Jyothi Forman is a jeweler at Georgies Fine Jewellery in Narooma, New South Wales, Australia. She specializes in hand fabricating custom jewelry. Jyothi, a blossoming 24 years old, grew up in a small regional town called Tanja and went to school in Bega, New South Wales. Outside of work, she loves exploring the outdoors. Mountain biking, playing soccer, painting, and hanging out with her sweet pup, Baxter, are a few of her favorite activities.
“I’ve always been a very practical person and love working in a hands-on manner. In school, I loved ceramics, woodwork, metalwork, and visual arts. When I stumbled upon the jewelry trade, I couldn’t believe my luck! It combines everything I enjoy: practicality, creativity, and an ongoing challenge,” Jyothi explains. “I knew I loved making jewelry since my first day on the bench.”
Throughout her apprenticeship, she’s had many amazing opportunities arise. Jyothi has competed in many competitions and represented Australia in the International WorldSkills Competition in Brazil. This honor gave her an unforgettable experience. “Placing second in the world and earning a silver medal was quite a remarkable feat!” she says. “I couldn’t have done it without my supportive, generous boss, Georgie Staley.”
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Custom design remains central to Jyothi. It enables her customers to have unique pieces of jewelry that express who they are. “Custom jewelry tells the owner’s story while also reflecting the designer’s gifts. The highly involved process is very rewarding. The customer is delighted with their jewelry because they have contributed to the design,” she says.
For Jyothi, the most challenging jobs are the large, intricate handmade pieces. However, these are also her favorite! “I love a challenge. I love the problem solving and attention to detail, then seeing everything come together at the end into a beautiful piece of jewelry. Every day as a jeweler is different. From resurrecting old family heirlooms to handcrafting brand new ones for future generations. Each day brings about a new challenge, all equally rewarding.”
At the beginning of March 2017, Jyothi married her partner, Mitchell. They’ve been together since high school. He is a watchmaker and both work at Georgies Fine Jewellery. “I’ll forever treasure when he proposed to me with all the materials necessary to make my very own engagement ring: Parti sapphire, diamonds, and raw metal,” she recounts. “From there, I handcrafted my ring from platinum and small accents of green gold. The center stone is a yellow-green Australian Parti Sapphire and side stones are diamonds.” Her beautiful ring is pictured here.
Jyothi and her husband Mitchell have never been to America and are tremendously excited to come over for the competition!
Here are just a few of her awards and recognitions, along with her most prized custom designs-
- Nationwide Jewellers Apprentice of the Year – 2013 & 2014
- Melbourne Polytechnic Best 2nd year Apprentice Jeweler – 2013
- Melbourne Polytechnic Best 3rd year Apprentice Jeweler – 2014
- Melbourne Polytechnics Outstanding Apprentice/Trainee of the Year – 2015
- Melbourne Polytechnic Outstanding Student of the Year – 2015
- Worldskills Australia regional competition, Melbourne – 2013 • Gold
- Worldskills Australia national competition – 2014 • Gold
- Worldskills Oceania competition – 2015 • Gold
- Worldskills International Competition – 2015 • Silver
- Announced in Triple J’s 25 under 25 2015
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We’re gearing up for our annual Battle of the Benches® competition, which begins March 24. Meet David Adamson, the defending champ here.
