working on the shop

I've been off school for almost three weeks now, but my breaks are rarely real breaks. I'm one of those people that enjoy being fairly busy.

It's hard for me to be idle.

[faceted bronze necklace with sterling silver chain, limited edition, available in the shop now]

I'm excited to make some new cast work in silver, add some more textured aspects to my work. So I've been playing around with some wax at home until the studio is open again from the holidays.

And I've been busy taking photos of some of my jewellery, editing them and putting them up in my online shop. It's the most full my shop's ever been, and I'm looking forward to filling it up some more since I have a lot of pieces I should have in there.

Maintaining the shop is quite a bit of work, more than you'd think. I wish I had an assistant...

a ring in steps

I've always been interested in seeing process work. In my final year at OCAD University we had to document all stages of our work, and I've been doing so for the past three years. 

Most people don't know how jewellery is made. They're visibly shocked when they find out that their rings can start off as small grains or flat sheets of metal - that it is by our hands that they come to be.

If you're interested in a ring like this, they're all one of a kind and you can find them at my etsy shop here.

a busy summer

Hi all! I've been busy in the studio most of the summer and have fallen off the blogging boat as a result. Though, I've recently joined instagram and have been really good at keeping that updated for some reason. You can follow me on instagram here.

But I am going to make an effort to post more regularly!

Since I started school again last September I found it really difficult to make new jewellery during the year. But since summer started I found myself in the studio as much as possible restocking the shops that carry my work and trying out some new designs I had been sketching and planning.

I'm pleased to announce that I now sell my jewellery at Shoe Kat Shoo in Orangeville alongside the regular - The Devil's Workshop, Organic Metal Gallery, and etsy. I just recently sent off some new enamel pieces in the most summery enamel colours I have - they're so nice and fresh looking. Kathie from Shoe Kat Shoo was kind enough to send me some photos of my work on display in her shop:

I'm also currently teaching a ten week enameling/advanced jewellery class on Thursdays at Organic Metal Gallery.

It's been busy and fun - kind of dreading going back to school now...

repaired

a big thanks to SeaFlowerStudios who curated this Hot and Cold etsy treasury and cestlaviedigital who created Rouge & Noir which both included my red and black petal pendant.

other good news - my kiln is up and running again! i got it mailed back to me only to plug it in and have a scary spark erupt in the power box. apparently there's a small ceramic tube like piece that acts as an insulator - unfortunately for me it cracked sometime during delivery, and plugging in the kiln with all its power shattered it in half.

thankfully the repair place was nice enough to send a technician over the next day, which allowed me to spend a good portion of last saturday working on a new concept piece that i was itching to start enameling.

pretty as a peacock

DreamsinSeams put together this beautifully vibrant "Pretty as a Peacock" treasury on etsy today which includes one of my teardrop lace pendants.

this exact pendant is going to be on display in Jewel Envy's Student Exhibition this Friday from 5-8pm alongside two other pieces of mine. i took an enameling class at Jewel Envy in January 2010 with Emily Gill and i've been obsessed with enameling and colour ever since.

come by for the opening, you may just see me.

seeing red

Valentine's Day is coming up soon and people have started scrambling for their gifts already. please don't hesitate to contact me if you're thinking about giving jewellery to your loved one.

with that in mind, i'm definitely seeing red. my oriental red enamel is one of my favourites. it can be very dynamic, especially when it's in combination with black as you can see here. if you like it too this necklace is currently available in the shop.

and, in a post about giving gifts for Valentine's Day, the Toronto Etsy Street Team was kind enough to feature my fire red fan necklace on their blog as a recommended romantic gift for the one you love.

Sleet Street

my past couple of days have been pretty useless creativity-wise. i caught the flu, and it's left me bed ridden for the past five days. all i've managed to do is drink water and tea and finish up watching Battlestar Galactica (which I've recently become obsessed with).

i'm now part of the toronto etsy street team - a network for toronto etsy sellers to support each other. and right away, wintergarden put together this nice Sleet Street treasury that focuses on Toronto talent. while the last treasury i was featured in was about combating the heat, this one celebrates the cold and includes my lichen earrings.

hot, Hot, HOT!

i'm always glad to see when someone appreciates my work. sometimes the artist is a little removed from that process when someone else is selling their work for them. when that happens you don't get to see the excitement the customer has for the piece or hear what they like best about the design.

i like etsy because it's so fast and easy for people to share the fact that they appreciate your work. this is also why i like doing the art/craft shows. i like to meet the people who are going to wear my work, or hear them tell me that it's just perfect for a certain outfit of the person they're giving it to.

being part of etsy gives me the chance to let people from all over the world see my work, and in turn i get to see some great handmade goodies from everyone else.

this hot, Hot, HOT! treasury was compiled by CoquetteBath and includes my fire red fan necklace. she made it to combat the cold.

Crimson and Clover Treasury

Dragonflymom was kind enough to include my new Lichen Inspired Necklace in her Crimson and Clover treasury yesterday. i think I'm going to make more of those necklaces in some other colours. i also made some new necklaces inspired by scalloped collars right before the holidays. hopefully i'll add the findings and ribbons soon so i can take photos and put them in the shop.

i just started work again, so i have some very busy weeks ahead of me. i also have to apply for The Outdoor Show (eee!) so things are going to get really crazy with me making new work for my application.

wish me luck everyone!

Sapphire Blue Treasury

I just posted my Sapphire and Black Enamel Petal Pendant on Etsy and i'm very glad to see that it got picked up by CandSNoland for this sapphire treasury almost immediately.

i'm building up my favourites list as the days go on. that way i can do a treasury of my own someday soon.

antiqued lichens

i decided to change up my lichen series by antiquing them to this dark colour. the fused texture leaves the raised portions the natural silver colour giving them a nice contrast. i just added this necklace to my etsy shop.

i recently sold my last pair of these earrings so you can't find them anywhere at the moment. i was in the studio yesterday making some new ones, so hopefully i'll get them back in the shop asap. i really like this series because each design is hand drawn so no two pairs are alike.

Hearts Afire Etsy Treasury

Hope you're all having a good new year. I was excited to see my fire red fan necklace featured in another etsy treasury today. This one was a "collection of V-day goodies" curated by alienlabel.

my first etsy treasury

i'm pretty new to etsy so i was super excited to see my lichen earrings included in a treasury by cynmb. yay!

new etsy items

i was supposed to put up new etsy photos a loooong time ago. but things didn't work out with my model. these will have to do for now. at least i have my hand in some shots for scale purposes. check out my shop for some newish stuff like this fire-y red fan necklace:

etsy

i've now opened up shop on etsy. though, i only have one thing up for sale right now. i think i just really wanted to get started and couldn't stop myself from posting something.

i have an etsy link on my sidebar now too, so you can find it easily.

i plan on having a photoshoot this week with a model so you can all see my work as it's worn on the body.

after those photos are done, i hope to have a shop with waaay more selection.