Sarah Hardie and her friend have been regularly gifting each other earrings ever since they got their first jobs as teenagers.
Birthdays, Christmases and everything in between were marked with a pair of earrings sent in the mail.
A couple of decades later, the tradition has inspired her business, Deserved Luxury. It's a business that sees Hardie not only design her own jewellery line for her friend's earring deliveries, but it's a way for her to easily create custom pieces for clients, or even adjust standard designs to fit bodies of all sizes.
"It shows you know someone, getting them jewellery that they like - it's personal in that way," Hardie says.
"And I like the idea of having something that when it turns up on your doorstep, even the packaging looks nice and from the moment you open it, it's a real experience."
Launching during the pandemic, the business - which is based online at deservedluxury.com.au - is also a way for her to help keep her driver in Bali employed.
Before COVID, Hardie would regularly go to Indonesia on holiday, and every time she would hire Agung Aria to be her driver.
While the Canberran had originally planned to look at Turkey to get her pieces made, when Aria reached out at the beginning of the pandemic for reviews for his website in a bid to create more business, Hardie had the idea to hire him as the man on the ground.
He could put her in touch with Indonesian gold and silver craftsmen and source materials, while she handled the design side of things. At the same time, it meant she could be assured of the working conditions of the jewellery makers.
"We have a lot of fun with it - him going around, taking me [via video call] asking me what I think of things," Hardie says.
"He knows me so well now hat he picks out things he knows I don't like so that he can tease me in front of the salesperson [while on video call].
"But he finds everything for me. So for example, for all my pearls, I paid for him to go to Lombok, because that's where the South Sea pearls are, and they are just stunning."
With a background in diversity, Hardie has aimed to be as inclusive as possible with her work.
She has autoimmune diseases which inflame her hands, making it hard to buy rings, generally. She also has friends with smaller hands, which causes the same problem for the reverse reason, and others who are plus-sized and need longer chains on necklaces and bracelets.
It's for these reasons that all of the pieces can be created in the size needed by the customer, and also why Deserved Luxury offers custom subscription boxes.
"I've got the opportunity to be able to have my pieces custom-made," Hardie says.
"I'm such a small business, I can't stock it in every size - that would be my dream.
"So I thought instead, I'd do two things, any of my pieces you can get made to your size, and the other is the subscription box.
"I send you a ring sizer, I sent you a bracelet sizer and a necklace sizer, so that I have all your measurements. So it's not completely customised, but it's an affordable, customised product."
