Each of these pins was designed to represent the pride we feel in getting the COVID 19 vaccine. These pins are meant to inspire those who are able to get vaccinated to do so and show that badge of pride for helping your local community and the world get this devastating virus under control.
Jewel Envy goldsmiths were invited to design a clutch style pin and one will be chosen by our customers to be put into production. Please vote on your favourite design. The design that receives the most votes will be announced on June 16th and then available for pre-order while being made and then for sale through the Jewel Envy website and in the shop. Orders will be fulfilled in the order in which they are received!
Voting will take place from June 1st- 15th. The winner will be announced on June 16th.
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3. WINNING DESIGN
Voting is now closed! The winning design is #3 by Edna Milevsky!
‘Iron Identity’ is a solo exhibition of work by Toronto-based contemporary jeweller Alex Kinsley Vey.
“Hamilton, my hometown on the shore of Lake Ontario, has traditionally been a steel producing centre. Despite the industry having died down in recent decades, its industrial activity is still apparent. ‘Iron Identity’ references my time growing up there, and the impact this place had on me.
Brooches, rings and neck-pieces evoke and commemorate this identity through the use of oxides, coarse finishing, and sturdy construction. I use colours associated with industrial machinery and abandoned sites – bright colours that contrast signs of rust and deterioration. Transporting this aesthetic to the body allows it to be worn close, displayed with pride, and given reverence as a jewellery object.
The places and structures I reference directly influenced the culture of Hamilton. These former steel mills, manufacturing facilities, and factories provided good, working class jobs, and were once economic symbols announcing the prosperity of the city. Now that we have moved into a post-industrial economy, these places look dirty and out of place. I grew up around the last of these industrial sites when the flame of industry was already diminished. I feel compelled to record the physical and emotional identity of this city in order to come to a better understanding of my own identity.”
– Alex Kinsley Vey
On June 3rd my first solo exhibition will be opening at Craft Ontario Gallery here in Toronto! Check out some of the work which will be in the show until August 14th.
Jewellery is often with us during special moments, experiences, and milestones. Sometimes it is given to us by a special person, or in a special way, or at a special time. Our jewellery pieces carry these memories for us, even when we didn’t mean them to. Sometimes there are experiences so personal, and so common, that we keep them in our own special way, and only share them with certain people, when we feel the time is right. It might be through a song, a poem, sculpture, or painting, and this is often the way that artists touch us in the deepest way – by channeling, sharing and expressing our stories. As goldsmiths, our poetry and sculpture is precious and portable. We are acutely aware we are always creating vessels that may carry memories and emotions which haven’t happened yet, but sometimes, we also get to design pieces that can carry an emotion someone has been holding alone. This is a special connection we have, and always have had, to the human experience.
The flower pendant with an empty petal, pictured here, is a piece designed by our own @frekkeldesigns for those who would like a subtle, sweet expression of a personal memory or loss. As the warm weather arrives, and new life is on display, we can enjoy it all, and quietly remember.
It’s another sunny Saturday, and I’m in the studio. Apple weather lied to me and said it was going to be rainy, I feel a bit deceived!
Anyway, I’m digressing. I thought I’d tell you about a new piece that I just completed (it really is hot off the bench!!). For me, it’s a major new work, and is part of the ongoing series of pieces that I have been making exploring the cell shapes of the immune system and the positive and negative aspects of their activities.
I’ve called it “in the blood”, and it’s composed of sterling silver with a slightly sub-mirror polish, with green cabochon (that means flat back, smooth top) tourmalines and my signature needled felt insert with forest green felt.
The metal components, connecting jump rings, and larger ring connectors are evocative of blood vessels, and the circulatory system that blood and other immune cells can use to move through the body, with the kinetic motion referencing the dynamic nature of blood flow. In fact, one interesting property of the immune cell is that it can move in and out of blood vessels and tissues via a process called extravasation or diapedesis. The discs with the tourmalines are representative of red blood cells, and the large abstract hollow form cutout is evocative of the macrophage.
In the blood
The chain and pendant are so long, I had a hard time getting it all in the photo!!
Here’s a close up view of the central pendant, with a better look at those yummy tourmalines (I love tourmalines) and the detail in the macrophage with its dark forest green needled felt!
I’ve included some of my process photos below, so you can see how it started to come together over time. At the end, I had to slightly modify the design, as it is meant to slide over the head with no clasp, but it was a smidge too small, so I cut the straight side arms and inserted an additional ring on each side to lengthen it to a more manageable length.
Beginning of the idea for the central pendant.
I love the kinetic flow, but the more substantial look of the all metal necklace that I had made previously, so this one is a variation on that. Here’s my initial layout.
Here we are at a bit of a more advanced stage-almost ready to add the connecting jump rings, and set the stones.
I hope you love it as much as I do! If you interested in seeing more of my work with these shapes, you can visit IG, or book a virtual shopping tour.
Hope you’re enjoying the sunny Saturday, and as usual, stay safe, and we hope to see you more again soon, when we’re able to.
