This Pair Of Best Friends Created A Slow Jewellery Label That’s Collaborated With St. Agni
two of a kind
By Kiri Johnston | 7th August 2026If you, like so many of us girls, have ever dreamt of opening up a fashion business with your bestie, you’re ging to want to hear the story behind Vermeer Studio. Influenced by their mothers’ love of jewellery making, longtime friends Tané Meiring and Gabriel Krestensen founded the slow jewellery brand in 2018. Drawing inspiration from the Australian landscape and an intuitive process of experimentation, the duo create enduring pieces designed to be worn through everyday rituals and life’s most memorable moments.
We chat to Meiring and Krestensen to discover the story behind the brand, the thinking behind their made-to-order business model, and their ties to the South East Queensland landscape.
There’s something incredibly personal and considered about Vermeer pieces. In a world of fast fashion and overconsumption, why was it important for you to keep the brand handmade and made-to-order?
A lot of time, care, and work go into everything we do at Vermeer and though it can be challenging at times, we find it so much more rewarding and comforting to know our pieces are made on Australian soil. Seeing and knowing the hands that create our pieces adds a lot of meaning and intention to the business. It is naturally a slower process, but that feels honest to us as founders. Because of this, we feel more connected to the pieces and tend to keep them within our collections for longer than a season or a trend. There are pieces we still make today that were part of our very first collection eight years ago. As things made in Australia seem to be harder and harder to find, it does feel important to us to keep that alive in our own way.
You’re both mothers, creatives, and founders, living and creating between the Sunshine Coast, Northern Rivers, and Gold Coast. How has motherhood changed the way you approach Vermeer?
Motherhood has changed everything about how we operate within our business, because we very quickly had to become resilient and flexible with our time. It has been incredibly rewarding to build a life around creativity and family, but it has also been incredibly hard at times. We have our children with us throughout the day as they’re not in care, so creating a business built around flexibility has been really important. We are constantly balancing work and motherhood in the same space, every day. For that reason, there is a lot of intention in our creative process. Vermeer began during nap times and late nights when Gabriel had her first baby, and it continues during nap times and late nights to this day. Our brand feels personal and real because it is. It is not always balanced, but it is honest, and we believe that is why we connect with our Vermeer community on such a personal level.
So much of Vermeer seems inspired by the Australian landscape, the ocean, the hinterland, natural textures, and light. How does living in South East Queensland continue to influence your creative direction?
A lot of our days are spent outside with our kids and we both feel most at peace in nature, whether it’s among the trees or in the ocean. Nature really feels like home to us. It grounds us, and that comes through in the pieces we create. Creating from that space feels natural and organic, and it continues to shape the textures, materials, and feeling of the brand.
Looking back at where Vermeer Studio started in 2018 to where it is now, what are you both most proud of, not just as founders, but as friends who built something meaningful together?
We feel most grateful that we get to work together every day and call this work in the first place. After eight years in business together, we feel like we know each other on an even deeper level and that feels really special. We are grateful to have held each other through all the different stages of motherhood and business. When one of us is having a hard day, the other naturally steps in and allows space. That is something very meaningful to us and not something you easily find in business. More than anything, we are proud that we have built something honest and lasting together – as friends, mothers, and founders.
