jewellery were being paid living wages. Judging from the enormous markup they applied and their secrecy, I doubt it.

I care too much about the environment and living wages to work for a company that doesn’t care. And it’s also demoralising that so many consumers keeping supporting these big brands. Big companies can only get away with it because consumers keep buying their stuff without challenging them to do better.

I founded Sugarberry Shimmy so I could work independently from home, doing something creative and beautiful, staying true to my ethical and environmental principles, and hopefully, keeping that inner spark shining bright and staying well. That is my ‘why.’ I’m entirely self‑taught, and I’m proud that all my designs are all original.

I make jewellery for women who are led by joy and who care about people and the environment.

Sugarberry Shimmy means so much more than jewellery to me. I’ve created a business that truly fills my heart. I get to work with creative, independent women around the world. I design pieces in breathtaking colours that make women feel radiant. I get to be as green and sustainable as I possibly can, and I get to support charities that are aligned with my values.

Welcome to Sugarberry Shimmy. Join me and keep your own inner spark shining bright. Come on in and feel divine, knowing that you’re supporting a small business that does good in the world.”