By now, you may have seen some of my creations and you might be thinking to yourself "who is this Luna Layne person?" So on this very day I am going to fill you in, because you deserve to know all about it!
My name is Layne and I am the creator and founder of Luna Layne. I forage for insects/ flowers, hand make all the jewellery, send out orders, maintain the website, socials and more! You can see me in the below image with the brown hair.
Then there is my associate, Luna. She is the green feathered one in the photo below. As you can imagine she is the Boss here at Luna Layne, which means she does none of the work, and gets all of the credit!!
But that's just the brief introduction, I'm sure you are here because you want to go a little deeper...
What's your story? I was born in Durban, South Africa in the Summertime the very middle of the night, during a Summer storm. Ever since I can remember I've loved being out in the garden and in nature with the flowers and animals. I loved helping my mum tend to our small veggie patch of corn, peas, pumpkins and more.
From a young age I thought of myself as some sort of garden fairy. I loved to chase butterflies and watch the toucans and monkeys in the trees while I pretended I was a witch making potions. I was always making friends with a flower, tree or little animal. My family moved to England when I was 8 years old, and all at once I fell in love with rolling lush green countryside, the tales of fairies and folklore. I just adored immersing myself in all the local tales and magical places I found wandering around the English countryside in the golden hours.
At the age of 16 my family finally fulfilled a very long lived dream of moving to Australia. We settled in Brisbane and instantly felt at home with a scene that was so like Durban, yet so full of it's own vibrant energy. Brisbane had white sands, secluded mountain rainforests and of course an abundance of wildlife. Oh yes, this was a place I could settle, and as the years went by I just fell more and more in love with this land, it's stories and it's beauty. I guess a large part of my story has always been the love I share with the land. I have tried to celebrate the beauty of the land no matter where my feet may be standing, I am a story teller and I love to celebrate stories, so all of this is a huge part of Luna Layne. How did Luna Layne get started?
It's funny how things kind of just all fall into place in a way that makes you wonder why you didn't think to do it sooner! In January 2021 my mum who owns her own crystal and crystal jewellery shop gave me a DIY resin jewellery kit that came with a few simple moulds, a bottle of resin, a small UV light torch and some glitter. I started messing around with setting some simple things, and before long I became pretty obsessed with creating these pieces.
I am a wildly creative person with a background in graphic design and visual art. I am a Capricorn Sun and a Taurus Moon with strong Venusian vibes, so I have a hard working attitude with a great love of beauty, aesthetic and composition.
I also have a strong connection to the earth as both these signs are Earth signs.
I think the main reason it all clicked so well was because I was already living in such a beautiful forest area (I live on a 2.5acre rainforest property that is wild and full of huge trees) where I was collecting little insects, flowers and cocoons so much that I was running out of a way to store them all. Resin was the perfect solution to keep these pretty little critters preserved and looking great, and this way I could share my heartfelt creations with who ever was interested.
Tell us about the inspiration behind some of the pieces you’ve made. Nature is a constant source of inspiration for me. I've always loved picking flowers and enjoying the beautiful butterflies. My mum and granny had to teach me at a young age how to press flowers because I was just so obsessed with them.
Nowadays, the garden is always giving me beautiful flowers and bugs in new colours and shapes. Sometimes it seems like these little insects just fall into my lap! I am very mindful about the way I forage for insects and flowers. I only take insects that have already passed away naturally, and when picking flowers I make sure not to over harvest so that I can leave some for the bees and other bugs to enjoy and so that they can set seed for future years. Because I let the plants and animals know my intentions I believe they are very supportive of what I do, which is why they offer their inspiration to me everyday.
What are the styles you usually make, and how long does each one typically take to make?
Some of my most popular designs are my little fairy spirits and of course my snake earrings!
People really love that I make very delicate designs that look very dainty. If you don't include the foraging and drying time a small $15 set of earrings can take around 30 minutes to create, set and finish. Some of the necklaces can take around 40 minutes depending on what goes into them and how delicate I have to be. Full insects need to be set in parts otherwise they just float, but parts of wings and petals can be mixed up in one setting. I set these under a UV light but I always leave them over night to set up entirely before finishing them off by cleaning up the edges and drilling any holes I need.
Then I add the final touches like jump rings, chains etc. to get the finished product!
What are you working on next? I always have new designs, colours and styles in mind. I feel like I just don't have enough time to get them all out into the world yet! There is always some fun new method to experiment with, but right now I am really getting into making my own custom resin moulds. I create the designs by hand, draw them up on my computer and then cut the shapes on my laser cutting machine, or I make them out of polymer clay. I then set them in silicone, and the result is that I have amazing one off designs to offer my customers. I'm really excited to increase this range! How can people get in touch with you to find out more? Most people like to get in touch with me via instagram as it has some of the most up to date images of my newest products.