Ilse-Marie Erl is originally from Germany and came to Aotearoa in 1986. Since 1999 she has been working as a contemporary jewellery maker based in Tamaki Makaurau. After graduating from the Unitec School of Design & Visual Arts in 1999 with a Bachelor of Design in Contemporary Jewellery, she stayed on to teach contemporary craft and jewellery making till 2014.  In 2011 she completed her postgraduate studies at Unitec with a Masters in Design.

In 2014 Marie became a contractor for USC (University of Sunshine Coast) Australia, establishing workshops in the Pacific Islands for the making of shell products for the tourist market. She regularly visits the Islands training women in the making of genuine locally produced handicrafts using sustainably farmed mother of pearl. Any time left is spent making her own work in her tiny workshop at the foothills of the Waitakere Ranges.