A professional musician (once stellar*, now solo) and talented jewellery designer, kiwi songbird Boh Runga is living the dream, residing in LA where she spends her days writing music and drawing and designing jewellery - or flying home like a snowbird to tour the homeland promoting her album ‘Right Here’ with fellow muso Greg Johnson.
Lessons to be learnt from Boh include the importance of self-belief, enjoying the small things but celebrating the big things, embracing opportunity and the importance of cultivating your personal brand.
She shares her nine inspiring insights to thriving off the beaten track…
1: I’m a dreamer and I earn a living from it which is fantastic. Not having a typical 9 to 5 day job is the best part of my world. I celebrate my life with good friends and my amazing family. Wine and food doesn’t hurt either!
2: Along the way, I’ve learnt to trust in myself, in my gut feelings and then to stand behind them. If you believe in what you are doing then the rest falls into place.
3: Music is my business and from my success in that my name has become a commodity. I’m fortunate enough to have branched out into jewellery design with New Zealand Mint and for it to be well received and sought after. I’m still discovering how much my name can create opportunities and because of this I feel very lucky.
4: I’m a creative person and I conceptualise. With my jewellery ranges as well as my music, I have creative control and for that I would love for people to think that I was imaginative.
5: The eight-year-old me would not stand around and contemplate the adult me - she would be tadpoling and climbing trees! I was a geek when I was younger and I wanted to be a biologist when I grew up but I ended up singing in bands. I liked animals and I dreamed of jungles and savannas.
6: Confidence is a major factor in making it work, not just for a musician walking out onto a stage but for anyone embarking on any venture. Making the time everyday no matter how tired I may be to update my websites and answer my emails and messages is a necessity. Time management is something I am still perfecting.
7: If something doesn’t work out, even if you are feeling deflated, it’s not the end of the world. The end of the world is the end of the world.
8: Campbell (Smith), my husband and manager has been integral not just in supporting my ideas but enabling them to happen. He has a wise business side that is needed to balance out my crazy dreams and schemes. I’m grateful for the fact I had strong management in place before I embarked on my joint venture with New Zealand Mint. There is a real synergy with what happens in my musical life and my designing life.
9: I believe [my jewellery] is not only good quality but offers pieces that aren’t faddy or fly-by-night. Don’t get me wrong, I love ‘fun’ jewellery but I wanted to create a collectable nature to my pieces. I also designed ranges as opposed to different and un-related one-off pieces which adds to that collectable feel. Even though they are available in gold plated and sterling silver, the pieces are still affordable and I think that has contributed a great deal to the success of the jewellery.going.
Boh’s fourth and latest range for New Zealand Mint, ‘The Lotus and the Snowbird’ is now available (Ed’s Pick: ’Lotus Stud Earrings’). Boh’s debut solo album ‘Right Here’ is also available (Ed’s Pick: ‘Evelyn’, check out the music video below). All are fabulous and you should get your hands on them. Right. Now.
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