Welcome to Sassy Cactus Design
About Sassy Cactus
Hi from Michelle & Andrew
We are the people behind Sassy Cactus, being New Zealanders who are currently living in the UK. Michelle is the jewellery designer and maker, and Andrew is the webpage designer and looks after the business side of things, so we make a great team. Michelle started making jewellery in New Zealand, primarily using Paua Shell which she loves. Michelle has mixed English and Maori ancestry (Ngai Tahu and Tainui tribes) and has a love of Maori design so incorporates traditional Maori materials such as Paua Shell and Flax into her jewellery and artwork. We still source our raw material, Paua Shell, from New Zealand. The name Sassy Cactus came from Michelle loving the word Sassy, and Andrew's love of growing Cactus, and our mutual love of Mexico. Now Michelle will describe how she started making jewellery.......................
My love of jewellery started pretty young around the age of 5. My parents had a shop in Petone which is a little town not far from Wellington. It was the 70s and the big wooden beads on leather were all the rage. I can't remember how it came about but I started making necklaces using these beads and selling them in the shop, they sold out in the first day so I made more. My little enterprise didn't last long as I my attentions were diverted to swimming and gymnastic lessons, but obviously the love of creating things has lasted. About 7 years ago in New Zealand the urge to create really kicked in and I started painting and then making Paua Shell necklaces. I began selling them at craft markets, but then we moved to the United Kingdom. I found lots of bead shops over here and I was in seventh heaven. I started using different beads in my jewellery and fell in love with designer lampwork beads which feature heavily in my designs now. We source the beads from all over the globe - from here in the U.K., America, Europe and Australia. I can really appreciate the time and skill of the lampworker. and the skill that goes into making each individual bead is incredible. I see them as tiny works of art which is affordable and beautiful. I love using these wonderful beads to make unique beautiful jewellery that are not mass produced but one off individual pieces. I also use vintage beads which I buy from markets around London. A lot of my inspiration comes from the beautiful scenery of my homeland, New Zealand, but I also draw inspiration from our travels, and our new home in the U.K. The history and beauty of the U.K is wonderful and having English and Scottish ancestry together with my Maori ancestry I have a lot to draw upon. I hope you like my jewellery and if there is a design you have in mind I also do commission pieces. Thank you for coming to our webpage.
Michelle 
P.S. As Michelle said everything is handmade and our range is only limited by the imagination. All pieces of Jewellery are unique and one-off. There is NO mass production in a factory!
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