If Jeweller Olivia Cummings (Cleopatra’s Bling) offers you cheese on a cracker, it might actually be butter
Our interview begins with a burping poodle and ends with the beautiful Turkish phrase “health to your hands” which really sums up the essence of Olivia Cummings, founder and jewellery maker behind Cleopatra’s Bling.
She will take you on a poetic journey to explore the mythology behind Greek amulets, and then ground you with tales of the logistics behind making her dog Alfonso’s birthday cake. This suits us just fine.
“Elinize Sağlık” is the Turkish phrase that means "health to your hands". It’s used to compliment someone who has used their hands to produce something meaningful. For someone who has had their hands busy with beauty and meaning all their life, we feel Olivia embodies this concept beautifully.
Yes, Olivia is a jeweller, but she’s also devoted to food. For her, food is a connector and a nourishing, fortifying force. She finds meaning and satisfaction in the act of cooking for the people she loves and in the act of sharing food around a table. She favours simplicity in the kitchen for herself day by day, but will go all out when it comes to others.
A QUICK WHIP AROUND THE INGREDIENTS THAT MAKE UP OLIVIA
PRONOUNS: She / Her
HOMETOWNS: Kew, Australia; Istanbul, Turkey
JOB DESCRIPTION: Jeweller / Poodle Mum
Olivia and Dad Chris on yet another adventure - maybe to haggle for gold, maybe to find sweet treats
Born and raised in Melbourne, Olivia has spent much of her adult life living in Europe and Turkey. Based in the meeting point of Asia and Europe for 5 years, her time in Istanbul in her early twenties was a critical turning point for her creativity and where her journey with her jewellery business Cleopatra’s Bling began.
After living in Berlin for a year at age 16, Olivia found she couldn't fully settle back into Melbourne life upon her return. She was back in Europe (this time Paris) for her university years and then found herself working in a branding agency. After a fateful trip to Istanbul, the tantalising city had her in its clutches. She fell in love with it deeply and completely. Olivia then quit her job in Paris and moved to Istanbul, learning Turkish from scratch and learning how to make jewellery from the old men in the Grand Bazaar.
Olivia was quick to tell us that she followed her gut the whole way through this time and is grateful for her parents' pragmatic approach and support - they never doubted her and she always felt supported, no matter what.
Olivia’s darling Dad Chris was paramount in her creative growth but also inspired her love of food, travel, art and the best things in life. He was very hands on in the kitchen throughout her childhood and was an incredible model for Olivia of a man committed to breaking gender stereotypes. An artist and musician, he was also her travel and adventure buddy, particularly throughout India and Turkey. Olivia moved home from Europe when he was diagnosed with leukaemia, and cooking became something very soothing and healing for both of them as he underwent chemotherapy. Devastatingly, Chris passed away this year. We extend huge love and tenderness to Olivia, her Mum Lynette and brothers Raj and Laurence.
Olivia doesn’t believe in the “tortured artist” concept, and when it comes to the “starving artist” myth, she acknowledges the complexities. We don’t get into the financial side of things, but more the idea that everyone is an artist and “othering” people makes no sense when all humans have the capacity to be wildly creative. To avoid hierarchies, instead of calling herself an artist, she likes to say that she makes jewellery. We also talk about the role of the artist, with Olivia sharing that she believes that we need beauty and need to look at it every day - to highlight things that could be overlooked.
“I think art, for me, is to create curiosity, beauty and connection - and to tell stories..”
We end our chat with laughs about a kitchen disaster story that she’s still not over, and Olivia’s admission that she’s “a sicko with butter” - she has been known to give people a cracker with so much butter on it that they’ve assumed it was cheese.
Grab a poodle, a brick of butter and a sense of adventure and join us to find out What Olivia Eats.
WHAT OLIVIA EATS
FLOURLESS CACAO & ORANGE FUDGE CAKE
This is Olivia’s signature bake.
In high school she would procrasti-bake it to avoid study, and now she bakes it for the people she adores.
Olivia loves this recipe because you can dress it up or down. If you’re feeling fancy, you can double the recipe, make 2 cakes and then fill the middle with a mix of cream and marmalade. You can even top it with cream and jam or flowers to make it a real show stopper.
Tips:
For the love of god, don't burn the butter!
Make sure the eggs have been whipped enough that it’s risen properly (needs to be fluffy)
Flavours to look for: the subtle flavour of the orange rind that transports you to Sicily
Serve with a sharp black coffee or black tea
LINKS & MENTIONS
LINKS TO ARTIST INFORMATION, RESOURCES AND ANYTHING ELSE WE CHATTED ABOUT
INFORMATION AND TAKEAWAYS FROM OUR CHAT
From Olivia’s Dad, Chris, for when you’re feeling anxious about cash flow: “The latin root for the word for currency means current (to come and go) so money will go and then flow back, like a river.”
One of Olivia’s favourite Turkish meals is sarma - vine leaves stuffed with slowed cooked beef and rice, served with yoghurt
Tips for bolstering creativity: go to as many museums as you can, go out and really look at stuff and make sure you read widely
