Jewellery designer’s big break
ATTENTION to detail makes all the difference, according to Carly Paiker, a Jewish jewellery designer whose line will be appearing in Sportsgirl stores for the opening of the winter season.
The Perth-born designer, 26, made the shift to Sydney three years ago with ambitions of developing her own jewellery line.
“I moved to Sydney and there was nothing else I wanted to do. I gave it everything I had, working full time and appearing at the Rosemount Australian Fashion Week,” said Paiker.
Paiker’s exhibit at the fashion week caught the eye of Sportsgirl buyers, and the designs were later picked up. “They loved the range and came back to see it. They decided to do a special range from Sportsgirl.”
The clothing store chain will be marketing the jewellery as an independent line, and Paiker said the benefits of large-scale exposure was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up.
“Sportsgirl is really such a well-known brand. If they show their support, it puts you in the spotlight, or on a great platform to start from.
“It has to look like my brand and in my brand I have a strong focus on leathers, with peek-through metals. That’s what they loved about my range, and that’s what made my line stand apart from others.”
And it appears the exposure is already beginning to pay off, with US entertainment news show E! News presenter and star of reality series Giuliana and Bill Giuliana Rancic wearing one of Paiker’s pieces on TV.
The opportunity to sell her range in all the city stores couldn’t have come at a better time. With many designers feeling the effects of a flagging retail sector, Paiker’s line, which wholesales to boutique stores in Sydney and also online, is flourishing.
“I wanted this so much. I could see my brand, I had a vision for it all and everything else followed.”
Paiker has established her business independently and admits that the process was “trial and error”.
“I made mistakes, and I figured out how to do it along the way. Now I have my products being made in three to four factories in Bali and China.
“If I needed something made, I usually wanted it to be made so badly that I would spend hours researching it. I was willing to take risks because it meant so much
to me.”
TIMNA JACKS
Pictured: Carly Paiker,
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