Design Spaces: dots & lines 10 to 1000
Naoko from dots & lines 10 to 1000 shares with us a bit about herself and how she came to create her quirky jewellery pieces.
Hi Naoko! Tell us about your business and how you started?
Hi my name is Naoko Rodgers. I started dots & lines 10 to 1000 in 2008. 10(ten) means ‘dots’ and 1000(sen) means ‘lines’ in Japanese. I thought it was interesting writing 10 to 1000 instead of writing ‘ten to sen’ in Japanese. Originally I was making pottery, felting products and a few other things. 18 months ago I started to experiment with polymer clay and very quickly this became my main focus. I couldn’t find jewellery that I liked so I decided to make them myself. I hope you like them too!
Where are you from and how long have you been living on the Gold Coast?
I’m originally from Japan and I first came here to the Gold Coast in 1995, stayed until 1997 and went back to Japan and had my 2 girls there. We came back to the Gold Coast in 2001. The Gold Coast is now my second home town.
Where is your favourite spot on the Coast and why?
The beaches. I love to walk on the beach with my family and 2 dogs.
Describe your products in three words.
Colourful, fun, unique
Why did you start to make what you do?
I’ve always been interested in making things since I was young such as painting, sewing, card & gift tag making, stamp making, shrink plastic, pottery, felting and so on and so on….. and realised I haven’t done jewellery making so I started looking for the right material for me to make and came across Polymer Clay where I could mix and create my own colours.
While experimenting with mixing my own colours, I found that I became very passionate and obsessed with making jewellery every day.
Did you get formal training in your art?
Unfortunately no. I have self-taught myself everything I do except for the pottery.
Was this a solo venture or did you have some help along the way?
I am not good at social media, my sister-in-law built my facebook page and helped with many other things to start my Polymer Clay business. I couldn’t have started the business on facebook without her support. So BIG thanks to Lee!
Describe your studio – where is it, what do you like most about it?
We built a studio at home a few years ago to store all my craft stock and tools. I love my room because it’s surrounded by all the trees. You can see the blue sky, trees, clouds, birds, wallabies and koalas from the windows. It is very peaceful which allows me to concentrate and create.
What is on your ‘workbench’/desk right now?
Lots of beads, unbaked mixed clays, tools and stationeries.
What does your working day look like?
Day time: mixing the clays, making the beads and baking them. Taking photos of my items in the day light.
Night time: PC work which includes emails, social media updates, new stock updates etc.
What/who inspires you the most?
Design and colour of fabric, home décor, mt masking tape (I’m a HUGE fan!) and colours of living creatures. My inspiration can change daily which is a reflection of how I am feeling at that time. I am never satisfied with doing the same thing over and over as I am always looking for new ideas.
Any advice to other local makers?
To always be honest, believe in yourself, be proud and always praise and love what you do yourself.
dots & lines 10 to 1000 will be in Design Spaces for the next few weeks – make sure you come in to have a look!
Check out dots & lines 10 to 1000 on Facebook, Etsy and follow them on Instagram @dotsandlines10to1000
If you are a local maker and would like to sell your creations in our store, you can find out more about the Design Spaces here.
