Colour & Sparkle

What better way to add some life to jewellery than using gemstones? They add depth and variety by bringing in colour and sparkle. Perfect for summer!

We have a bezel setting workshop running here at Jewel Envy next Saturday, June 7th. For more info give us a call or visit us in store. We'd love to help you!

Here are 3 samples of pendants made by students in one of our recent bezel setting workshops.

A custom necklace for Lucie's birthday, with a small bezel set cubic zirconia over the "i".

A funky bezel set agate pendant, made with the customer's stone. Have a stone you want made into jewellery, bring it in and show us! We love looking at gemstones almost as much as we like making jewellery (which is a lot)!

A selfie of me and my rose gold and white gold septum ring, bezel set with a diamond.

Thanks for reading, and looking at my photos!
Come in anytime to talk jewellery!

Amanda

Website: Jewelust by Amanda Henderson
Facebook.com/Jewelust.by.Amanda.Henderson

Surprise Gift Give Aways in May

This May we did something a little different at Jewel Envy. When a customer purchased something with a value over $100 from our showroom we gave them a little extra gift. These "little" gifts were tokens of our appreciation for our customers. The jewellers here each made a unique piece with a retail value of $65 and then we wrapped up the pieces and let you be surprised with the box you chose.

People seemed to really enjoy this so stay tuned for future give aways. We may announce them or just surprise you on the spot with something!

Below are the pieces generously donated and some of our winners.

Sterling silver studs by Amanda Henderson of Jewelust were a big hit. Now the big decision is if they should be a treat to keep or another gift for people overseas.

Sterling silver and enamel petal pendant by Gillian E. Batcher of PASH Jewellery Design. This was a luck of the draw choice as was is a perfect colour match to the bunny earrings (by Alexis Kostuk) he chose for his lucky girlfriend lovingly nicknamed "Bunny".

 

Sterling silver and turquoise earrings by Lauren Hanham of Lauren Hanham Jewellery Designs had a nice beachy feel, perfect match for the bracelet she picked up by Fatima Tataragic.

 Sterling silver pendant by Sasha Oda of Archerade. It was a two for one necklace day for this customer!

Wood cufflinks by Zsolt Szekely. Lucky man, came in for a gift for his wife (earrings by Hyewon Jang) and chose a pair of cufflinks by Zsolt, who incidentally made his wedding band years ago!

 Sterling silver and leather pendant by Helena Perez Lafaurie of H.P. Jewellery Design

 Sterling silver and resin pin by Alexis Kostuk of Glaciale Jewellery

 Sterling silver and pearl earrings by Hyewon Jang of H Jewelry

Sterling silver earrings by Young Ko of Koko Bijoux. 


There is always something interesting going on at Jewel Envy so drop in to see the work and check things out.

Gillian

Lilypad ring is done! It's my first time trying arctic fox silver. It works pretty much the same as sterling silver. However, the fancy part of arctic fox silver is that it is anti-tarnishing!! It's a wonderful idea; especially, it will save me lots of time on cleaning tarnished jewellery. And also, I no longer need to worry about polishing stones away.
This lilypad was originally carved in wax and cast with a wax ring on the bottom. It was a bit of challenging on finding the right spots for sprues in order to make sure the whole thing is cast. There are several different types of gems that were set on. The big oval stone on the bottom right is tourmaline. The rest of small gems are topaz, peridot, tsavorite garnet, rhodolite garnet and white sapphires. White sapphires are tiny, which is to express water drops on the leaf.
Here is a quick snap shot of it to show everyone.

 Cheers
Ellen Tsai @ ellolite.com

Oooppss I did it again....

I went and bought new equipment! All jewellers love the thrill of acquiring new tools and equipment. We love the process of making and our tools are cherished and protected as of result of this. Oddly enough the main techniques for making jewellery have not changed in centuries but new tools are constantly invented to help us streamline production and achieve greater accuracy and precision.

With all of the resources at our disposal it can be quite an eye opening and humbling experience to ee what jewellers in other parts of the world accomplish with the bare minimum of what we think is necessary for successful creation.

All that being said and having seen mind blowing detailed work myself while traveling, I am still seduced by the idea of having more and more tools and equipment for work I may want to make in the future. Thankfully for me this habit is supported by the fact that I have a studio to run and equipment purchases are helpful to the current jewellers in the space as well as being attractive incentive to new jewellers considering applying to the space.

After repeated requests from jewellers interested in working here I finally set up a Mega Minor Glass torch with a new kiln for annealing glass work in. As I got some of the pieces in the set up second hand I was also able to purchase old stock of glass rod in amazing colours which is available for sale at the studio.

Many years ago I took glass bead making classes at Bead FX so it may be time to return to some lamp work in my designs....or not...just having new equipment can sometimes be enough to satisfy the new tool buzz!

These new supplies may also inspire us to start teaching glass bead making classes so stay tuned for details!


Gillian

Spring Collective Show

Happy long weekend everybody!!!

If you have never visited us here at the studio, come on by and say hello sometime!  But don't forget, there are other opportunities for you to meet our goldsmiths and browse their wares.  Summer is an especially busy time of year, with a whole lot of art shows, exhibitions, pop-up shops and sales happening all over the city.

In the very near future, more specifically Saturday May 24th, there is a ONE-DAY ONLY show at Riverdale Park.  It is the Spring Collective Show, and it will showcase original art in a variety of mediums.  Pottery, textiles, and paintings, oh my!  And of course, our very favourite of all, JEWELLERY!!

Our goldsmith Amanda Henderson, of Jewelust, will be there from 11am to 4pm, with her collection of earrings, necklaces, rings, and more.  Go say hello!

In the meantime, and to tide you over until next Saturday, here are some images of her pieces:

Stinger earrings

-sterling silver and cubic zirconia

 

Stacking rings

-sterling silver, turquoise, 10K gold

Whirl necklace

-sterling silver and aquamarine

And this is the flyer for the show:

Amanda hopes to see you there!

Enjoy the rest of your long weekend folks xx

Hi all, I just wanted to share this photo with you from the "archives". The rings in this photo are now on display here at Jewel Envy! 

Come by and see them and more for yourself! Also you can check them out and more here! Enjoy!

Pendant Saturday

Happy Mother's Day weekend everybody!!

I sincerely hope you're all enjoying the beautiful sunshine, which we have most certainly earned.  If you're still stuck on a (last-minute!) gift for Mom, or just wanted to look at some pretty pendants, then you've come to the right place.

These are all pieces available here at the shop, made in-house by our very talented goldsmiths.  Have a look!

 Initial pendant necklace by Alexis Kostuk of Glaciale.  

Perfect for me, actually, because my name is Sasha:)

Curlicue pendant by Amanda Henderson of Jewelust.

So feminine and unique, and the light bounces off the whirls and swirls just right.

 

Wood and sterling pendant by Carolyn Cathcart of Cathcart Designs.

Packs a real visual punch, for such a lightweight piece.

Organic pendant by Ellen Tsai of Ellolite.

 It reminds me of coral.  Beautiful, sterling silver coral.

Crochet and bead pendant by Fatima Tataragic of Tete Designs.

The stones are the perfect juicy colours for spring and summer.

Showstopper Trillium pendant by Gillian Batcher of Pash Jewellery.

Pave-set sapphires and garnets, with crocheted accents and a beautiful sphene in the centre.

Necklace by Helena Perez Lafaurie of HP Lafaurie Jewellery Design.

 This piece can be worn as a long strand, or doubled as above.  The dangling cones offer the perfect amount of weight and movement.

Floral pendant with gold-plated accents by Hyewon Jang of Hyewon Jewellery.

So pretty for spring.  May flowers are finally here!

Bed of Bones necklace by Lauren Hanham of Lauren Hanham Jewellery Designs.

Statement piece with amazing organic detail.

Gold fox pendant by Sasha Oda of Archerade.

 His name is Felix!

Cage pendant by Young Kyoung Ko of Koko Bijoux.

There is a small dangling ruby that isn't so visible in this image.

There is a matching set of earrings that I love as well.

 Aquatic pendant by Darija Radic of Darija Radic Designs.

Made with a real bullet casing, the sterling bubbles add the perfect aquatic element.

Wedding band by Zsolt Szekely of Zsolt Szekely Jewellery.

It's not a pendant I know, but the yellow gold and rose gold contrast looks like a beautiful spring sunset.

That's it from me.  Go enjoy the sunshine!  And while you're out there, stop by the studio and say hello:)

-Sash

Surprise Gift Giveaway!

This month at Jewel Envy we're giving our valued jewellery lovers a little something in return. Just in time for Mother's Day (May 11th in case you forgot!) we are offering a gift to the first 9 people who spend $100 or more on in-store jewellery. That's like getting 2 pieces of jewellery for the price of 1, pretty sweet!

And I'm not talking a dinky little door prizes here my loves, I mean handmade with love REAL jewellery by Jewel Envy goldsmiths. I can't tell you what the pieces are, that would ruin the surprise, but we will reveal the prizes as they are claimed here on the blog, facebook and instagram.
What I can show you is some great gift ideas, or treats for yourself, that will get you one of our gifts.

Bracelet: Tete Jewellery $180, Earrings: Pash Jewellery Design $100, Earrings: Ellolite $120, Bracelet: H.P. Lafaurie $120

Top Necklace: Cathcart Designs $200, Bottom Necklaces: Glaciale $340, Right Necklaces: $100 and $175

Rings Left to Right: Acherade $150, Zsolt Szekely $550, Darija Radic $100, Bottom Earrings: Koko Bijoux $185, Necklace: Jewelust $150, Earrings: H Jewelry $120

Happy shopping!
-L

Yuanyuan Zou--Summer Internship at Jewel Envy

My name is Yuanyuan Zou. I am a newly graduate from NSCAD University, major in Jewellery Design and Metalsmithing. My jewellery works have been exhibited in Canada and internationally. I have passion for jewellery design. Recently, I move from Halifax to Toronto, and I am currently doing at internship at my favourite jewellery retail store/studio, Jewel Envy. I believe that I will have an excellent time during the internship at Jewel Envy.