‘One of the most obscure jobs I’ve been asked to do is to repair a stainless steel penis ring which I said I didn’t do… and I certainly don’t fit them either!
‘That was probably the most unusual job I’ve been asked to do in my 30 or so years as a jeweller here in Newtown.’
‘It’s taken me a long time to get through it and as you get older there are issues. When you’re younger you didn’t have to face these issues but when you get older it’s a new issue and a new part of that problem that you never had to deal with. I guess I’m OK.’
If you give advice to fathers out there from a daughter’s perspective, what would it be?
‘Listen to them and look after them. Don’t hurt them. A father plays a huge role in a child’s life. I’ve seen kids go through the same thing where they’ve got fathers that haven’t been there for them enough or haven’t focused on them at all or have treated them in a certain way because they’re not a boy. You just really have to focus. You don’t understand how that impact of your dad really destroys you. Your family upbringing is a huge thing. If your father’s not around it destroys a lot.’
What’s your biggest challenge right now?
‘To find a balance between working life and my personal life. It’s pretty intensive full time work and living in Sydney. I’ve thought about chucking it all in and just going to Spain.’
Is it likely to happen?
‘We’ll see…
The first 5 days after the weekend are always the hardest.
Tell me about it!
‘You don’t tend to see a lot of female main characters or even sub-characters on television. The shows tend to be about boy characters that are really great and fantastic and save the day. If it is a girl, they’re usually a sister or they’re in trouble or a bit of a sidekick.
‘It means that young girls don’t learn to see themselves as potential heroes. They think that adventures and journeys are for boys and that they’re maybe supposed to be the sidekicks. If you grow up seeing that message over and over again it must have some sort of impact on you.’
Did you have someone in your life that encouraged you to do what you want to do?
‘I have an awesome mother and also a super awesome grandmother. They’re both very strong women. My mother was a single mum – she’s a poet now. My grandmother was an actress, a director and a model before most women even had jobs. She was one of the first women on television back in Adelaide. I grew up around them and because I was exposed to women like that I never really doubted that I could do the same thing. There are a lot of girls that don’t have that growing up. It’s amazing how much just one role model can change that.’
What advice would you give to young girls?
‘Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do what it is that you love. It’s probably unlikely that people will give you that positive message so you’re going to have to discover the courage within yourself to believe that.’
The human body as an art form. Thanks to these very supple and skilled Humans of Newtown today for their demo at South King Block Party.
‘But when it was all said and done, the thing that made the biggest impact on me was they had a big memorial for him and they had the biggest hall in our small suburb in Newcastle. I turned up and there were just crowds of people in the streets out the front who couldn’t fit inside.
‘I realised that that’s the only thing you’ve got is the impact you’ve had on other people’s lives. It’s not about all the money that you earned and all those successes and that was just a huge change for me. From that day, I went down this path.
‘Looking at what I’m seeing today shows to me that there is definitely the interest out there for people to be able to come together for many different reasons to express themselves. I just like to bring a little bit of happiness to people’s lives in some way, help the community and be part of it. I hope that then creates a domino effect of people helping each other. Something I’ve always lived by is to be the change in the world you want to see.’
COMMUNE founder, Sam Ali.
These two were grooving away at the South King Block Party today. This little guy wanted me to take his photo and then asked to look at the shots I’d taken on the back of the camera. When I showed him a few, he said, ‘No, show me the ones with my moves.’
Smooth!
Baby, it’s cold outside!
‘For me it’s like a form of meditation. Sometimes my mind can become so chaotic so I just need to do it to clear my mind.
‘You have to be completely aware of yourself. You constantly need to be thinking ahead and be 100% aware of your body.’
Humans of Newtown 