I am so excitetd about this one! I was recently interviewd by the oh so lovely Courtney MacDougall for Gem Breakfast and their ‘Meet the Maker’ series, and for anyone not familiar with GB they are a super awesome jewellery company based in San Fransisco and headed up by the one and only Catherine Cason! Their focus is solely on one-of-a-kind rings made with amazing materials and handmade by talented custom jewellery makers, mostly women;)
Keep reading to learn all about my humble beginnings, how I came to be the custom jeweller I am today and why I love what I do so much! Hey, I even learned a few new things about me;) Here we go!
How did your love of jewelry start?
It’s been a lifelong love - I’ve been making jewelry since I was seven! It started when I visited my grandma in Belgium; she would take me to a hobby shop to keep me occupied (and quiet) and buy me little glass bottles of beads. At first, I was so fascinated with the bottles that I threw out the beads and just collected the bottles! After a while, I started keeping the beads (I still have a container of those Belgian beads at home) and making jewelry with them.
At home, my dad was a hobby woodworker, and while he was cutting wood, little end pieces and tiny triangular pieces would fall off. I’d collect all the scraps and glue clothespins on them, cover them in glitter, and create little art pieces that my dad displayed on his car visor.
I’ve always loved making things with my hands – taking things apart and remaking them into something else. If I hadn’t been a jeweler, I would’ve been a carpenter for sure!
How did you get into jewelry design?
When I became an adult, my beaded jewelry turned into more intricate pieces which I mostly made for people in my family. I taught myself different techniques and started expanding my knowledge with every creation. Then I went to York University for two years and sold my first few pieces which was amazing (and very surprising at the time).
In the meantime, I wasn’t feeling like I belonged at York, so I decided to drop out. Shortly after, I met a woman who’d made a sterling silver ashtray in a night class at George Brown College. I couldn’t believe that was a real thing! I had thought all jewelry was made in Mexico since all my silver pieces were stamped ‘Made in Mexico’.
So, I went to George Brown and fell into one of the loves of my life – Jewelry. It’s funny, I was accepted on my first try, but was so shocked about getting into an art school that I pinned the letter to my bulletin board and forgot to reply on time! I had to wait a year after missing the deadline but I got in the following year and never looked back. I went full steam ahead, loved every second of it (and cried a little here and there because jewelry is hard sometimes). I just knew it was where I was supposed to be.
Read the full interview here
Thanks so much for visiting and coming along on this journey with me!
