Who Is Matthew Alexander?
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As a child Matthew grew up in England before moving to Australia at age 7. He was always very creative and loved working with his hands. However, jewellery never seemed to catch his eye. He recalls that, "Jewellery was just something my mother and my sister loved to wear. It made an easy gift choice for Christmas and birthdays, but as with most boys, jewellery isn't something you really think about".
It wasn't until shortly after his 20th birthday, that Matthew decided to enroll in a one day a week hobby course at a local community collage, to find out more about the trade. Instantly he was hooked, "I remember sitting down in the class and being given a set of pliers and a saw frame, along with a strip of metal. The teacher told me to cut of a section of the metal to make it the right length and bend it into a circle. Until then jewellery was just generic designs in a shop front window, but in that moment I realised that jewellery could be perfectly tailored to fit an emotion or memory." For the next 3 months every payday he would head into the city and spend all bar $50 on new equipment for an ever growing home workshop, in his parents garage. It wasn't long till Matthew found himself in the garage for more than 8 hours a day practicing on all manner of copper and silver designs. It was this time spent engrossed in the trade that led to him start an apprenticeship and make jewellery his career. After his apprenticeship Matthew started the beginnings of Matthew Alexander Jeweller, out of a small markets stall at the Eagle Farm Markets every Sunday. There he offered on the spot rhodium plating and polishing along with custom design consultations. "I have always been a people person, so being set up at the markets, doing what I love and getting to meet so many amazing people, was a dream come true", Matthew says. It was during this time that he also started Australia's first true mobile repair service, (which he ran until July 2016). This allowed him to take his love of jewellery and people to the streets. For three years Matthew traveled all around South East Queensland repairing old and broken jewellery. Since arriving back from a 4 month trip to Europe at the end of 2016 Matthew Alexander is more dedicated than ever to creating a rapidly growing portfolio of unique high end custom designs. With a number of new gemstone and diamond suppliers and the opening of a new state of the are design studio at Gaythorne, the possible design options are endless. "It is important that the customer knows what they are looking for in a piece of jewellery, not just in the design, but in terms of quality. Jewellery is incredibly sentimental and taking that little bit more time to select the right piece for you, will ensure that your once in a lifetime piece will last the distance." - Matthew Alexander. |
From Humble BEGINNINGS |