Year: 2009

Does every blog need a title?

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Ciao!
 I’ve had just over a week to recover from our Anniversary Party, it was a blast!  Thank you so much to everyone who showed up for a drink, snack and chat with all the goldsmiths of Jewel Envy.  It was exciting having all the goldsmiths together at one time since we recently became a full studio! It was especially exciting for me because I have been here since the studio opened and so much has changed as the studio has grown as I too have grown as a goldsmith, it’s enough to get me all teary-eyed.
Well, things are winding down for me (except for the fact that I will be one of those last minute holiday shoppers in the next week).  Yesterday was my last class teaching Intro to Casting and today is my last day working in the studio before I head home to spend the holidays with my family.  I am really proud of everyone that participated in my Intro to Casting class.  All of them had no previous wax carving experience and they all took on challenging pieces to create.  I leave you with a montage of their projects, from top to bottom my students Ronald, Zein, Khatereh, Carly, and Bahar.  And as soon as Padrin takes a photo of his casted jewellery I will post those as well.  I hope you all had as much fun taking the class as I did teaching it!
Soon to come also are photos from our party, Padrin was our photographer for the event and I’m sure he snapped a lot of great shots!
Well, I hope everyone has a Happy Holiday season and I’ll be back blogging again soon!
Alexis

  

Getting Ready for the Party!

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Hi Everyone!

Well it is only 1pm and I have 4 more hours to wait for the party to start. I hate waiting for parties to start! All of the jewellers have been diligently working to finish lots of new work while planning for tonights festivities and I can’t wait to open a bottle of wine and toast everyone to a job well done.

Tonight we will be celebrating a lot of things. The first and most obvious is that we have been open for three years. I think its quite an accomplishment based on the current economic state. Another reason to celebrate is that the studio is full for the first time ever. Each jeweller brings a unique style perspective to the studio and we are richer as a community for this diversity. Another thing is that our classes are finally running on a regular basis. I think this one is in part due to the creation of a class postcard showing what students with no experience can create in a short period of time. Finally I think we are all thankful that we have a job we love to come to everyday and be creative at. Don’t get me wrong there are days I think I would have been better off just sleeping but then there are days where I work straight through the night creating at my bench…and those far outweigh any of the negatives!

Now all I have to do is find something to occupy  the next 3 3/4 hrs until you show up:o)

See you tonight!

Gillian

It is I! The new co-op student!

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Hello!
Most of you probably do not know me but my name is Laura and I have recently become a co-op student here at Jewel Envy. I have been studying all forms of design in high school for the past three years and have always found jewellery to be my favorite. My school is self-directed and because of that we have an art program like no other! I have done everything from cuttlefish casting to bezel setting but I still have so much to learn. That’s why when the opportunity came up to do a placement at Jewel Envy I took it and started the next week. My placement so far has exceeded my expectations. Yes, I have to do jobs like cleaning and accounting (awful!) but I also have been able to carve a ring out of wax for the first time and observe all the wonderful designers here at work.

Last week I assisted Gillian at the One of a Kind Craft Show. I had never realised how difficult it was to be a vendor until I was sitting behind that table. I was only there for three days and even though I wasnt there until closing I was exhausted. I don’t know how you did it Gillian!

Well I should be going but hopefully I will see you at the studio party this week. Bye! 

Bonjour!

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Hello everyone! It’s me, Emily!
I can’t believe how fast this past six months have flown bye! I moved to Toronto in May, shortly after graduating from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax. Before I attended NSCAD I lived in Montreal and went to Concordia for two years. I am from Montreal and love big cities! Here in Toronto it didn’t take me long to find Jewel Envy; it was really important for me to find a studio with a) a cooperative setting with mutliple jewellers, b) enamelling kiln and c) a hydraulic press 🙂 I found that and so much more! (but really I could not live without a kiln….really;)
Since moving to Toronto I have been really fortunate to have participated in a few shows. The Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition was one of the highlights of my summer, winning Best Jewellery of the show was incredibly wonderful. In early June I learned I had won the National Student Jewellery competition at Lafreniere and Pai Gallery in Ottawa, my friend and jeweller Ann Pocket was also a finalist. Lafreniere and Pai Gallery has since taken my work to SOFA Chicago, very exciting!
I am gearing up for my enamelling class which is scheduled to start Tuesday, January 19th of next year. It will be an eight week class and I am really looking forward to teaching you all how fun it is to enamel!!    Lillian Yuen instructed a fantastic course at NSCAD and I have not been able to stop since. For those of you who are not familiar, enamelling is the process of fusing powdered glass to metal in a kiln at very high temperatures (usually around 1500 degrees ferenheit). The result is a beautiful glossy surface of colour on your metal, but the possibilities for designs, colour combinations, and subtle variations in the texture of the enamel are really endless. This is why I love it so much. And in my class you will see why!
I have been trying to keep on top of all my online networking tools over the last few months……My website launched in October and this past month I finally opened up my etsy shop (I love etsy). I started Emily Gill Jewellery Design facebook group as well, you are more than welcome to join for updates on what’s going on! I invite you to take a look at both; you can follow the link from my website to my etsy page. www.emilygill.ca.
Our holiday party at Jewel Envy is coming up very soon! I have some new designs ready (I better get to work now!) and really look forward to meeting everyone’s friends, families, clients, students. It is going to be great. I hear Quincy has made up a great playlist of music, we are all bringing delicious food!
Have a very happy weekend, and see you all at our holiday party this thursday. I cannot wait!
Bye!    – Emily

Hectic Holidays

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Ah, the sound of holiday music is everywhere.  I have to admit, it drives me more than a little bit crazy.  It’s just so catchy it gets stuck in your head and I will be humming “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” to myself until March now that I’ve heard it once.  Alrighty, with the holidays approaching and even though I know it has been mentioned and I don’t want to be knocking everyone on the head over and over with it our Anniversary Party here at Jewel Envy is quickly approaching.  It only comes once a year and I’m going to take every chance I get and as many venues as possible to disseminate the info about our party! You should come by any time between 5-9pm on December the 10th to come and celebrate our 3rd year anniversary.  That’s right, 3 years!  Things around here have been pretty hectic have I mentioned in either of my previous posts that there are 9 goldsmiths sharing this space? We also have two classes that are finishing of before the holidays as well as many that myself and a few of the other goldsmith are looking forward to teaching starting in the New Year.  I know of a few people that are excited about the Enameling class that Emily Gill will be teaching starting January 19.  If you are not familiar with enameling check out her work on our website, or follow the link to her website to take a peek at what she creates.
I have been posting pictures in each of my blogs so I am going to continue the trend with a post of rings that were made by students in the last class I taught together with ChiaChien.  Once again the picture was taken by Padrin Kwok, thank you Padrin!

Oh! another thing I almost forgot to mention Gillian Batcher is participating in the One of a Kind Show this year which is currently open to the public, be sure to stop by her booth K51 to say hello to her!

Hope to see you all at the Anniversary Party, I’m really looking forward to it!
Ciao,

Alexis

Quincy…Jones if you must

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Hey it’s Quincy and seeing as I’m in the studio @ 6:30 am, I figured it was a great time to introduce myself. I’ve been in jewellery forever and I will probably be in jewellery forever, but I get bored quickly so I like to mix things up.

Right now is rather an interesting moment  in my jewellery career. We are currently coming up the 2009 holiday season and even though I’ve seen the madness many times, this is the first time I’ve been running the whole show from everything to design  to production to sales.

Upcoming shows for December that you can come visit me at:

ARTMARKET @ 918 Bathurst ~ December 5th & 6th

Our Jewel Envy Party ~ December 10th

Studio 561 Art Sale (561 Bloor Ave West) ~ December 12th, 19th and 20th (3pm-11pm)

I heading out for more coffee….Enjoy the beautiful DAY!!!

Quincy Rae ~ Just keep riding your wave!!

ALOHA

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My name is ChiaChien Tsai or you may call me Ellen if it is easier for you to say my name! I went to OCAD for jewellery design, then joined Jewel Envy right after. It is a wonderful studio that always keep me motivated! so…what am I doing recently?? Hmmm…I am trying to come up with new pieces for our anniversary event on Dec. 10th. Hope to see you all there =^^=

Hello!

Posted on Author Jewel EnvyCategories General
Hi there! My name is Efrat and I’m a professional jewelry designer. I’ve been working at Jewel Envy for almost a year now. I started working at the studio a month after coming to Toronto from Israel. It was a great starting place to meet the local jewelers and  get helpful information about what Toronto has to offer to jewelers. After 4 great intensive years studying in Jerusalem at Bezalel Academy of Art & Design, I was eager to start my own jewelery line. While searching the net, I found Jewel Envy and was very excited about the prospect of sharing a studio with other jewelers while working on my jewelery and having all the equipment I needed.

I am currently working on a wedding line that will be ready for the Jewel Envy holiday party.

🙂

Pleased to meet your aquaintance.

Posted on Author Jewel EnvyCategories General

Ciao!

I don’t believe I properly introduced myself in my first and previous blog so allow me to remedy that!  My name is Alexis and I recently became Manager at Jewel Envy Studio.  

 I joined the studio a month after coming back from a one year intensive Jewellery course in Milan, Italy in 2006 having previously studied at Ontario College of Art and Design.  The studio was exactly what I had envisioned in a space that I wanted to work in after finishing school, a co-operative space where a group of jewellers can share equipment and a place to display and sell our work.  My absolute favourite part of working in this space is the sharing of ideas and getting to see others work while doing my own thing.  Everyone here has such different styles and niches in different jewellery making techniques.  I find that I am continually learning to create just by seeing how other people in the studio are making things – it’s an indispensible asset that I very much appreciate!  It’s great to  give or receive a second opinion on a piece that you are working on.  It might sound insignificant, but I think that having that constantly around you spurs your creativity.  

Currently I am working on some large framed silhouette pieces (similar to the ones in my silhouette collection, but with more detail) that I am working to have done for our upcoming Anniversary Party which is quickly approaching.  I’m really looking forward to the party, but for now I should get back to work!


Until next time,

Alexis 

Alexis here! excited about a lot of things…

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Ciao!
Alexis here to make a post to the newly created blog on our website.  I’ve gotta say I’m super excited about blogging on a group site because everyone checking into the blog gets to read blurbs by all the different jewellers that are working here at Jewel Envy – different points of view all centered around creativity, woohoo! (no really – I think this is going to be super awesome…)  It’s also got me giddy about all the possibilities of taking and posting process shots of my work as well as classes and happenings in the studio.  Note to self: I need to bring my camera battery charger to the studio.

Another thing I am super excited about is teaching classes here at Jewel Envy.  I just finished off an eight week class last week and jumped into teaching another eight week class that just started tonight.  I get to teach one of my favourite ways of making jewellery – Casting!  The group of students that started out tonight are all doing complex carved rings… in a few weeks time I will have to post the finished student pieces for you all to see.  

I want to give a shout out… wait a minute, do you call it that on a blog? that doesn’t make as much sense so I’m gonna change that to a write out to Padrin Kwok.  He is participating in his fourth class at Jewel Envy, his second class with me.  He is an eager and talented guy working on his jewellery pieces even while not in the studio – yeah, that eager! It’s really great having someone who is so motivated and inspired to learn because it bolsters my creativity in turn as well. The picture is one of the rings he made in class (he also took the photo which is equally as incredible!)  He carved the ring in wax, then cast it himself in sterling silver and added coloured resin to the dots on top of the ring.  Great work Padrin!  I’m looking forward to seeing what else you create in the classes to come.

Alrighty, I’m going to sign out and look forward to posting again soon.  Look for the purple text to read more from me, Alexis on the Jewel Envy blog.

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