Olivia first came across Charnel Rizk when she read her moving short essay My Family’s Yellow Fibro Home was my Greatest Teacher. As a young writer Charnel writes about her identity as a Lebanese-Australian, and how her background forms an indelible part of the performer, musician, and creative she is today. Talking to Charnel gives us new insights into the way that coming from an immigration background can be simultaneously difficult and breathtakingly beautiful. Cleopatra's Bling Podcast...

Do you sometimes feel scared about the direction that the world is going in, but not sure what you can do to help? Too overwhelmed to turn on the news? Sophie McNeill is a journalist and researcher for Human Rights Watch, covering everything from the most headline-grabbing events to some of the forgotten stories of our times. Her dedication to bringing to light stories from far flung corners of the world that deal with oppressed peoples gives her deep insight into lesser known details about...

This episode contains inspiring ideas, intimate connection, and practical advice, as we explore the power of purpose-driven work. Less an interview and more a free ranging and informative conversation between two longtime friends and successful businesswomen. Ethical beauty brand Fluff founder Erika Geraerts sat down with the creative director of Cleopatra's Bling, Olivia Cummings, to delve into the pressing issues of our time and the role that a life's vocation can play in shaping a better...

Natasha Lunn is a bestselling writer and journalist whose passion is having Conversations on Love. Her weekly newsletter and her essay compilations of the same name help us understand how relationships function, and how they grow through our lives. Natasha has interviewed Alain de Botton, Esther Perrel, and David Sedaris about love, and I was delighted to have the opportunity to interview her. I walked away from this conversation feeling wiser about love, life, and the length and breadth of...

A dinner party guest we'd all love to be next to (or, frankly, be!) is the warm, encylopaedically knowledgeable historian Erin O'Halloran. As quick with an interesting anecdote as with unexpected insights into the connections between far reaching areas in the ancient world, listening to her is like being transported to Egypt, India or the Middle East in times gone by. Bringing the lofty topic of history down into the earthy realm of the "story of who we are and how we came to be here", Erin...

If you’ve ever wondered why a chef might need to know the exact temperature of a cow's fourth stomach, chef Lucy Whitlow - is here to fill you in. She turns dairy produce into delicious cheeses, creams, and milk products, balancing the slowness needed to keep cheese "happy" and "calm" with the fast paced restaurant industry. She and Olivia discuss emotions that go into food, the complex qualities of milk, the intricate processes of making cheese, and how she balances her life as a...

Ennis Ćehić understands the predicament many of us are in in the 21st century - we need a money job to pursue a creative passion. As an author, he managed to capitalise on his experience working as a brand strategist and use it to fuel his writing with biting humour and detailed observation. Ennis’ work deals with disillusionment, displacement, and the odd feeling of living in our modern world. His debut short story collection Sadvertising is published by Penguin Random House. Cleopatra's...

There is a moment in every child's life when they realise that the relationships around them may not be as simple as they seem. It's a perplexing sensation that can stay with us well into adulthood: times when you see your partner speaking, but hear the words of their father or grandmother emerging from their mouth. That generations present are haunted by generations past is something that poet Trivarna Hariharan contemplates through moving, spare writing. Trivarna calls up ghosts sensed...

Bestselling author, and marriage and family therapist, Elizabeth Earnshaw has been helping couples and parents for decades. She uses attachment theory to help individuals understand better how and why they are reacting to emotional triggers. Her insights have been featured on the Huffington Post, the New York Times, and Oprah. Olivia sat down with Elizabeth to discuss how to love, even when it gets hard, getting into the nitty gritty of our relationships, both good and bad. Elizabeth's...

What kind of engagement ring would a jeweller want for herself? These questions and more in our final episode of the season that covers the earliest ever love rings, engagement rings' secret codes, and how capture by pirates led to one of the world's most iconic love ring designs.

Our guest today is more often referred to by the charming moniker “Blooms” which she uses as her Instagram handle @petrinablooms. This cheerful gardener is as riotously colourful and funny as the wild and varied flowers she tends to in the green expanses of her suburban Melbourne home. It’s these flowers that Petrina Burrill handpicks and sells as part of her sustainable floristry practice. In signature pale pink overalls you can find her in a garden that Design Files has described as a...

Many of us spend our whole lives attempting to climb the ladder of success in our chosen profession. Liam Spurrell found accolades and opportunities early: thanks to his talent for flavour and keen eye for detail already at a young age he found positions opening up to him in some of Melbourne’s best restaurants. But rather than stay in the ratatouille race, Liam decided to trade in his chef’s whites for muddy boots, secateurs and scissors.  He is now a full time forager, sourcing ethical and...

Co-host James is back to the Podcast to talk a small but ubiquitous accessory with a very long history: the silk scarf. This week we've got ancient spies, martial arts, war propaganda, and the death of a star of the stage.  Plus: Listener questions!

Over the past years Olivia has found twin passions in learning the Arabic language and advocating for Palestinian liberation. A mentor and teacher who helped to guide her in this journey is Yousef Alreemawi - a lecturer, political adviser and commentator, editor, and friend. They discuss the beauty of Arabic as a language, its unique expressiveness, and his experience as part of the Palestinian diaspora.

Kirstie Clements has presided over the most glamorous corners of the Australian fashion industry throughout her long career. At one point in time her role took her from clubbing with supermodels and Guns N’ Roses in Paris, to high tea with Estée Lauder at the Plaza New York, to travels alongside Armani in Shanghai. Despite these stylish credentials, she finds that much of her creative and professional inspiration has been drawn from fine art, poetry, music, film, and travel. She sat down with...

Co-host James returns to the Podcast to talk the life and times of the Renaissance's most infamous scoundrel: Benvenuto Cellini. This week we've got murder, sex, war, poetry, goldsmithing... with a touch of necromancy and some favours done for the Pope. It's the history of the life of Florence's most famous goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini. What better man or place to cover than that which inspires so many of our collections and where our first bespoke solid gold pieces were made? Plus: Listener...

The male boxer you see fighting it out in the ring at the Olympics, or the man who comes round to repair your burst water pipe - these might be the last kind of people you would stereotypically expect to pull off their gloves to reveal bright nail polish.  Our guest today, Harry Garside, happens to be both: a professional fighter, and a tradesman. He also happens to be a laid back pioneer of the diverse possibilities of gender expression, having sported nail lacquer in the ring. His...

Permaculture is the development of agricultural systems that are sustainable and self-sufficient. Anna, more widely known as "The Urban Nanna", is a former primary school teacher with a horticultural background. Nowadays, rather than a stuffy building, the great outdoors is her classroom. Anna teaches traditional ways of crafting, preserving, and cooking, all the while living in the precarious rental market of suburban Australia. Olivia spoke with Anna at her wifi-less home, to discuss...

We welcome new co-host James to the Podcast, who will join for regular chats that will give you a laugh as you cook or commute. CB founder and designer Olivia, and musician James are good friends with a wealth of stories and banter between them. They'll also provide insight into the historical backgrounds of some of the world's most famous materials, places, and objects that historically connect us to the jewels we wear today. This week we've got Big Men, brain goo, and a treasure map of...

Leo Kretzenbacher views language as a collective artwork created by all people who use it. He was born in Austria, grew up in Germany and has been teaching and researching in the German Studies Program of the University of Melbourne’s School of Languages and Linguistics for over a quarter of a century. While Leo has done literary and cultural studies as well, his main interest is in linguistics. Collectively he and Olivia speak over 15 languages. They discuss the best ways to learn a new...

Imagine trying to feed one of the world's most famously foodie cities in the middle of a pandemic. With COVID-19 forcing us to cover our mouths, that's exactly what Pat Nourse with the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival somehow managed to do. Pat and his team not only found creative ways to bring incredible food to people, he also delved deeper into writing about food once more. Against a backdrop of chirping native birds Olivia talks with the one man who knows more about the world's best...

Host Olivia Cummings is the founder of the jewellery brand Cleopatra’s Bling. In this new series of minisodes, Olivia takes us on a journey to the far reaches of the globe, giving an insight into the historical and cultural practices that inspire the Cleopatra's Bling artisanal jewellery collections.

Host Olivia Cummings is the founder of the jewellery brand Cleopatra’s Bling. Cleopatra’s Bling travels around the world, meeting fascinating creatives, craftspeople, and cultural experts to inspire our artisanal collections. This podcast invites you into those intimate conversations which bring tradition and practices from the past into the present.

Host Olivia Cummings is the founder of the jewellery brand Cleopatra’s Bling. In this new series of minisodes, Olivia takes us on a journey to the far reaches of the globe, giving an insight into the historical and cultural practices that inspire the Cleopatra's Bling artisanal jewellery collections.