Urban Charms: Creative Heart-works

Posted on 31 July, 2014

Canberra is a place rich with culture, education, new and exciting experiences and a great sense of community.

I like to think the team at HerCanberra do our best to bring these things to you, so here’s what I’ve discovered most recently, and let me tell you, this ones’ a gem….

Urban Charms is a new online store creating and educating its customers about polymer clay food jewellery! Lisa Grech, owner and creative mastermind, created Urban Charms in the hope that she could combine her creativity and skills as a primary school teacher, as a way to give back to the community. Lisa makes all the jewellery by hand and draws her inspiration from childhood memories of Sesame Street characters playing in doll houses!

Lisa’s love of small things has now snowballed into an exciting local business. Already having experience owning another online business – Little Grasshopper – it only took a mere twelve months for a very bubbly and enthusiastic Lisa to bring Urban Charms to life.

On the website you will find a gorgeous selection of miniature food jewellery, made from mostly polymer clay. Despite being so small and delicate, these pieces aren’t anything ordinary – they’re packed full of personality. They’re super fun and one hundred percent unique. Scrolling through the site you’ll find necklaces, rings, earrings, brooches, bracelets and even cufflinks! Each and every piece is extremely detailed and delicate, but also vibrant and eye-catching. Urban Charms also offers you the chance to custom design your own piece if you’ve got some other quirky ideas in mind. Here’s a piece I snagged myself at the Urban Charms website launch…so cute you could eat it!

As well as making miniature jewellery, Lisa is also passionate about teaching in her local community. So why not bring the two loves together? Urban Charms gives you the chance to make beautiful jewellery as well as buy it! On the website you can pick up some DIY polymer clay jewellery kits, and Lisa also offers educational party programs. The workshops, designed for both kids and adults, teach you all about polymer clay so you can make your own jewellery! And, there are lots of different options to choose from to suit the needs of either you or the kids, so there’s no missing out on the fun for anyone.

“[When I created the party workshops] I wanted to do something that would give back to my community” Lisa says. She told me that she is passionate about teaching and never wanted to lose sight of that, rather, she wanted to incorporate elements of teaching into her creative work. Lisa hopes to use Urban Charms as a platform to educate children about social issues and she is currently working on a book about polymer clay to help kids with motor control and creative expression.

In addition to running her online businesses Urban Charms and Little Grasshopper – an online baby gift store – Lisa has just been nominated for the AusMumpreneur of the year awards. Go girl!

Heard enough? Need some pretty food jewellery right this second? Head to the Urban Charms website! You can also catch a real-life glimpse of Lisa’s handy work at the Old Bus Depot Markets.