You know the part of your brain that lights up around capsule toys, Saturday morning cartoons, Christmas baubles, sugary cereal and the Barbie movie? Petite Loot scratches the same itch with joyful, endearing little jewels made from moulded '80s or '90s toys, or hand-sculpted models of them - first only wax, then shiny recycled silver through the magic of the lost wax casting process.
The Instagram algorithm showed me some dreamy silver My Little Pony pendants and I fell in love, having played with the O.G. chunky-bodied ponies back in the day. I remember clearly the glittery plastic bodies; the big, pretty eyes; and combing the manes and tails. I eventually learned that the person behind the brand, Andrea Sepiol, went to the same high school as me in Canberra, Australia (which really piled extra nostalgia on top of the nostalgia).
Andrea Sepiol. Image: supplied
Andrea Sepiol is the 27th in my series of creatives to take five questions.
When my creative process is stuck, I reach for... the past! I usually head for the op shops (particularly the toy section) or dig through my old toys in my childhood home. I almost always find something to mould or get some inspiration from. I'm also a fan of libraries, looking through old design books that haven't made it onto the internet yet.
The weirdest thing about being a creative human is... the endless collecting. I'm a bit of a bower bird and I have way too many vases/ornaments/trinkets. At the moment I'm into the space-age coloured plastics but before that it was mid-century earthenware.
The most unusual object in my house is... probably the white plastic curvy pipe thing that we use as a hat/coat rack. I bought it from an antique store and I think the label said 'weird pipe thing' so even the seller didn't know what it was. I recently found out that it's an outdoor towel rack from the '70s, so mystery solved!
I celebrate my achievements by... I definitely don't do enough of this. Ideally, I love going out to a nice restaurant with my husband, but that rarely happens now that we have a toddler.
Something in the world that already exists that I wish I had created is... the humble sewing needle. It's so simple but think about what it can do! It also has so many off-label uses and I'm always reaching for one to clean up castings or in my wax work.
Andrea Sepiol's Petite Loot nostalgic jewellery based on childhood toys can be found on Etsy: PetiteLoot - Etsy Australia. Follow Petite Loot on Instagram.
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