A. Paton history

In the early 70s Alastair Paton started his career in jewellery at the Silver Cave on Little Collins St, Melbourne. In 1974 he bought Electrum, a jewellery store on Chapel St in South Yarra. Here he was involved in the fledgling retail association that now stands as one of Melbourne’s top retail destinations.

In the late 70s Alastair took over CJ Pedersens, a manufacturing jeweller in Capital House on Swanston Street in Melbourne, and in 1982 opened the doors to Ashburton Jewellers and proceeded to run a manufacturing and retail Jewellery business there for the next 28 years, at times employing up to 14 jewellers.

In 2010 he moved his business to the country and focused on the manufacturing and wholesale side of the business.

Phoebe Hemingway

Completing Applied Design after high school, Phoebe wanted to further her education and eventually whittled her choices down to two courses, Gold and Silversmithing or Textile Design, both at RMIT. She chose the latter and, although her design career took a different path, her love for jewellery never faded and so she continued on with her jewellery design as a hobby. That was until she met Andrew and the pieces of the puzzle started to come together.

Andrew Paton

From as early as Andrew can remember he was called into service at his father's workshop to find dropped gems and components. His duties eventually evolved to weekend and summer work finishing pieces in the workshop and assisting with the retail side of the business. After school Andrew studied Outdoor Education and tried to balance his love for jewellery and his desire to follow in his father's footsteps with his love for the outdoors.