Hallowe’en is done, the world series of baseball is over, and I don’t know where October went! Hard to believe that the holiday season will be upon us before you know it! From the whimsical, to the dainty, to the colourful and statement pieces, you’re sure to find something perfect for that jewellery-wearing person in your life at the Big Blue House! Come visit us and see what inspires you…
Just a very tiny selection of what awaits in the studio!
These blues aren’t sad. These blues are proud and excited.
These blues are joyful and hopeful.
These blues are strong and smooth.
These blues are grateful and wise.
These blues are at Jewel Envy, aka The Big Blue House..
Drop by to view in person, or begin a journey of creating your own.
It my still be warm outside, but fall is definitely here. The leaves have started turning lovely orange and red colours, and it’s (sort of!) getting cooler out. Come explore your fall vibe at the studio!
Here are some things to get you started! (From centre top) Earrings by Jamie Rosario (garnet dangling earrings and garnet studs), ring by Glaciale Goldsmith, earrings by Eunice Lin, bracelet by Frekkel Designs and brooch by Yuna Zhang.
Come see us, and explore the options in studio! Enjoy the fall colours.
-Robin.
Mokume Gane is a Japanese metal crafting technique where there is a layering of different-colored metals and in the end, you get beautiful wood grain patterns.
This technique was developed approximately 400 years ago in the Japanese Edo period.
The name Mokume Gane resembles rosewood grain.
Some of our goldsmiths here make Mokume Gane jewellery.
Before we delve into depletion gilding of silver, let’s talk about fine silver and sterling silver. Fine silver is 99.9% silver and it is soft. So soft that if jewellery was made from it, it would suffer more damage and wear and wouldn’t be able to be worn daily. That is why jewellery when silver is made out of sterling silver. Sterling silver (like the stamp) is 92.5% silver and the rest is another alloy; mostly copper.
Depletion gilding is the process of heating your sterling silver several times to bring the fine silver to the surface of the metal, creating a white satiny look. In between heating, you drop your piece in the pickle to remove oxides. This process is repeated several times to achieve the white satin look.
Van Mackenzie, White bean bracelet, 2012, sterling silver, depletion gilding.
Above is an example of what depletion gilding looks like.
Acid etching is when you create a design on metal and then using a strong acid like ferric nitrate or ferric chloride to eat away specific areas. I use it for decorative reasons. Some people use nitric acid too but that is very corrosive.
Process:
Step 1: Prepare your metal to make sure there are no oils on there and make sure its clean.
Step 2: Add a resist to your metal. Some examples are nail polish and shellac.
Step 3: Now it’s time to design on your metal. A lot of times people use something sharp to scratch the design onto the resist on the surface of the metal so the resist is removed and it will be exposed to acids.
Step 4: immerse it into the bath and wait, making sure to stir the bath and move the liquid often to make the process go faster.
Step 5: remove and clean up.
Here is a beautiful example of acid etched designs on jewellery .
Inspiration can come from anywhere, and this is never more evident than when you step into the Jewel Envy studio. Each goldsmith finds inspiration in different places, and this is clear from the wide range of different kinds of jewellery pieces that we make. Me? I love science (okay, that’s simplistic, I love lots of things). Most of my work is currently inspired by the cells and concepts of the immune system, expressed in different ways. Each of the series of pieces that I do has a specific underlying idea or spark. My latest pieces, which I am still really at the beginning of exploring, are a consideration of red blood cells and how they move.
Earrings: hand molded and cast asymmetric base in sterling silver with hand fabricated cabochon sapphire settings. They hang about 2cm long.
You may know that most cells have a nucleus – this is where DNA (which contains the blueprint or instructions to recreate life). Fun fact about mammalian (this includes people!) red blood cells? They don’t have one! Which is what gives them a characteristic “donut”-like appearance. They’re mostly round, and I like to imagine them flowing through veins at a terrific rate!
schematic of red blood cells
(wikimedia picture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_blood_cell#/media/File:Blausen_0761_RedBloodCells.png)
Hand molded base cast in sterling silver with a hand fabricated setting for a kite shaped tourmalinated quartz.
Two pieces together give you a bit of an idea of scale – they’re not dainty, but they’re a nice size to be noticed, but still light enough to be very comfortable!
The way they are constructed means that no two pieces are the same, and I do like a bit of balanced asymmetry! Want to know more? Curious about what other pieces will pop up in this series? Visit the studio to see, or ask more about them!
Happy Sunday!
-Robin.
As always, our goldsmiths are putting new work on display. Some are preparing for outdoor exhibitions and markets, some for indoor shows. Universally, we are ready for warm summer weather and the jewellery that comes with it.
Drop by soon and see what is new for the season, such as this Stirling Silver set featuring a Sonoran turquoise with natural occurring pyrite matrix flakes:
From 1955 to current day, the famous Tucson gem and mineral show has been happening. It is currently going on right now. It runs from February 1st to the 16th in Tucson, Arizona USA.
Every year goldsmiths, buyers and vendors flock to this place to display, sell or procure special stones, specimens, gemstones, and even jewellery.
Just last year, 3 goldsmiths from Jewel Envy attended this large show and all came home with many goodies.
Gemstone sellers from Toronto are also there buying special gemstones from around the world as it is attended by people from all over the world.
Just through instagram this year, I see many Australian Opal vendors that are there all the way from Australia. This is to give you some idea about how far people are willing to travel to be at this amazing event.
I also forgot to mention you can find fossils and minerals and also estate/ antique jewellery! The year I went there was a whole booth selling mammoth tusks. There are also many dinosaur displays.
Are you in Toronto before Hannukah and Christmas and looking to explore local shops?
Whether you are feeling topsy-turvy, on a mission, or relaxed and taking in the sights and sounds of city, you are welcome to come and see us at the Jewel Envy Studio today (until 6pm), tomorrow (10am-6pm), and Tuesday (10am-4:30).
We have lots of unique gifts and lovely pieces to look at that will have you spinning or centered, depending on your preference.
Just look for the biggest blue house in Roncesvalles, on the corner of Roncesvalles and Marion Street.
Happy Holidays!
