New Ring - Help me name it!

So, I can’t remember if I posted anything about this one, but I’ve finished (finally!) a new ring. It’s super fancy in 14kt rose gold with a star sapphire and a lab created diamond. It’s embellished with some tiny new elements I’m starting to use in a new series of jewellery, modelled after red blood cells. They’re sculpted, and put together to give the impression of flow and subtle differences in shape, but still with that characteristic “donut” look to them.

I love the hexagonal shape of the sapphire, even though the star is not very discernible with ths kind of cut, and I think it looks amazing with the colour of the rose gold!

I envisioned it as my interpretation of a “Toi et Moi” ring (which seem to be pretty popular at the minute, and is usually two stones together to represent you and your partner), so it could be worn as an unconventional engagement ring (and there’s cleverly space for a wedding band to snug up against it from either side!). However, it doesn’t have to be an engagement ring, I just hope it will eventually go to someone who loves it as much as I do!

Here’s how it looks on my finger - don’t you want to see it gracing yours?? ;)

I made it with a created diamond, rather than a natural one. Apart from the price difference, created diamonds don’t have the same ethical issues, and so I’ve decided that, as a goldsmith, the work I make for my own personal designs are going to be made with re-claimed diamonds or from lab created diamonds. The interesting thing about lab created diamonds is that because of the process that is used, you still get different grades of stones, so the “C’s” (cut, clarity, carat, colour) still apply!

So, I like to give everything names, but I haven’t quite landed on one for this ring, yet—any snappy ideas come to mind? Hit the button below, and let me know!! Or, if you just want to tell me how much you love this ring, that would be awesome too!!

New Rings are almost here!

Stacking Pearl Rings

I’m a bit obsessed with stacking rings - I think it relates to my love of all things Wendy Ramshaw (I’ve written about here before, you can follow the link to find out more about this iconic British woman goldsmith). This is my latest iteration of elegant stacking rings in sterling silver - with pearl. You can see some of these in person at the Craft Ontario Shop, but I’ve been working on some new ones that are coming to Jewel Envy soon!

In the spirit of waste not, want not, I use the cutouts from my M cells to form the pearl cups on the rings, so I like to think of them as my “nuclei rings” :). It’s a little secret story that you don’t know about unless you know about it! Yes, it makes my little geeky science heart happy! And each one is different from the next one!

Exciting pop up Maker's Market!

I'm quite excited about doing a pop up next week!  You may not know this about me, but I curl.  It's amazing.  I only started about four years ago, and I wish I'd started 20 years ago, I love it that much!  Anyway, I curl with the Women's League at the Royal Canadian Curling Club, and this holiday season, we're doing a little market on Wednesday December 6th, 6:30-9:30 pm, featuring Curling Themed crafts, Hand-Crafted Jewellery, Kids' Gifts and Snacks.  Stop by the club and see what the creative ladies of curling can do!  As a wee incentive, I'll have new pieces, hot off my bench that are priced nicely for holiday presents, that NO ONE has had access to yet! If you're looking for contemporary and Science Art jewellery gifts, you know I've got you covered! (And, if you can't make the popup, you can always visit my shop page, or email me for some options!)

:Sterling silver, hammered texture with high cut lapis lazuli beads, pendant and earrings

Old jewellery, new jewellery

I’ve been hard at work doing a number of custom pieces, which I can’t really share at the moment, as they’re not completed yet, but I did complete a couple of pieces recently that I wanted to share with you. It’s fun when a client brings me their old jewellery that they want to reimagine into new pieces.

Re-imaging jewellery you have is a good way to retain materials, but give them a new lease on life! I feel so happy to be involved in helping to remodel so many meaningful pieces!

I removed the central stone from the ring, and made it into a new bezel set floating pendant in 14k white gold. It looks stunning! The rest of the stones will go to be used in other pieces, and the gold was recycled in another piece as well!

Here, I removed the side stones (so the central stone can be used somewhere else!), and remade them into these sweet, delicate earrings, also in 14k white gold. The gold from the ring was reclaimed.

So, do you have any jewellery lurking around that you want to give a new lease on life ? Get in contact and let’s start a dialogue about remodeling your jewellery—all quotes are no-obligation and free!

Happy Sunday!

-Robin.

Re-learning Toronto, and finding inspiration in architecture

I notice a lot of things, and I like looking at a lot of different sceneries.  One of my favourite (but not often enough exercised) things, is landscape photography.  In contrast, I’ve also always enjoyed looking at urban landscapes and appreciate intricate and interesting architecture.

As some of you may know, I lived in the UK for some time.  While there, I had the privilege of doing a fair amount of traveling.  One of the things I love to do when I visit new places is to wander the city/ lanscape, exploring and soaking in the visual appearances. Here are some of my (very few of them) favourite buildings:

La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

https://www.pxfuel.com/en/free-photo-qksky

Casa Battlo, Barcelona

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54771565@N03/43396063012

Musee D’Orsay, Paris

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MuseeOrsay_20070324.jpg

I could show you a gazillion more, but I don't have that kind of time to track down all my photos! But here's just one more of a typical architectural feature that I used to constantly see around Scotland.

Crow-stepped Gable, Scotland

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crow-stepped_gable,_Crail_-_geograph.org.uk_-_950435.jpg

When I first moved back to Toronto, I spent alot of time wandering the city getting to know it again. It was an incredible experience for me, and I spent alot of time just looking (and a little bit of capturing!). These are some of the things that have particularly caught my eye:

Now all of those shapes and features are rolling around somewhere in the back of my brain. Eventually, I'll start sketching some new pieces based on all these features, and from there, develop them into new jewellery. Not sure when, but they'll appear eventually. When they do, you can be sure that I'll share them with you!

Intrigued? I know I am! I never quite know what my brain is going to come up with until it appears. Some things are like a bolt of lightning, others are like this--they need a certain amount of work before they become real designs!

Stay safe and healthy, and I look forward to seeing you all when society is more open again. Want to connect sooner than that? Email me, let’s start a conversation! Or find me on Instagram .

-Robin