Jewellery Design Centre Launches “Tell Our Stories” to Celebrate Lismore’s History

Advertorial by Daniel Pinkerton

The Lismore Jewel Centre, a beloved fixture in the community, has reopened its doors in the Starcourt Arcade under a new name: Jewellery Design Centre. To celebrate they are launching a heartwarming initiative to commemorate the history and cherished memories of Lismore and the old store.

“Since reopening, we’ve had so many come and tell us how happy they are we’re back and share their fond memories of the old Jewel Centre” says owners Gary and Mariska Pinkerton.

“We love it, and so we want to invite more people to share their stories with us!”

The old Lismore Jewel Centre. It will be missed dearly.

The ‘Tell Our Stories’ campaign invites locals to share their personal stories of connection, community and the special jewellery that has played an important role in their lives.

“The stories have played a special role in our lives too,” says Mariska.

“While we were closed after the flood, we did house calls and had customers come visit us at home which put a whole new light on the jewellery experience. All of a sudden the glitz was gone and our appointments were stripped back to just us and our customers. In this setting people naturally began to share their heart felt experiences with us, and we got to know them in a whole new way.”

It was this experience, they explain, that inspired the new Jewellery Design Centre in Lismore’s Starcourt Arcade.

“It’s smaller and not as ritzy as the old Jewel Centre was,” says Gary of the new store, “But for us it captures that feeling we felt when we would sit around dining tables with our customers.”

Just like home- a picture of the new interior’s cosy setting.

Gary and Mariska are now inviting community members to visit the store and share their own memories and experiences, with the chance to win exciting prizes.

Each person who shares their story online or in-store will be entered into a draw to win a $500 voucher, while those who have a piece repaired, remade, or custom-designed during the campaign period will have the opportunity to win a pair of $1,500 diamond earrings.

“We especially want to hear stories about the rich history of Lismore, memories of the old Jewel Centre or touching moments where jewellery has played a special part in your life.”

“More than the prizes, this is about celebrating the stories of the Northern Rivers and the memories that bind us together,” says Mariska.

Entries are open until May 24. For more information about the “Tell Our Stories” giveaway and how to participate, visit the Jewellery Design Centre in the Starcourt Arcade or follow the QR codes below to their social media channels.

For more business news, click here.

Diary of a Flood Survivor

I feel like we must have been one of the first cars to get petrol at the newly-reopened service station at Woodburn.

They did not have their ATM lines up so were only taking cash.

As I walked into the shop, I could smell the newness of the plastic and products as I went to pay for the tank’s worth.

AND the price was the lowest I have seen in a long while.

No doubt, once the ATM lines are up and if they keep the same price, it will be a popular spot.

It makes the town feel like it is back on the road to healing.

Now we just need to see our IGA open and we will be all grown up again.

I recently went to the funeral of the wife of a friend.

It was a very poignant moment to see him reach out and gently touch the coffin next to where he sat in the church during the requiem mass.

Her children read out her own words that she had written about her life and it was interesting to note she was born in the middle of a flood in 1928.

From there, she remembered as a young wife and mother the devastation of 1954’s flood.

When we first arrived on the Northern Rivers, the 1954 flood was spoken about in hushed tones or a type of reverence at the enormity of it.

Without taking away from the devastation that happened during that flood, as many more people lost their lives, I don’t think I have the same awe for it as I once did, now having experienced the aftermath of the 2022 flood.

Little steps.

For more 2022 floods news, click here.

Two years on Annette has her keepsakes returned

By Samantha Elley

Most people who experienced the loss of personal items in the 2022 flood have come to terms with the fact they will never see them again.

Annette Dale of East Wardell was no different.

Her jar of matchbooks that she had been collecting since her twenties was a hobby of hers for forty years.

“My ex-husband and I would travel about to restaurants and nightclubs and I used to collect their matchbooks,” she said.

“I managed to salvage them in the first flood and put them in a shed, but then the second flood actually took my water tank.”

The second flood also took her collection of matchbooks, still in their jar.

“I hadn’t thought about them until half way through last year,” said Annette.

Fast forward to 2024 and Annette’s daughter Katelin was scrolling on her social media when she saw a post where a staff member from the Ramada in Ballina was looking for the owner of a jar of matchbooks.

“Spotted floating along the river during the floods. Ramada staff fished this jar out of the water. We would love to return this item to its owner.”

This was the sign on the jar.

Matchbook Collection.

“(Katelin) rang me and said ‘Mum, I have something of yours you lost in the floods’,” said Annette.

“I started crying and she filmed me when I got it back.”

That video was posted on the Wardell CORE Community Organised Resilience Effort page and Annette has been overwhelmed with all the positive comments and good wishes.

“To have my glass jar float all the way from East Wardell to the Ramada is amazing,” she said.

Annette said the flood waters didn’t affect Wardell until March 1 and she thought she was safe on a mound.

However, when she woke up that morning she realised she was on an island and needed rescuing.

“I got rescued on a jet ski by two (very handsome) men,” she said.

“It was a terrifying experience, it was a leap of faith and I prayed the whole time.”

For the next six months Annette lived with her daughter and son-in-law in Tuckombil until the house was in a decent state to move back into.

Having her long lost collection of match books back has lifted her spirits no end and she visited the Ramada last Friday to meet the staff who saved her keepsakes.

“I am totally grateful to the Ramada staff,” she said.

For more 2022 floods news, click here.