Evolution of a bracelet

Happy Saturday friends!!  For my Very First Blog ever, I thought I would share with you the most recent addition to my bracelet family.  This golden beauty was born just this past Wednesday, and I have documented her arrival into this jewelled world for you.  Enjoy!

 

This is the prep stage.  I start by tracing the shape onto the wax, and then cut around it with my jeweller's saw.  I then use various tools, such as wax files and burs, to gradually carve out the final shape of the bracelet:

Once I am satisfied with the final product, I attach the wax sprues around the piece in order to prepare for casting.





 

Once the piece is cast, I use files, emery and polishing buffs to create the final finish.

 

As the final step, I electroplated this bracelet with 14karat gold-plating solution, to achieve the final golden glow.  And voila! 

 

- Sasha Oda-

Fun amethyst cocktail ring

As a jewelry designer there is nothing I love more than a cocktail ring. I came up with this sample spontaneously but I think it has potential. The ring shown is fabricated from sterling silver with a synthetic amethyst. I am not usually drawn to synthetic stones, but this one changes colour from deep purple to fuchsia pink - fun and cost effective!

Iona Alexandra Jewellery

Learning Curve to New Beginnings

A couple weeks ago, I finished up teaching my first 8 week Intro to Fabrication class. I must say, I was terribly nervous but excited at the same time. I had taught people how to do things before, as I'm sure everyone has, but I had never been in an actual teacher-student position. Lucky for me, my class was great. It was a pleasure helping them bring their visions to life.
Here are some pictures of the final projects!
Be sure to check back for Jewel Envy's latest class posting here, or sign up for our news letter and we'll notify you of the newest classes (and when we're set up in our new location!).
-L

This is what I have been working on in studio recently. The pendant is a redesign from a ring. Even though it's not done yet, I will let you guys have a peek. Hopefully, I will have it done soon by the end of the week!

New collection, new gemstones!

I've just got some gemstones in for the fall/winter collection...this season I wanted to try something a little different so I ordered some rose cut and cabachon gemstones.

The Rose cut, which has been in use since 1520 was created to resemble an opening rose-bud. It is chosen when the loss to the stone would be great if the Brilliant cut were selected. The characteristic of the Rose is that it is flat below, and forms a hemisphere or low pyramid above, covered with small facets. The facets are in two rows : those in the upper row are called star-facets ; those in the lower diagonal facets. In the centre there are generally six facets of triangular shape.

source: http://www.diamonds-are-forever.org.uk/rose-cut-diamonds.htm

This type of cut is often seen in vintage jewellery as it was often how diamonds or coloured gems were cut.  As you may already know - I am inspired by vintage pieces and I am loving where things are going as I dive into creating these new lines!

Check out my PINTERST board for fall/winter 2012 to see more of my inspiration...

Kathryn Rebecca 

Back in inaction

I am back in the studio after taking part in the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibit.  I thought I would jump back into work right away, but today is my day of inaction.  

I wanted to thank all the folks that visited me, bought pieces, came to give me treats, or lent a helping hand.   I relish the opportunity to step outside of my introspective head-space to interact with people and chat about my work.  I feel very fortunate to have been a part of the art show this year.

If you didn't get the chance to visit, you should head over to my blog to check out some of my newest work and read possibly my strangest post yet.  You have been warned!

Alexis

My hand making some adjustments in my jewellery case.

Thank you Ellen, Lianne and Manaf for the treats!

 

Exciting Future for Jewel Envy

Jewel Envy has been open for almost six years at our Spadina location. This space was perfect when we opened up and allowed us through trial and error to go through some of the natural growing pains of a new business. We have enjoyed the community in our building and the easy access to everything but after all this time we have outgrown the space. This is a wonderful thing for a small business to be able to say!

We have found we need more room for our classes, our jewellers and our work! Although moving may seem out of the blue I have been on the hunt for the perfect location since last fall. There were some close contenders for new spaces but something always came up that made me realize it was just not for us. I am thankful I was able to hold strong and keep looking as I finally found the space that we can take the next step in. Our new location will be a ground floor on the vibrant Roncesvalles strip in the west end of downtown.

The space will need some renovations to customize it to our needs but I am looking forward to the process. Our current location will stay fully operational until we make the move west in the fall. We look forward to this expansion and next step!

Gillian