Craigslist surprise

Hi guys!

This is my story about an interesting incident that happened last week, during my search for the perfect display case. (The display case is a story unto itself, so if you want to know more about that just let me know.)

I have been obsessively searching through Craigslist and Kijiji, because I am/was on the hunt for a display cabinet, a showcase for my jewellery, that can travel with me to sales/shows/events. My search words were exactly this: "jewellery display cabinet". Scrolling down, my eyes were suddenly transfixed by this image:

I was so perplexed to see this pendant 'for sale' on Craigslist, that I stared blankly at the screen for a silly amount of time. It is a necklace that I made in my last year of the Jewellery Arts program at George Brown, that was subsequently displayed during our grad show event. But to see this piece completely out of context, after years of being apart, was a bit of a surprise. And then I realized that it was an ad for Jewel Envy, using a provided-by-me image no less, and then I was no longer surprised.

I am telling you this because it was a good moment; to reflect on past work, and to realize that although my style has evolved, the backbone of my goldsmithing esthetic has stayed true. I am still very happy with this design, and the same cannot always be said about my other creations (my self-critic has a loud voice!) But in the end my design professor knew her stuff - with the right amount (usually a HUGE amount) of ideation, development, and refinement, you will be able to create a piece that will stand the test of time. Lesson learned, again!

So back to the sketchbook I go, and I will leave you with a proper image of the above piece:

Burst pendant - sterling silver with 14k yellow gold accent

custom-cut sujilite cabochon

sterling silver rolo chain

Happy designing y'all!

~sash

Oscar Looks

Did you enjoy Oscars last night? I certainly did and love some of celebrity's jewellery.

Red carpet jewels

Hope you all enjoyed Oscars last night.
As a jeweler I was interested  to see what jewels will shine on red carpet last night.
Here are just a few  looks enhanced with beautiful jewellery:
 https://ca.shine.yahoo.com/photos/2015-oscars-red-carpet-report-card

Don't Forget Your Jacket

It's snowing out....I know, like you didn't notice. It's pretty, fluffy, white snow but it's coming down like it's going out of style. (We hope!) Snow and sub-zero temperatures mean lots of layers: hat, scarf, mitts, six sweaters and a jacket.
You might be sick of that jacket so I present you with some much prettier ones...for your ears!!!!

Sasha Oda-Acherade

Anita Ko

E F Collection

Lanie Lynn Jewelry

Maria Black

Plukka

Sidney Chung

Sydney Evan

gemstones ♥ ♥ ♥

I LOVE GEMSTONES!!!!! Did you know that?! They are beautiful and they sparkle and they shine and they come in all the colours of the rainbow and beyond. Most jewellers and goldsmiths share my love, as well as most of the general population, so yeah, I guess this is not shocking information. But did I mention that I looooove gemstones?!

I recently went to Friday Night Live at the ROM - I highly recommend you check this out - and I spent a silly amount of time in the gemstone room. Drooling. (And drinking.)

Here is the photographic evidence:

This is actually not my photo, but it showcases all the lovely showcases:)

Close-up view of some fluorite. Again, not my picture, but how pretty?!

 So this is my picture. This is a 100kg (OMIGOSH) gold coin that is worth an estimated $1 million dollars! Just thinking of all the pretty things I could make... sigh. This coin, and the entire gemstone room, in fact, was donated by the Barrick gold mining company. Thank you Barrick!

 Fellow goldsmith Iona K. and I checking out the stones. Photo by Tom K.

See you at the ROM!

~sash

Wedding band class

Hello everybody!

Are wedding bells in your future? If so, then perhaps you are in the market for a wedding band. In that case, look no further because we offer ring-making classes. Yay!

 These rings are fabricated from metal sheet. We have a 1-day band ring class where we teach you the skills and techniques to make one of these beauties yourself. Wowza!

These rings have been carved in wax, and are ready to be cast in the metal of your choice. We will teach you how to carve a ring, and once it's cast we will show you how to make it shine:) This is a 2-day casting workshop. How coooooool??!

If you are loving the 'custom' aspect, but not interested in getting your hands dirty, never fear, because we love doing custom work for you:)

Come by and say hello, and sign up for a class or a consultation!

BM/TM CO-OP Student Last Day

         Today January 23, 2015 is my last day here working at Jewel Envy and the end of my first semester. My experience working here has been a great one and I even had the opportunity to design my own rings. And that is chance not many co-operative students in high school get to do I've learned.
         When I was asked if I would like the chance to design my own piece of jewellery I was thrilled to work like real goldsmith and design my own. The first thing to was do my homework on ring designs. Next I carved the design in wax. It took me two tries in wax to get the ring design right.
         Third step was to get it ready for casting. It takes awhile before you can cast and since I have no experience in casting I had to learn first before I could cast my ring. I found it kind of hard because I only had few weeks left so it was rushed and we had to book a day to do the casting. Luckily I had a great supervisor Amanda who helped me out.
         There was a little mix up with casting and my ring was accidentally cast in the wrong metal. So we had to start over but we did not have to do too much we just made a silicon mold from the ring to make new waxes from for the new wax rings. When I started to cast the rings I was excited by how they came out. The next thing to do was emery and the final step was polishing.
        It was a great experience with many memorable moments for me. And to be able to take my own work home was more than I could say thank you for. These last two piece I worked on here at Jewel Envy are the ones I am most proud of for the hard work I did. And I am very happy to have been a part of the amazing work environment at Jewel Envy.