We love to see our supported people thrive and live their best lives, and Elisha, who has been with Mamre for two years, is doing exactly that. The 42-year-old is making waves in the Brisbane jewellery space thanks to her successful jewellery business, Hippie Bead Co.
Elisha, who has been in the jewellery-making game for about three years now, sells everything from earrings to wine glass charms. Asked why she started making jewellery in the first place, Elisha, who was born with vision impairment, said she wanted to fill in some spare time, as well as keep her mind active.
She sources, makes and packages the jewellery herself, with each piece taking roughly 30 minutes to make. However, she says it all would not be possible without her support team.
“I’ve been with Mamre for about two years and I’ve enjoyed having support workers help me go to the shops and look for supplies to make and package the jewellery,” she says.
As for her favourite part, Elisha loves chatting to her customers.
“I like to see people smiling and happy when they’re taking something home, and saying ‘my friend’s going to love this’.”
She’s also enjoying learning how to market a business and regularly posts in her public Facebook group Hippie Bead Co.
‘She’s grown as a person’
Ruth, who supports Elisha, has noticed a big change in her self-confidence and fine motor skills since she started the business.
“It increases her self-confidence and it increases her manual dexterity,” she says. “Because with her visual impairment, you lose a bit of manual dexterity and your physical well-being because you don’t do as much stuff. So even that fine motor coordination, where she needs help finishing off a piece, has improved greatly in the last few months.
“She’s grown as a person and it’s been really nice to see.”
When Elisha is not perfecting her craft, you’ll find her at many local markets around Brisbane.
“I do alright with word-of-mouth, but I’ve got my Facebook page and the markets, which I just started doing this year,” she says.
As for jewellery trends, Elisha says flat bead bracelets are making a comeback.
“They are quite popular,” she says. “All the teenage kids and young kids love them.”
And if you’re scrambling for a last-minute holiday gift, you can send Elisha a message on Facebook to purchase something from her incredible collection.