After a recent trip to explore the Montana mines, visiting small mining town Butte - home to her recently deceased Grandmother - Melosi has embraced raw metal materials of antiqued silver and coppery tones which have been intensified by applying heat to achieve a rainbow effect, in addition to the setting of uncut, locally sourced minerals such as Pyrite and Chalcopyrite. Once again Melosi has been able to capture the beauty which arises out of destruction - the broken, abandoned, and overlooked, a recurrent theme in her work - but this time inspired by family history. “The theme is different from the first three collections. It's inspired by my Grandmother who recently passed and the place in which she lived” Melosi explains. “Her family came over from Yugoslavia to Butte to work in the mines. It used to be a thriving town at the turn of the century, but now it’s barely a third of its original size and all the mines are shut. The town is dominated by a toxic open mine and the mountainous but barren landscape is dotted with the remnants of all the underground mine shafts. I’ve visited this place often - taking photos, panning for gold and gemstones, and learning its history”.

LASTCHANCE/LOSTCHILD departs from the previous collection which was more rugged and theatrical in its aestheticism by playing more with delicate shapes and lines which accentuate the female form. It is also credible by the depth of historical research and personal engagement behind its conception. The collection plays with the contrasts inherent in the barren mountain landscape explored by Melosi, which has been left ravaged by underground and open-pit mining. But the unique edge of this new collection is due to Melosi inheriting her Grandmother’s vast costume jewellery collection, which has provided the core inspiration. “Collecting all her jewellery and dressing up as a child, coupled with my interest in mining history and a love of natural gemstones, minerals and metals have led me to becoming a jewellery designer."