Images via Jake Cheeseman
By Christina Karras

We know isolation can get a little lonely.

In honour of staying home, we’ve decided to take some time to chat (via the internet) to some of our favourite creatives to find out how they are dealing with this very new and strange state of being.

With his sweet, smiley faced designs and a name to match, Melbourne jeweller Jake Cheeseman has become known for his flower shaped pendants and smooth signet rings.

His collection features an array of friendly tulips and affectionately named ‘silly flowers’, paired with glistening emeralds or pink sapphires, each one carrying its own warm and fun energy.

Beyond taking long walks in the park and rewatching movies from the 2000s, the 27-year-old has been busy creating new jewellery in isolation – including his new ‘Love’ pendant. And I think anyone living through Melbourne’s stage four lockdown would agree, we can all use a little more love, smiles, and TLC right now.

Hi Jake! Can you tell me a bit about you and how you got started in making jewellery?

I grew up in Byron Bay by the beach, and moved to Melbourne to study Graphic Design about five years ago. I’ve always loved crafty hobbies, before I started making jewellery I loved painting and hand embroidering cute little designs onto tees. I taught myself how to make jewellery, I initially started making cute things I wanted to wear for myself, then started making for friends and family and went from there!

Talk us through the process of creating a piece, how long does it take?

The main process I use involves hand carving the pieces from wax, then casting the wax into metal (silver or gold) before finishing/polishing. I also 3D design some pieces in a CAD program, and 3D print these designs to wax to be cast.

Everything I make is handmade to order, so the time it takes to make each piece varies on what I’m making, usually between 1-3 weeks depending - some custom pieces take longer than others.

I love your signature smiley faces and this cute character you’ve created - where do you look for inspiration behind the designs?

Thanks! Anything cute and happy like flowers or cartoons. My girlfriend is a pretty big inspiration for me - she’s literally the coolest person I know.

Do you prefer gold or silver?

I prefer gold jewellery. Not sure why, I’ve just always been drawn towards it more.

Jewellery often holds such a strong sentimental value - do you have any pieces you own that you treasure?

I have two rings which are really sentimental, the first is a gold ring that was given to me by my grandpa on my mum's side, and the second is a gold ring that dad gave me - It was passed down to him by his dad. I love both of these rings so much, I’m scared to wear them in case I lose them.

I also have a cute love heat beaded pendant with my initial engraved on one side and my girlfriends initial on the other which is pretty special to me :-)

Talk us through your daily routine and how it’s changed due to COVID-19.

Throughout the whole pandemic I’ve been lucky enough to keep my full time job as a graphic designer at a screen printers, jewellery is my side hustle. So a usual day for me involves getting up at 8:30 and working from home until 5pm - I might sneak a little bit of jewellery work in when it’s quiet throughout the day.

Once I’m finished for the day my girlfriend and I usually go for a nice long walk looking at all the cool houses and gardens in the area (there’s a really cool Bee house in Fitzroy we love looking at). I’ve set up my studio at home, so when we get back I’ll usually work on jewellery or other fun projects before winding down for the day.

How have you been staying sane during isolation?

Staying as active and creative as possible! Lots of big walks when I can and keeping busy with little creative projects. I learnt to sew a few weeks ago and made myself a cute bum bag with little smiley flowers on it that I got printed at my work. I just released my new Love pendant that I’ve been working on during the start of iso, and have started working on my first collection which is exciting! Also lots of chocolate and naps…

What does your ideal WFH outfit look like?

My peak iso outfit so far has been my ClubX tee, tucked into my blue striped PJ’s, tucked into some big blue socks, with pink crocs on.

Give us your isolation recommendations; what have you been reading, watching, listening to, eating?

I don’t really read books but I’ve been watching heaps of trash TV - Selling Sunset on Netflix and Bachelor in Paradise, both shows are wild. Other than that heaps of re-watching old favourites like How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, The Devil Wears Prada, Ice Age (LOVE this movie), Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away.

For music; I’m such a softy (Pisces moon hehe) so I love soft emotional music, I’ve been listening to Banks heaps lately. My girlfriend is also obsessed with Doja Cat so we’ve been listening to her a fair bit which is so fun.

The best food I’ve had in iso so far was from Club Home, it’s a four-course set menu dinner, delivered every Friday and it was insane.

What’s something you’ve learned during this time?

I’ve learnt a tonne of new practical things, experimenting and refining new jewellery processes and skills, also a bit of sewing!

I’m super close with my mum and dad who both still live back home in Byron, and usually I get to see them a few times a year, but with everything happening this year I haven’t had a chance to see them at all, besides on FaceTime. Not that I didn’t before, but iso has definitely taught me to appreciate my family and friends way more. I love and miss my mum and dad so much I’m so excited to see them again soon.

Follow Jake on Instagram here, and you can shop his warm and wonderful designs here.

The Isolation Diaries: Jake Cheeseman