May 21, 2021

Helene Kailis has been designing and creating jewellery for over twenty years. Her career creating beautiful bespoke, hand-crafted fashion jewellery started by chance, after the owner of a Kookai store absolutely loved a pair of peacock feather earrings Helene had made. She started selling them in-store and this progressed to Helene designing ranges for Kookai along with more exclusive ranges for specific designers. Helene’s business took off! It was a business that kept her busy seven days a week, but also let her be creative and in charge of her domain.

"Helene has always had a curious eye for fashion jewellery and used to watch her mother create pieces back when she herself had her own jewellery range."

Jasmine Kailis Jewellery showcased suede and cocktail bags and big statement costume pieces. As a child Helene was always making and creating, from sewing to embroidery to knitting. Her love for the craft of creation was always there and still very much is. With a father who was a Professor of Dentistry, Helene used to use the old tools that could no longer be used in his practice to punch holes in materials, bend, and create jewellery and would spend hours on pieces that she felt had a place in someone’s world.

"If you’ve seen Helene’s work, you’ll see just how detailed they are, each piece is created with a vision of belonging to someone special and no two pieces are exactly alike."

After knowing Helene, it is evident how much care and consideration goes into each piece. She is a kind, gentle lady who, for me, has a certain aura around her. She’s unique and classic, but with twist. Interestingly, when asked who her ideal client is, she said it’s just that - someone classic but with a twist. Helene finds inspiration from bike riding and exercising, and when she’s not thinking about making, quite often she’ll just think of something ‘out there’ and start creating with no real end result in sight. She’s sure of herself, and knows when a piece is done and has definitely had times when she’s working on a piece and thought “this is the peak’, I can’t do better than this.” This feeling motivates her to keep creating. The one thing I find really interesting when talking with Helene is just how focused on sustainability she is. She collects materials and keeps them, sometimes for years before they find themselves as part of a range. With pieces she doesn’t sell, she completely pulls them apart, revamps and remakes them. Sometimes changing the look completely and then they sell. She’s a firm believer in continual growth and change, and continues to create different looks. She’s also quite self-aware, and knows that if she doesn’t feel inspired to create, it’s best to wait until the inspiration kicks in before creating a new range. She’s dedicated to creating the best pieces she can.

To say I enjoyed my catch-up with Helene would be an understatement. If you’re searching for that special piece you need to take your look to the next level, check out her work. You’ll find Helene’s work on Instagram @helene.kailis and to find out where to find her gorgeous pieces, send her a message.

Tracey Bryans - Stylist