About Marjon

Hi, I’m Marjon.

I will tell you a little bit about me and why I do what I do.

When I was young I loved jewelry. My parents weren’t too fond of giving me anything that could get snagged and injure me when I was playing on the playground. So I wasn’t allowed to wear rings, earrings, necklaces and bracelets and they didn’t give me any for a long time. Today I think they were right as I was a bit of a tomboy. I do apply the same rules to my daughter, although she is allowed to look like a Christmas tree when we go out.

I started to make my own jewelry with string, straws cut in small pieces, beads, macaroni and paperclips. Later my father, an electrician, gave me telephone wire (nice, colored, nylon-coated copper wire) and pliers to work with. And because I didn’t get my ears pierced until I was 14, I attached them to paperclips which I bent to function as ear clips.

I wasn’t only creating jewelry — I liked to create lots of things: I sewed, knitted, and crocheted for my dolls and Barbies and later for myself as well. By the time I was a teenager I wasn’t much interested in creating my own jewelry anymore; I had pocket money and spent it on cheap jewelry. School and social activities took over from creating and I stopped doing it.

When I was 20 I traveled to Australia and met a silversmith. The part of me that loved to create was awoken again. By the time I returned to the Netherlands I started creating again, this time to make a nice place to live on my own. Making jewelry didn’t take off until 2000, when my boyfriend (now husband) encouraged me to take action and do something about my desire to start making jewelry. I entered the Gold Smiting School where I learned gold smiting in the evenings after I finished my day job.

One of my teachers at Gold Smiting School worked with Titanium and Aluminum and, as an additional program, he taught us how to anodize these two materials. I was hooked! I love colors and this gave me the opportunity to create unique and colorful jewelry, which is also hypoallergenic.

When I fell pregnant my day job ended, which gave me the freedom to do my apprenticeship in a wonderful jewelry store “In De Ban Van De Ring” in my hometown of Rotterdam.

Then my daughter was born and I only had eyes and time for her. My jewelry dream became a hobby again, although I did do some jewelry fairs, a regular market and house parties.

We decided to immigrate from the Netherlands to Australia in 2006. After settling in and renewing the family home I had time to focus on my business again. In 2010 I started selling my jewelry online in my Etsy shop. For me, having an online business in which I can work during school hours and at night gives me the freedom to be a mother and a jewelry maker at the same time.

I believe that everybody should be able to wear beautiful jewelry and feel pretty. When I found out that this was not always possible I decided to create jewelry for those that couldn’t wear it because of their sensitivity to nickel. The hypoallergenic jewelry is made especially for sensitive skin, which means EVERYBODY can wear it.

And in 2013 I changed the business name to Nonita Jewelry and later that year we decided to move back home to the Netherlands again.

Read more about Nonita Jewelry