These Hands | Rebekah
These hands belong to Rebekah, who has been an integral member of the Natalie Marie team since 2015. Bek is our gypsy soul with a wonderfully inquisitive mind and nurturing nature. Always on hand to help, whether that be with work, offering a fresh perspective or making a cup of tea. Meet Bek below...
Who do these hands belong to?
Rebekah Moore-Hart, Wholesale and Administration Assistant.
What is your role at Natalie Marie Jewellery and how long have you been part of the team?
Currently I am working part time, having returned from taking a year of maternity leave to look after my son, Fionn. I work closely with Ella, our Wholesale Account Manager/Marketing Manager and I am really grateful to be in that position, learning daily and collaborating with her. I take care of the independent wholesalers, and assist in the administration across all of our wholesale delivery. I started working with Nat in 2015 so it’s been truly inspiring watching her working so diligently and with so much bravery to bring her dreams to fruition.
Has your role changed since you started?
My role evolved as the business grew and went from 0 to 100 very quickly! Initially I was the Studio Manager and that was a huge role that looked after the online store, wholesale, bespoke clients, day to day running of the studio, supporting production, and administration. It was incredibly multi-dimensional, and that vast scope was great for the brain.
As we have grown things have gradually streamlined, and now as I ease back in, it is a little more focused for me. Although I can’t wait to eventually take on more again! I love, and have always loved, working for this beautiful family of a company, and supporting dear friends to do great things.
Describe a typical day for you?
Work days involve rising with my little man anywhere between 5-6am, cuddling up and reading him his favourite books then preparing brekky and hoping he will get at least 10% of it in his mouth. After the always amusing and unexpected journey that is trying to get out of the house with a whirlwind toddler, I drop Fionn off with his favourite carers at daycare and drive up to Avalon.
Driving time is podcast time to satisfy my obsession with psychology and yogic philosophy. A little coffee ritual first to get the brain sparkling, then it’s diving into fantastic array of different tasks, conversations and problem-solving that make every day truly enjoyable. I have a love for any detail-orientated, repetitive tasks so you’ll find me quietly hunched in a corner obsessively cross-checking product details, invoices and spreadsheets, quality checking pieces being sent to our wholesalers or just laughing way too loud (sorry Ellas!) when I can no longer concentrate.
Come home time I try not to speed down the coast in anticipation of seeing Fionn and catching up with my husband James. The huge cuddles when you walk through the door are heart-bursting. We take a trip to the park or the beach if there is still light in the sky. Then the usual routine of dinner, bath, a mountain of books and bed, and J and I will try and steal some time for us if we can. May even manage to read a page of something...
What is your most treasured piece of jewellery?
I have a few rings that I wear - a number of them were beautiful gifts from people I love - and all of them hold significant memory and meaning. My engagement ring is obviously hugely loved - beautiful J carried it for three days all the way up Mount Rinjani, a still active volcano in Lombok, to propose at sunrise when we summited. A truly incredible moment, and it's such a beautiful symbol of everything we have and will share.
What is your favourite Natalie Marie piece?
Being a long-time lover of the Art Deco era, I have always adored the Maya Ring - the champagne quartz or rutilated quartz in that ring with white diamonds shoulders looks absolutely stunning - hoping to treat myself with it for my next significant birthday.
Where would we find you on the weekend, how do you unwind?
You’ll find me with my beautiful little fam: Fionn’s dinosaur backpack on the back, our little babe on my or James' front finding a new park or going for big walks down the coast between Manly and Dee Why. We also love going camping with family and friends. Ultimate happiness is that first cup of coffee around the campfire of a morning with our loved ones, watching the sun creep across the valley and light up the dew in the grass. Or spending precious time with our family and friends somewhere by the ocean.
Beach, City or Mountains?
I am definitely a mountain girl at heart. I was born at the foot of Kunanyi in Hobart and I feel like I belong to her in a sense. I spent a lot of my childhood exploring the bush with my Dad. We love hiking in Tassie’s South West National Park. Here in NSW my husband’s father’s family have a beautiful home in Mt Irvine in the Blue Mountains and we all try to spend as much time up there as possible tending to the gardens and exploring. The crisp clearness, lyre-bird song and the sound of wind through the leaves of the trees are a salve for the soul.
What inspires you?
People who dedicate themselves to the betterment of humanity. I live in constant awe of those in any care-oriented profession - midwives, palliative care professionals, nurses and paramedics - those who oversee the beginnings and ends of life particularly; or those who fight hard for the just causes that they believe in, especially in terms of the environment.
If you could live anywhere, apart from Sydney, where would you be be?
We would either be living at home in Hobart at the foot of the mountain so we could walk up there anytime, or in some kind of mountainous bush fringing the sea somewhere - in either place rearing chickens, tending to a veggie patch, and living sustainably and off grid. Teaching our little man how precious the earth is and what we can do to live in harmony with it.
If you were not working at Natalie Marie, what would you be doing?
I would possibly still be working in children’s television, working as a writer, or maybe studying to become a nurse. Ultimately though, right here right now at NMJ is a very fulfilling place to be.
What are you currently reading?
'The Moth Snowstorm- Nature and Joy’ - by Michael McCarthy. Michael McCarthy is an environment correspondent and passionate birdwatcher who has been charting environmental decline for many years. The book is both a devastating read as it doesn’t shy away from the details of the extinction event we are currently in the middle of, but also an acknowledgment of how nature sparks our joy and how, really, that alone should be of enough worth to us that we feel inspired to protect our home on planet Earth.
Where would you consider home to be?
Having always been a gyspy, I think my sense of home is a little fragmented. Hobart feels like home spiritually - the birthplace, the pristine wilderness and where most of my most loved family members are. I moved to Sydney in 2000 to study and have travelled extensively throughout my life, so really it wasn’t until I moved to the Northern Beaches in 2011, and gained another beautiful family thanks to James that I felt I had found a place to rest. I am still coming to peace with remaining in place as it isn’t totally natural for me, but the community and landscape here is really special.
Describe yourself in 5 words?
Naturalist, seeker, bird-lover, eternal student.
What kind of challenges do you set yourself in life?
For me the challenges have always been related to taking on work that allows for experimentation. I was in the arts for many years, and was lucky enough to explore work as an actor/writer/production crew member/set builder/scenic artist/make-up artist/props manager/child guardian/teacher/Christmas decorator... Many deeply fulfilling things.
It was an incredibly full period of life where I threw myself into every possibility and learnt so much. Now the challenges relate to motherhood and self-development. Learning how to encourage, nurture and hold space for an amazingly energised little man. Aiming to remain entirely aware through that process, and hopefully evolve personally as we fudge our way through. In other ways, I plan to start rock-climbing, finish learning German and create a daily writing practice again.
What are you most grateful for?
Nature: everything that she is, and gives, so generously. The amazingly heart-orientated and beautiful people in my life who I feel so blessed to have close on this journey. Having an endlessly enquiring mind. Being able to grow and give birth to our gorgeous son. So much, always.
What is the best piece of advice you've been given?
Honour each human’s journey - understand that everyone’s individual experience colours their reality. Meet them in a non-judgemental space - have the deepest of empathy and respect for them. This is the foundation of kindness towards our fellow humans. Thanks be to Ram Dass for that constant reminder.
If you were a dessert, what would you be?
A lovely plate of Tiramisu - both comforting and energising :)
What is your least known talent?
I can recognise many of the birds in the Sydney region by call, and name a large gamut of 80s and 90s song after hearing their first bar.
If you could share a pot of tea with anyone, who would it be?
Dr Brian Cox. Tell me everything about the universe, Brian!!! We might need a few pots...
Lastly, what is your favourite gemstone?
Although it’s hard to choose - I have had an interest in gemstones and the meanings attributed to them since collecting them when I was really young - Moonstone is the first that comes to mind, due to it being a stone with an inherently female energy that supports both the heart space and the traveller.
Photography by @tealily
