THERE ARE NO WRONG PATHS

The new year is upon us. For some it's just another year. For some it's a new year, new you.

Personally, I don't make new years resolutions. I do however, remind myself to dream big and take risks: if you succeed, you’ll be happy; if you fail, you’ll be smarter. Win Win.

I recently came across a video of Oprah speaking at the Stanford School of Business. She talks about career, life, and leadership. The last minute is what resonated with me most. I’ve paraphrased it for you…

“There are no wrong paths. There’s no such thing as failure. Failure is just [life] trying to move you in another direction. You get as much from your losses as you do from your victories. The losses are there to wake you up. When you understand that, you won’t allow yourself to be completely thrown by a circumstance. Your life is bigger than any one experience. Relax…it’s going to be ok. You’ll know you’re on a detour when you’re not at ease with yourself. That is the cue that you need to be moving in another direction. The way through the challenge is to get still and ask yourself what is the next right move.”

Life is about learning and you can’t learn if you’re dwelling on what was or what you can’t change.

So with that in mind, I wish you all a happy new year. I hope that instead of making new years resolutions, you choose to simply live life to it’s fullest potential.

JEWELLERY HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE: MEN

We don't often think of getting men jewellery/accessories for Christmas, but why not? Here are a couple ideas if you're looking to accessorize a man in your life.

Cuff links
It might be annoying to have to invest in cuff link suitable shirts, but you have to agree that cuff links look sharp when worn. Pick a neutral shade like black or better yet, plain silver that goes with everything like the ones in the gallery by Christine Bossler. If cuff links are a new thing for your gift recipient and your budget permits, buy them a shirt too. No point gifting them cuff links they can’t use.

Money clip
Not all men use money clips. In fact, most don’t. But if you know someone who does, why not get them a nice one? You can even get it engraved if you want to be extra sentimental. Love It Personalized sells money clips like the one I featured below and offers an assortment of engraving options.

Tie clip
All dudes, old and young, wear ties. Maybe a lot or maybe only once a decade. Doesn’t matter the occasion, a sleek and modern tie clip goes a long way. Like the money clip, you can also get tie clips engraved but I would opt for non-engraved like the one featured (by Purana Jewellery) for a sleeker look.

Key chain
Most people don’t really care about the key chain they use, but it’s something we use EVERYDAY. So why not get a cool one? Metal keychains will scratch easily so try a leather one. DiGeordie sells leather keychains in various colours.

JEWELLERY HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE: WOMEN

Jewellery is always a popular Christmas gift: it can be an additional gift or the main surprise. It can be just for fun, or sentimental. The key to buying jewellery for all occasions is to keep it simple. Even if you buy something “too simple” for someone’s tastes, they can layer and/or stack the simple item with others to up the ante. Here are some great gift ideas if you’re looking to get someone jewellery this Christmas!

Studs
If you know someone wears earrings all the time, get them studs. Not everyone likes dangly earrings nor are they appropriate for all occasions or outfits. Studs on the other hand, can be worn every day, with every outfit. Pick a stud that features a neutral colour like OhKuol’s druzy studs.

Bangle
Bangles are a classic. I would recommend a classic silver bangle with a cool texture like my hammered silver bangle.

Long Necklace
Long necklaces are more or less always in style, especially if you can change the pendant on the end. Regardless of the latter though, long necklaces are the gift that keeps on giving because they literally perk up any boring outfit. Dana Castle has an amazing and affordable selection.

Scarf Pin
Ya’ll are probably like…what?! Scarf pins hold a scarf (or shawl) closed and yes, they are often worn by seniors. However, since the average female nowadays owns upwards of five scarves, you might want to reconsider stereotyping this gift. Eternity scarves are all the rage and a scarf pin allows someone to easily convert a regular scarf that can’t easily have its ends tied into a knot, into an eternity scarf. Consider a pin like the bow one I featured by Ingo Design: it’s functional and cute!

Stackable rings
Believe it or not, despite the fact that this trend has been booming the last few years, stackable rings have always been in style. Not all rings are meant to be stacked but people stack ‘em anyways. If you really know someone’s style, know they love rings, and have an average idea of their finger-size, then a stackable ring or two is a great gift. Blue Sunflowers offers an assortment of simple stackable rings in different hues and with different finishes.

Charm bracelet
The beauty of charm bracelets is that they can be very simple (like the one I featured by Cocolocca) or they can have multiple charms. Either way, they make a very sentimental gift. If you’re considering a charm bracelet as a gift, get one simple enough that it looks good regardless of whether it’s charmed.

GANDHI'S TOP 10 FUNDAMENTALS FOR CHANGING THE WORLD

I've been trying to put these fundamentals to practise. In doing so, I’m finding it easier to tap into the creative energies of the world. I told a good friend about this and she said that she doesn’t believe in “blocks”. She thinks creative energy is always around, sometimes we’re just more in tune with it than other times and we need to learn to harness it when we need it.

1. Change yourself

2. You are in control

3. Forgive and let go

4. Take care of this moment

5. Without action, you aren’t going anywhere

6. Everyone is human

7. See the good in people and help them

8. Persist

9. Be congruent, be authentic, be your true self

10. Continue to grow and evolve.

METAMORPHOSIS

Shortly after my epiphany mid-September, I came up with a new jewellery project idea for next year. Even though it’ll be very challenging, I’m really excited about it! Now, I just need some volunteers!

Project Name: Metamorphosis

Who: Me and you

What: I turn your old jewellery into new jewellery

Where: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

When: 2015 (I will need one volunteer per month – that’s 12 volunteers)

Why: Because recycling is important and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together. Waste not, want not…right? And honestly…what else were you planning on doing with those broken chains or random pieces of jewellery that were cool when you were 16?

How: Interested individuals will raid their jewellery boxes for old silver (or gold) jewellery (broken, don’t want it, bored of it, etc). We will meet in order for me to look over your jewellery and so that I can get to know you a little. Then I will design and make you a one of a kind piece. I will return to you whatever jewellery I don’t use. I will not tell you what I am making so you will have to trust me. In return for your trust, my labour will be free. I will also document the process from start to finish so that you know how your piece was made. Either way it’s a win win for you because you weren’t wearing the jewellery to begin with and your still getting it back, just in a new form.

Sample:

I voluntered my friend Eva in order to have a test sample for this project. She gave me a bag of silver to eventually melt into something new. I decided to play around with the silver she gave me to see what I could come up with.

Eva is a teacher: literally a hands-on job so she wears earrings and necklaces more than rings (although she also loves the latter). Her style and tastes are whimsically ecclectic.

This is what I made her.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

MAKING OF:

If you’re interested in being a volunteer for Metamorphosis, please read the following.

Agreement details:

We will need to meet at least two to four weeks before I start making your item. Why? To make sure we have enough materials. That means the process from start to finish could take eight to ten weeks.

During our meeting we will take an inventory and photos of what you give me (you will get a copy of the inventory list and photo before we part). You will then be able to track what you gave me and what I used. I will use said photo when I post the “making of” your item to this blog.

In the “making of” post, I will feature your first name and a brief description of why I chose to make you what I made you (eg. you don’t wear rings so I made you earrings, you like the colour blue because it reminds you of the ocean, etc). If there is a personal detail that will help me design something for you but you don’t want shared, you’ll have to let me know in advance.

The point of this project is to use items you already own. The only potential cost you may incur is if it’s absolutely necessary for me to add materials you don’t have. For example, some of the items you gave me aren’t actually silver so I have to supply you with some (unless you’re able to bring me more). I will notify you before I start your jewellery to see how you want to proceed. If after I start making your jewellery I decide to change my design and it requires I add a material you don’t have, I will incur the cost.

You leave your items with me at your own risk. Do not give me anything you might still wear if I don’t use it. I may accidentally break stones or melt everything if I can’t use parts of the items you originally gave me. The items you get back might be in the same condition or melted into a bar, wire, etc.

Lastly, I will need you to sign a friendly waiver when we first meet to make sure you’re clear on these details.

GOLD FLAKES

Panned gold comes in different shapes and sizes.  We recently made a ring for someone using gold they had panned themselves.

I don't know what it was about the flakes but they inspired me to make more nature-inspired jewellery.

It seems silly to keep mining when we already have so much gold. And people don't buy gold the way they used to. It makes so much more sense to use what we have. Melt what you don't wear. Turn it into something you will wear and recognize it's value.

EPIPHANY

I had an epiphany this weekend. It’ll sound like a glaringly obvious realization, but it’s one of those things that you need to realize on your own.

I was looking at photos of jewellery my dad’s made over the years when I thought to myself, I hope that one day soon I can make jewellery like my dad. Then the light bulb went on and I realized that if I can’t make jewellery like my dad, IT’S OK. Furthermore, I don’t care to make certain types of jewellery, and that’s ALSO OK.

It’s normal for humans to pressure themselves to live up to someone else’s level of excellency. And although we should definitely try to reach those levels, it’s ok if we don’t. Not reaching them doesn’t mean we haven’t worked hard or produced amazing things.

LOCKET COMMISSION

So when I changed careers over two years ago, one of the wonderful people that I used to work with commissioned me to make her a personalized locket. She figured it would take me awhile but I didn’t think it would take me two years! Sorry Debbie!

To be honest, I didn’t think about the locket much during my first year of my goldsmith apprenticeship. I had much to learn so making a locket wasn’t a priority. I took out her drawings every once and awhile and thought about how I was going to make the locket but then put the drawings away realizing I had no idea what I was doing.

She wanted the locket to have four pages, a leaf border on all the pages, and a tree without leaves on the front. I wasn’t able to add leaves to every page for structural/weight reasons but I ticked everything else off her list.

When I felt sort of ready to tackle the project, I sat down with my dad and started experimenting ways to make the locket. I tried making a locket by hand but it was bulky and didn’t work out very well. I also bought a tree which I melted. I wanted to make the whole thing from scratch but realized that lockets are usually machine-made and I would be better off buying a pre-made locket and modifying it.

So I bit the bullet and bought a locket. I modified the clasp and bail. I made the frame of leaves and tree by hand. I made a few different leaf borders until I made one that I was happy with (in other words, until I made one that looked like it had leaves and not blobs that could be leaves). I also made a bunch of trees. The first few were weird-looking so I finally just printed a photo of the one I had originally bought (and unintentionally melted) and copied it (I literally traced it out on the silver copying all the lines and grooves…I know, not very original, but the alternative was my weird trees).

What did I learn from this project? Sometimes you just have to cut your losses and buy something pre-made. Sometimes you have to stop looking at projects like they’re big and scary: if you don’t start them, you won’t finish them. Sometimes you have to make things over and over again in order to realize what you should have done from the get go: practise makes perfect or close to it. Sometimes you just have to fake it til you make it!