About Ben & Jacqui Hoole and Opal Moon Collective

OPAL MOON Collective is home to several arts and crafts brands by Queensland couple Ben & Jacqui Hoole.

OPAL MOON™ is our rapidly growing artisan jewellery label, handmade in our Queensland studio.

BETTY BUNHEAD TIARAS™ (est. 2001 by Jacqui Hoole) was, quite possibly, Australia's first - and is arguably our most respected - dance headwear brand. BETTY BUNHEAD TIARAS™ is not only loved by countless leading Australian and International dancers and dance schools, our range has expanded to include original designs for weddings, festivals and a wide range of events.

ANARK™ Clothing Company is our gym and fightwear and accessories brand, established around 10 years ago and featuring many of Ben's designs on high quality clothing and sporting products.

EPIC FINE ART™ comprises a sizeable collection of Ben's fine art prints and canvases created over the years. Please note that these are not currently for sale - we're just too busy designing and creating new jewellery pieces. We do hope to make selected artworks available as limited editions in the future.

BEN HOOLE _{(MBA., MPET., B.Comm.)}

Ben has around 25 years of professional experience as a multidiscipline fine artist and designer. As a visual artist, he characteristically strives to adapt traditional techniques to a digital art workflow, employing both traditional methods and cutting-edge 3d/ CG tools and approaches. His fine art is typically both detailed and rich in painterly character.

During covid, and faced with the challenges posed by AI-generated art, Ben turned his artistic skills towards silversmithing and jewellery design. Similar to his approach to visual art, Ben, as a professional metal artist, utilises both computer design and hands-on traditional metalworking practices, spending his days bouncing between his PC and studio workshop.

Academically, he holds an undergraduate degree in commerce, a Master's degree in business administration and a Master's degree in professional education and training. His art and craft training, although considerable, is largely informal and hands-on - his techniques and workflows have been developed over decades of informal professional study and practice.

Ben is a long-time boxer, natural bodybuilder and black-belt martial artist.

JACQUI HOOLE

After many years of designing and manufacturing costumes and headwear for her students, Jacqui Hoole (a veteran classical ballet teacher), founded Betty Bunhead Tiaras™ way back in 2001. Jacqui's depth of professional experience within the dance industry has enabled her to develop a keen eye for what works - and what doesn't - on stage, and this is reflected in her unique dance and event headwear designs.

Jacqui's crafting skills and experience extends well beyond headwear, however. She is an expert at beading and wirework and, like Ben, is a professional silversmith. Jacqui is a co-creator of our artisan jewellery range.