My Favourite Room - Aja Rock

Aja Rock was born in Vancouver, spent her youth in Maui and came to New Zealand in 2004.


She was cast in a local television show and worked at Touchdown Pictures for a time with Julie Christie and their production department. Aja tells, “I met the love of my life, a Kiwi man. We married in 2010 and our family has been growing ever since. We’ve lived in Ponsonby and Grey Lynn with two cats and a dog for the past eight years.”

“I spend most of my time raising my beautiful children aged two, four and 12 and am currently pregnant with my fourth child.” Aja loves nature and New Zealand beaches and spends a lot of time at the beach up North. When she’s in Auckland you'll often find her working on her new range of crystal jewellery in her workshop.

In fact, Aja’s favourite room is her Grey Lynn workshop - understandable, as Ponsonby News caught her right in the middle of moving house.

What do you call this room?
This is my creative space and workshop.

What do you use it for?
Silversmithing - for the past year I have been working on a range of crystal jewellery called Immortal Siren that will launch later this year.

Why is it your favourite room?
It's a beautiful space with views over Grey Lynn and Auckland harbour, it has a feeling of lightness about it and is a peaceful haven for me amidst the busyness of three children. These days every room in my house is alive with children and toys, so when I come here to work and create I feel an inherent sense of peace and sanctuary. I burn white sage which cleanses and purifies the space, I listen to music and either sketch or solder as I work on my range.

The real satisfaction comes for me when an idea I have for a piece of jewellery realises itself as a sketch and then becomes something tangible. The most special and important thing about the range for me are the crystals that I choose, they make each piece meaningful and powerful... much more than just a piece of jewellery.

What are your favourite things in the room?
Without a doubt, my crystal collection. The crystals are where this whole project began. As a child growing up in Maui I used to love going ‘rockhounding’, which is what we called collecting crystals and stones from nature. As a child, I had a need to find crystals and keep their energy near me, and as an adult this has blossomed into a desire to set them in silver as jewellery pieces.

Then I’d have to say my Foredom Power Drill (that I got for a steal from an amazing man at my Rockhound Club) and my soldering torch.

www.ajarock.com