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From Bogotá to Sydney, Made with Heart
My Story
Long before Serendipity had a name, there was a little girl in Bogotá who fell in love with making jewellery. That little girl was me. I’m Johanna — although most people call me Johis. My love for jewellery began when I was just eight years old. My mum used to take me with her to craft classes. While she attended her own course, she would enrol me in another one, and one of the very first I remember taking was a jewellery and beading class. I fell in love with it.
I didn’t know it at the time, but I had found something that would stay with me for the rest of my life. As I grew older, my parents always supported my love for jewellery, but back then it was seen more as a hobby than a career. Like many parents, they wanted me to have a stable profession — something more traditional and secure. They encouraged me to study a formal career first, with the understanding that one day I could always return to jewellery. So I did. I became a Dietitian and built a career in a completely different world.
Jewellery remained somewhere in the background of my life. I never truly let it go, but it wasn’t my main path. A few years before moving to Australia with my husband, I took a short jewellery-making course at the Escuela Colombiana de Alta Joyería in Bogotá. That experience taught me something important: jewellery making was not the clean, delicate art I had imagined as a little girl. It was hot, physical, messy, technical and demanding. There was metal, fire, dust, tools, mistakes and an incredible amount of patience. And instead of putting me off, it made me want to learn even more. It challenged me.
Finding My Way Back. My husband and I eventually moved from Bogotá to Sydney. What was originally meant to be six months of studying English became a life of its own. Sydney became home, we built our life here, and eventually became Australian citizens. I spent years working as a bookkeeper. It was practical and stable, but it wasn’t something I loved.
Then life asked me to slow down. A serious back injury and surgery meant I could no longer work the long hours sitting behind a desk that my job required. Suddenly, even the simplest everyday things could become difficult, and I had to depend on my family in ways I had never experienced before. During my recovery, I started making simple thread bracelets. At first, it was therapy. Making something with my hands gave me a sense of purpose during a time when I felt that so much of my independence had been taken away. The bracelets became more than something to keep me busy. Slowly, they helped me heal emotionally too.
What I thought would only be a stage in my recovery became something unexpected. I found my happiness again. And with it, I found my love for jewellery again. I began taking virtual macramé classes with a Colombian teacher, continuing to learn, experiment and create from home. Then my husband gave me a birthday gift that would change everything. He enrolled me to study jewellery at TAFE NSW. I was surprised, overwhelmed and, honestly, a little scared.
It was the first time he had made such a big decision for me without asking first. But underneath all those emotions was something much bigger: fear. I was terrified that my back would prevent me from finishing. TAFE was also a long way from where we lived, which meant that the effort required to attend classes was even greater. My biggest fear wasn’t failing because I didn’t want it badly enough. It was wanting it with everything I had and still not being able to do it.
But my husband believed in me. For three years, he drove me to class and picked me up again, making sure I could keep going even on the difficult days. I graduated from TAFE with my Certificate in Jewellery Making. The diploma has my name on it, but I know that achievement belongs to him too. We still joke that he deserves an honorary diploma. I will be grateful for the rest of my life that he believed in me and took a chance on my dream when I was afraid to take that chance myself.
Serendipity
Although Serendipity began with a childhood dream, it has never been a journey I have taken alone. Behind every piece, every post and every little detail of the brand is a small team of people who bring different talents, ideas and love to what we are building.
My husband has been there from the very beginning. He takes care of the technology and financial side of the business, making sure everything behind the scenes works as it should. He is also the person who believed in me enough to enrol me at TAFE — and who drove me to and from class for three years so I could finish what we had started.
My sister is another important part of the Serendipity team. She helps me make some of our bracelets, models our jewellery and is always ready to help bring an idea to life. Having her here in Australia has made this journey even more special.
In Colombia, I also have someone who is an essential part of the team. She helps me with the marketing side of Serendipity, especially the design and creative direction of our social media content, as well as the graphic design that brings the brand together visually. Even though we are in different countries, we work as one team.
And then there is me.
I design and make the jewellery, choose the materials and gemstones, develop the ideas, finish and polish every piece, and take the photographs and videos you see across our platforms. I am involved in almost every part of bringing a piece from an idea in my head to something you can hold in your hands.
My parents and the rest of my family have also been an important source of encouragement, always reminding me to keep going and believe in what I am building. And my friends have been there from the beginning too — wearing my jewellery, buying my first pieces, sharing my work, giving me feedback and celebrating every little milestone with me.
They weren’t simply customers. They were part of the beginning. So while you may see one person behind the jewellery, there are actually many hands, ideas and hearts behind Serendipity. We are a small team, but every person brings something important to the story.
The Work
Every piece at Serendipity Jewelry is designed and handcrafted by me — from the first idea and sketch to the making, finishing, polishing and packaging. My designs are inspired by nature: flowers, fruits, organic shapes and the little details that make the world around us beautiful.
I love working with genuine gemstones, choosing each one for its colour, character and individuality. I also love combining traditional jewellery techniques and materials to create pieces that feel both timeless and personal.
The Materials I Choose
I work with sterling silver 925, 14k gold filled in yellow and rose gold, and solid gold in different karats.
I believe jewellery should be made to be worn, loved and kept. That is why I choose materials that are made to last and gemstones that bring individuality to every piece.
Some of the gemstones you will find in my work include amethyst, citrine, moonstone, labradorite and many others.
Made in Australia by Colombian Hands
Serendipity Jewelry is based in Sydney, Australia, but its story began in Bogotá, Colombia.
My hands carry both places with them. The creativity and craft traditions I grew up around in Colombia, combined with everything I have learned and built in Australia, are part of every piece I create.
That is why Serendipity is proudly: Made in Australia by Colombian hands.
What Comes Next
I still have many designs living inside my head — ideas I imagined years ago and pieces I have not yet developed the technical skills to bring to life.
And I am not finished learning. My next big dream is to study at the Accademia delle Arti Orafe in Florence — one of the world’s respected goldsmithing schools. I want to continue developing my technical skills, challenge myself creatively and learn from a different jewellery tradition.
After that, another dream is waiting for me: studying Gemmology at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), so I can deepen my knowledge of gemstones and better understand the stones that are such an important part of my work.
There are still places I want to learn from, techniques I want to master and designs I want to bring to life. So this is not the end of the story. It is only the beginning. One idea, one gemstone and one handmade piece at a time.