By KATHRYN BERMINGHAM
HELEN Beck makes it her business to work with the best of the best.
The Mount Dandenong resident owns ‘Gifts to Impress’, a company producing jewellery as well as trophies for various groups around Australia.
Having worked in the arts and hospitality her whole life, Helen began making jewellery to sell at markets to raise money for an overseas trip.
She spent time in Sweden studying crafts such as metalwork, woodwork, Swedish helm and weaving.
On returning to Melbourne, Helen and husband Stephen decided to do a ‘tree change’ and relocate to the hills to continue producing jewellery and awards.
The process of making a trophy varies with each individual piece Helen and Stephen create, and they make a point of sourcing high quality materials from the local area.
“We use local timber and glass as well as acrylic, stainless steel, pewter, gold, bronze or brass.
“Included with every trophy we make is a written piece about the process behind the award, where the timber came from, where the stones came from … ”
Helen and her husband have run the business together for the past 14 years and have never used any form of advertising, relying solely on word of mouth to spread the message. She says it’s a partnership with all the right ingredients.
“He comes from an engineering background and I’m more creative, so we work really well as a team.”
Over her career, Helen has worked with major organisations to create prestigious awards. She recalls one particularly important design brief:
“We had only a week to design and produce a gift from the City of Melbourne to their sister city – Milan.
“We produced two wall plaques, one for Milan and one that hangs on the wall at the Town Hall. The plaques were magnificent pieces of redgum burl timber, with a sandblasted section split in two representing the northern and southern hemispheres.”
Other awards that Helen has designed and produced include trophies for the AFL NAB Cup, the F1 and Grand Prix trophies and two international horse racing trophies. The business is currently in partnership with The Asia-Pacific Tennis League to produce trophies for Tennis Australia.
Currently in the process of setting up a studio in Mount Dandenong, Helen says she enjoys the creative aspect of her work and hopes to continue to serve the Dandenong Ranges and beyond well into the future.
“We plan to continue utilising many of the gifted artisans and materials from this area, as well as Australia.
“We are looking forward to the completion of our small gallery and workshop, and continuing our core business in both jewellery and custom-made awards.”
