Everybody meet Helena!!!

Oh hello there, Helena!

 Helena Perez-Lafaurie is a Jewel Envy goldsmith after my own heart. She designs these chunky sterling rings that are pretty much everything I look for in a chunky sterling ring.

Some are classic chunky, and some have a big, beautiful onyxs.

 Some have colourful and sparkly stones.

 And others still have texture and great detail.

Each ring has a bold, strong shape that really accentuates the attention to detail. They are heavy, but so comfortable on my finger it's almost like they were made just for me. Helena does custom work, so she can make one just for you, too!

Under the Sea

Alexis Kostuk of Glaciale latest creations!

Under the Sea Ring. Sterling silver, Blue onyx, white sapphires.

Shark! Sterling silver with diamond eyes.

Under the Sea Ring. Sterling silver, lapis lazuli, sapphires.

Sharks! Dangle earrings. Sterling silver.

Reef ring. Sterling silver, turquoise.

Shark! Sterling silver with tourmaline eyes.

Sharks! Stud earrings: appear as if the sharks are biting your ears. Sterling silver.

Sasha Oda one of our Jewel Envy talents in jewellery making.

Her pieces are characterized by clear lines and fine ornamentation.

Check out her pieces at Jewel Envy or today at the

Toronto Art Crawl

Jewelust by Amanda Henderson

 This is Amanda Henderson:

 

 She is one of the resident goldsmiths here at Jewel Envy. Her company is called Jewelust, and she designs and creates amazing jewellery that you should definitely come in and check out and wear home!! 

Here is a little sneak peek of the work that she has here in the studio:

 These are her square-top stacking rings. Some are in rose-gold (oooh!!) and some have simple texture, and some have pretty little roses adorning the tops.

 

 The profile is so unique, and they are just as lovely from the side as from the top. They are sold individually, but I think they look best stacked in different colours and styles, so I would definitely have problems choosing just one!

 This is from one of her signature collections - the Whirls. She creates these graceful ribbons of metal and uses them in different ways. This is a simple pendant style, but she has been known to add the whirls to more elaborate pieces.

 Here are some bar pendants. These look so great together, don't they??! I really like wearing sterling and gold together, so I would probably get the top one custom-made with yellow gold, and a white diamond. Or rose-gold with a black diamond. Or both!

Amanda is a great designer, but she also does incredible custom work. Come by the studio and get to know her a little better, and get something pretty for yourself at the same time!

~sash

ps - all of her social media handles are @jewelust, so you can check her out on Instagram and Facebook as well.

Holiday spirit!

I have been having a blast helping customers with picking out gifts and taking down details for custom orders today. In the moments in between I have been thinking about ways to decorate and the gifts I would like to buy.

I came across these decorations recently from IKEA - I gotta say these are right up my alley.

Thankfully, the Knit Cafe is right next door and I think they are a great place to hit up for gifts for the crafty people in your life.

They have Knit Kits to make beautiful creations like this!

And since food is always on my mind I just added making homemade marshmallows onto the list of holiday projects to take on.

If you have a recipe to recommend, let me know!

I am also interested in any crafts or homemade treats that are special to people; share with us!
-Alexis

Spotlight on Chia-Chien Tsai

Chia-Chien Tsai is better known to everyone in the studio as Ellen. She was Jewel Envy's very first intern when she was still a student at Ontario College of Art and Design. I remember her barely speaking a word and working hard to finish all the grunt work we would give her. While she was still a student we were amazed by her wax carving skills which we would take advantage of by giving her the duty of creating wax trees for casting. After graduating from OCAD Ellen joined the studio and has been with us ever since.

Ellen's latest creations: Sterling silver, opals, pearls, red laquer.

Ellen continues to use her wax carving super powers to create organic and beautiful shapes in wax that she casts in various metals and her latest work has a unique combination of gems and laquer. Ellen's fabrication super power is soldering hollow pieces - an difficult task and one you only get one chance to so do while soldering! She is a much more vocal member of the studio now and her sense of humour never fails to make me laugh. 

Congratulations to Andrea and Chris!