For friendship, creativity & heart

Good friends, artist Hayley ‘Flox’ King and jeweller Cathy Pope, share insights into their friendship and collaborations.

Amity is the perfect word to describe Cathy Pope and Hayley King’s latest collaboration, The Amity Necklace, as well as their friendship, which spans 20 years. The young creatives met on a small business course, instantly gelled and have been friends ever since.

“I think being a woman in business you’re naturally drawn to other women around you going through the same ups and downs – they just get it!” says Pope.

“We clicked straight away and sat next to each other every day for the entire course. Even back then we had so much in common as we were ambitious creatives looking to commercialise our businesses so they could sustain us. I was working in costume in film and TV and setting up a dressmaking business and Hayley was breaking new ground with her stencilled murals and selling at markets. I’m pretty sure we came top of our class, and we were awarded business grants that really got things started for us.”

The recent release of their jointly designed Amity Necklace holds a very special place in the hearts of both, and is their second collaboration. The Painted Peacock Project in 2015 was their first after King suggested doing something in India together. Each year Pope visits India where she works with her manufacturers developing new samples, buying stock and finding inspiration for her jewellery designs, and King was keen to visit but wanted to do something with purpose.

“So together, along with our two other friends, [artist] Ema Frost and [photographer] Sacha Stejko we dreamed up a passion project so we could essentially be useful and do something meaningful while there,” says King.

“We taught workshops at a local NGO school and painted a beautiful mural in the heart of Udaipur which had such positive responses from local community. Even with the language barrier, the artwork was a visual language in itself and people really connected with it.”

Their most recent collaboration, The Amity Necklace, has been a long time in the making.

“We’ve thought about doing a collab necklace for a long time. It kind of just felt like the right move as we love working together. It’s also a great way to cross pollinate our audiences while developing our own practices,” says King.

Representing friendship, peace, harmony and abundance, the Amity fuses Art Nouveau and New Zealand influences, featuring stencil patterns of the native harakeke flax and kowhai flower embellished with an emerald – “stone of successful love”, citrine “for manifestation” and clear quartz “an amplifying stone”.

A keepsake treasure with timeless charm.

We can’t wait to see what they dream up next.

What does friendship mean to you?

C: Friendship to me means no judgment and feeling accepted for being yourself.

H: Being able to speak your mind and not be judged.

What do you love most about your friendship?

C: Hayley is such a loyal friend and I trust her completely, mainly because we’ve been through a lot together. Our friendship covers all bases, the business and personal blends into one and there’s always plenty going on for both of us. As with most business owners it can often be overwhelming. I’ve cried many tears at the Haus of Flox and Hayley is unfailingly there for me.

H: Cathy is someone that I can just call for a chat – not really for any reason other than to just connect with someone. And, just the other day, she popped in with flowers because she knew I was going through a rough patch, totally out of the blue – it was such a lovely thing to do and totally unexpected.

What quality do you each value the most in each other?

C: I really admire Hayley’s energy levels. It completely dumbfounds me the pace at which she works and the number of projects she takes on. She has an awesome team but she’s still at the coalface doing the designs and is always looking towards the future. On top of that she’s an amazing and devoted mother.

H: Cathy is super motivated and passionate, but at the same time I think we’re totally on the same page personality wise. We’ve laughed, cried and been through some pretty big stuff, so she’s definitely a keeper.

Often people say don’t go into business with friends. What has it been like working together?

C: For us, The Amity Necklace collaboration just felt completely natural and easy especially as we’ve worked on bigger scale things together. There’s a lot to manage and agree on, like designs, marketing, pricing etc. Our first collaboration in India was so mammoth, after that anything seemed easy. We’re both very business and design driven, fast decision makers, fair and we can discuss things openly. Most importantly we’ve been through so much together the trust is implicit – key for a successful collaboration. H: It’s been great actually! Cathy is ridiculously good on social media, and she’s really in tune with her audience so it’s been a real treat to step into the world of jewellery, knowing I have her by my side. Collaboration is one of my own business’ core ethos. Working alongside other creatives steps me out of my comfort zone and into exciting and unknown territories. g

“Collaboration is one of my own business’ core ethos... it sends me into exciting and unknown territories.” Hayley ‘Flox’ King