Jayme’s inspirational journey from nursing to jewellery-making

Her busy lifestyle of being a full-time nurse, mum to a newborn and a toddler and having a blossoming jewellery making business isn’t for everybody.

Jayme who has been nursing for 11 years decided that this was the career for her when she was just a teen and the unthinkable happened to her on Christmas day.

“My Granda took a heart attack in front of me on Christmas Day when I was about 15/16 years old and was nursed so amazingly in Cardiac ICU in Royal Victoria hospital.”

Although this was a very traumatic time for her family, Jayme used this experience as a motivator to become a nurse.

“The nurses saved him, hence my decision to go into nursing and he (Granda) was so proud of that.”

She works full time, and although the hours may seem gruelling to some, she is driven by the desire to make life for her patients that little bit better by giving them the option to stay at home while she comes to them.

“I work full time - over 4 days a week. I work shift work, including weekends and late nights. It's busy but it's my dream job- elderly who are very unwell but keeping them at home and avoiding the emergency department and hospital admission. Work for me is time out and a break from being mummy for a few hours.”

On top of her busy nursing career, the 33-year-old has followed her lifelong interest in art and started up her own jewellery making business.

“I started dabbling in beads since lockdown on maternity leave with my first born. I have always been a keen artist (mainly fine art and painting / drawing) but with a young baby didn’t have the time to sit for hours at a piece. So instead, I took to jewellery making.

“My jewellery is self-taught, and it was a bit of trial and error at the start. I have always had an interest in jewellery from a young age and mixed with clothes and styling, it was a way for me to match jewellery with outfits.”

Ditsy and Dote (Jayme’s beading business) is now thriving with some of her specially crafted, personalised bracelets going as far as New Jersey, USA in the past week.

As well as a thriving career woman, Jayme is a proud mum to two children, Izzy and Finn. Becoming mum for the first time is difficult for most to adapt to, but for Jayme and her husband, their first-time experience as parents was more challenging than most when Izzy was born with a rare condition.

“Izzy has a condition called Pierre Robin Sequence which is quite rare. Like most conditions it's a spectrum of severity and fortunately for us and Izzy, hers hasn't impacted her in the way we initially thought.

“She was born with a cleft palate so needed a bit of help when she was born with feeding. She had surgery at 13 months to close over her cleft. Subsequently as a result her speech is affected, and she has moderate hearing loss and requires wee Hearing aids.

“We would attend appointments weekly for her, which is crazy, especially along with full time work. One of my 3 days off per week is spent at hospital but it's benefiting her so much and she is making massive progress. We await more cleft surgery now this year which we are looking forward to getting over us.”

At the end of 2023, Jayme and her husband Jonny welcomed their second born, Finn.

“I found going from 1-2 a massive shock. Izzy has a busy social life and medical life so trying to slot a newborn in has been crazy, but good. Finn has completed our wee family. “

For most, two young children, weekly hospital visits and two demanding jobs may sound like an impossible lifestyle to uphold, but Jayme makes it work with support from her family.

“The juggle is real, but I never bead when Izzy or Finn are awake and need me. Working 4 days gives me 3 days off and I’ve good support from Jonny and family who help with the kids for childcare! Without them it wouldn’t happen.”

Luckily, time to unwind fits in nicely to her routine, as she views her beading more of a relaxing activity rather than just another job.

“Relaxing for me is beading and designing jewellery. I wait until the kids are sleeping and lock myself in my wee work room and put on Netflix and bead away! It's my quiet happy place and gives me a bit of time out! And a bit of time to come up with new design ideas or do a bit of online shopping. “

Although her life is busy, Jayme juggles everything effortlessly, and looking back, is proud of how far she’s come.

“10 years ago, I had just recently qualified as a nurse and had started working in the Mater hospital and single. Never did I imagine I would still be nursing as throughout my training I really struggled as I always wanted to be an artist. Now I can do both, caring for the vulnerable and elderly in an acute setting and making bespoke jewellery.

“I was brought up in a home where I watched my mum and dad work incredibly hard to provide for us as a family! I want to do that for my family. If I stopped, I'd be bored.”

The 33-year-old has created her dream life through lots of hard work and love for her career, craft, and family. She is a true inspiration to others.