Metamorphosis 46: Emerald and diamond ring

White gold ring with diamonds and emeralds!

I thought I would have this metamorphosis done by last fall, but here we are…in March! I just couldn't decide what to make.

Leanna has a beautiful collection of jewellery and certain pieces that she doesn't change often, so I wanted to make something unique but also that she could wear daily, and that also worked well with her daily pieces.

I intended on making a two-toned piece but ended up feeling that white gold was the way to go.

The ring is wide at the top but tapered in the back for comfort.

Metamorphosis 45: Family Door Necklaces

Family door pendants: they can represent you, your home, or be a magical door into your own little world. I’m not sure what compelled me to make Ferin and her kids these little doors but I love them. (Hopefully she does too!)

At one point I wondered if I made the right choice (as I always do during these projects) but then Ferin posted a photo on her Instagram of these little gnome figurines she gifted her daughter. They move them around the house like elf on a shelf, resulting in endless joy when her daughter sees that they’ve moved. If they have little gnomes, these little doors have made it to the right home: one full of wonder and magic.

I first thought to make Ferin earrings but she already has quite the collection. She is a beadworker that makes beautiful earrings (see her Instagram here) and who avidly supports other makers of earrings . I settled on the idea of a necklace and from there landed on a door design inspired by cartouches (a cartouche is basically an ID made from Egyptian hieroglyphs). My idea for the cartouche came from some of the things Ferin explained to me about the significance of each piece of jewellery. Although this new-age iteration doesn’t spell her name like a standard version, I made it with the intention of representing who she is. Although our names identify us, it’s our experiences that shape our identities.

I wanted to incorporate another stone alongside the oval sapphire, but all of the stones she liked weren’t working with my ideas (insert panic). I searched for a stone that was a bit matchy matchy but also hit the earth tones she seemed drawn to. I picked a rustic sapphire that has a bit of browny gold that ties into the yellow gold elements of the pendant.

I normally only make one piece of jewellery for metamorphosis but I could clearly envision using her pear-shape sapphires in mini doors for her kids. Plus, the pear-shape sapphires were a gift from her husband and the yellow gold a gift from her grandparents, so it just seemed like the perfect way to pass down some family heirlooms to her kids who will one day carve their own paths, opening their own doors, whilst on their own adventures.

Metamorphosis 44: Star-set stone bangle

Have you ever heard the quote “the universe is giving you what you asked for”?

Well, I have a list of jewellery items I want to make and I keep hoping what I want to make lines up with what my metamorphosis volunteers like and want. And it’s happening! Thank you universe!

I wanted to make a bangle with star-set stones. I’ve made similar pendants in the past but not any bangles with this type of setting and it just looks so dreamy on a bangle!

I’ve always had a thing with stars my whole life (I’ve had the same star keychain for the last 15 years) so the idea of incorporating then in jewellery designs brings me joy!

I envision this being a great gift for anyone, but especially mothers and grandmothers: the stars can represent all the children and grandchildren! I can use white stones or birthstones and make the bangle in silver or gold!

To make this I melted down some unique silver pieces including a picture frame and a cutlery base. For the record, cutlery bases aren’t really worth taking apart. They are glued, and I mean GLUED to whatever is in the inside and they don't seperate well. Do you have any non-jewellery sterling silver items you would melt?

The photo above has a brushed-finish and below polished-finish.

Metamorphosis 43: Celestial Pendant

I love all things celestial and was very excited when Louanne wanted something of that nature for her metamorphosis jewellery!

Louanne and her late mum shared a love for the moon and stars. When I found the mother of pearl with two-faces, one looking older and wiser and the other young and cheeky, it reminded me of a mother-daughter relationship and I just knew it was the perfect stone for this piece!

The diamonds represent a compass with the biggest diamond set at north to represent the north star: a guiding light and a symbol of good luck.

On the other side of the pendant, I carved out a crescent moon and stars for an added touch which makes the pendant reversible!

The moon is a special talisman for many, but for Louanne, it’s extra special and I’m so glad I got to make this pendant for her that reminds her of her mum!

Metamorphosis: Call for Volunteers!

What is Metamorphosis? It's a jewellery project where I turn your old silver or gold jewellery into something new at no charge (unless you want a material that you don't currently have)! You give me ideas of what you like, and then I surprise you with one of them of my choice! Swipe to see the last few metamorphosis' I've created.

I'm taking 2 volunteers for the fall. You must live in the lower mainland and be able to travel to my New Westminster studio. Application deadline is this coming Monday the 19th!

Interested? Please get in touch!

Metamorphosis 42: From barnacle to mermaid!

This metamorphosis is for my dear friend Michele. She bought the mussel and barnacle ring on the first anniversary of her mother’s passing. Since then, her feelings have changed and she was unsettled with the memories it brought her. Knowing this, I wanted to make her something new that represented where she’s at today in terms of her memories, feelings, and style.

Fire and smoke are cleansing so I was happy to torch the ring as soon as I got it and get rid of that bad juju Michele was unsettled about! There was a little blue stone in the ring but I had no intention of using it knowing that I had some pretty moss aquamarines that Michele loved.

Why moss aquamarine? The first reason is because aquamarine is Michele’s birthstone. Also Michele has this amazing wavy hair that always reminds me of mermaid hair (or at least what I think mermaid hair looks like)! Upon receiving the ring, Michele also told me that the colour reminds her of the ocean where her mother’s ashes lie. Also, the colour of the stone is similar to that of her son’s eyes which gives the ring another layer of family meaning.

The moss aquamarine sits in a sterling silver basket setting that I made entirely by hand. There’s something about a big gem stone in a basket setting that is both classic and simple, yet glamorous at the same time!

Now I need a moss aquamarine ring!

Ps- Michele is an amazing photographer. Go check out her work at her website here.

Pss- if you want the satisfaction of seeing the old ring torched…go to my Instagram!

Metamorphosis 41: Redo - From dirt bike rotors to delicate stackable rings

Talk about a big transformation! This is why I love repurposing old jewellery! Sometimes people are scared to ask me to melt down jewellery I’ve made in the past. Please don’t be! Our style changes over the years so it only makes sense to get rid of things that no longer suit us!

Angela’s original metamorphosis was #11 and it was from November of 2015! The necklace was inspired by her love of dirt bikes (hence the various different “rotors”).

For this round of metamorphosis, Angela asked for either stackable rings, or a big brooch inspired by her dance team the Golden Spike Can Can Dancers (see their website here). Honestly, I was originally going to make the brooch! But since last time I made her something in a very specific style associated with one of her hobbies, this time I wanted to make something a little more practical for every day wear. And, when she showed me the sky blue topaz she had amongst her old jewellery, I knew instantly I had to use it in one of the rings!

I was able to turn the big plain “rotor" (on left of necklace) into a new ring in order to keep a little something from the original necklace! But the rest of the necklace was melted down to make these new stackable rings!

I love how they turned out! What about you? Also, anyone else getting Daphne Bridgerton feels?!

Metamorphosis 40: Redo - Stackable Rings

I asked Stef if she wanted to be part of Metamorphosis Redo because I made her a pendant during my Game of Thrones phase and figured she might be over it (I was)!

She asked for either a necklace to represent her daughters or some stackable rings to wear with her wedding band. I was going to go with the pendant because stackable rings seemed so…basic. But despite being basic, they are just so darn wearable and practical! So that’s what I went with.

She sent me photos of plain stackable rings but I decided to throw in some pizazz by adding a hammered yellow gold and twisted silver. Figured it would give her ring stack more definition!

I’m hoping to sneak in one more Metamorphosis Redo this year! Fingers crossed I don’t run out of time!

Metamorphosis 39: Sterling silver family stackers

I started following Jen Pistor on Instagram and quickly realized that her fashion philosophy would make her a perfect fit for my Metamorphosis project! She writes and shares about ethical and sustainable fashion (among other things - check our her blog here). And…it turns out that she lives just up the street from me!

I scheduled Jen’s metamorphosis for September, and shortly after, she reposted the image in the gallery below (from @fashiontakesaction) that reads: Thrifted. Borrowed. Swapped. Vintage. Used. Handed Down. Reused. #SecondHandSeptember

It’s like the stars were aligning for this specific metamorphosis project!

My metamorphosis project involves using old jewellery that we no longer wear because it is broken, outdated, etc. I find ways to reuse items as is if possible and if not, I melt them down and turn them into something new.

Although I can provide people with new materials, I really love melting down people’s old jewellery. Not only is it fascinating to see what kind of jewellery people bring me, sustainable business practices’ are really important to me and using recycled materials is a huge part of that.

Jen brought me an assortment of her old silver jewellery and mentioned wanting some stackable bands. Here’s the thing: they may seem simple to design, but when you’re making something for someone who is an advocate of slow fashion, you really want to make something that isn’t just your average stackable band.

(Sidenote: Slow fashion is the movement of designing, creating, and buying garments for quality and longevity. It encourages slower production schedules, fair wages, lower carbon footprints, and (ideally) zero waste.)

Getting a sense of Jen’s style was pretty easy thanks to the deep creep I did on her instagram (go to her IG here) and blog. I have a new appreciation for the colour yellow thanks to Jen and how she wears and styles the colour! As such, I decided to add 14k yellow gold to the three stackable silver rings I chose to make her.

One band has five mini-hydrangeas in 14k yellow gold to represent each member of her family (hydrangeas are her favourite flower that make her think of her grandmother). They aren’t symmetrically placed nor are they perfect. At first this made me nervous but nothing in life is perfect which is what makes things imperfectly perfect. When I told Jen this, she added that she is an advocate of body positivity and loving ourselves in however shape we come so this ring actually really speaks to her! How perfect!

The second band at first just seemed like a design that would pair well with the hydrangea-band, but as I made it I got thinking about all the dualities in life but especially those of motherhood. We may be mum’s, but we are still women with individual personalities outside of what motherhood requires and it’s important for us not to forget that. We can't pour from an empty cup so it's important to take care of ourselves.

I set the third band with 12 citrines (yellow! And also her birthstones) because mum’s are always on…24 stones would have been more accurate to represent 24 hours in a day but I was thinking of a 12 hour clock.

They can be worn together or alone and pair well with most outfits.

I have learned so much about the fashion industry from following Jen on Instagram and I would encourage you to do the same. We can all do a little more to help create a more sustainable world and education is the first step!

Metamorphosis 38: Multi-gem statement hoops

Photos: Before: old jewellery/After: new earrings

Katrina has been waiting a long, long, long time for her Metamorphosis! As in, it was supposed to be finished last July. That’s over a year ago…insert embarrassed face here.

So why did these take so long? Well simply because I couldn’t decide what to make her and I kept putting the job off! At first I was going to make her a cuff with larger stones but something about the design wasn’t jiving with me. I put the cuff away for a month to see if with time my inspiration would come back to me. Nope! I reached out to her to see how much she wanted me to use the larger stones she was hoping I would use and she too had decided that maybe they were too big. On to the next idea!

I played around with some earring ideas but wasn’t feeling them either. Then I decided to make a necklace and started making all the settings only to realize the necklace wasn’t going to look the way I wanted it to with the stones I was working with. So I benched that idea as well!

Last but not least, I revisited the earring idea and got inspired by some photos she had sent me. Katrina has short hair and likes bold earrings. I started putting things together and bingo, everything started falling into place! I used a bunch if her stones but I supplied a few extra to make sure the earrings were balanced albeit asymmetrical. And I learned that setting gem-cut stones (cabochon would have been better!) in bezel settings on wire hoops is hard. Many times I warped the hooks and then had to re-shape them!

Glad I finally got Katrina’s metamorphosis done and to all of those waiting for metamorphosis, I promise I won’t take so long to finish your jewellery!

Metamorphosis 37: Redo - Charm Earrings

Gold hoops with interchangeable charms

Ella’s hematite ring was metamorphosis 17! Since then, styles have changed and it was time to turn that ring into something else!

She mentioned she wanted some earrings and this idea immediately popped into my head. I used the small hematites from her ring and the silver to make the settings. I decided to add some moonstone charms as well so she could change them for a day/night look! As for the gold earrings, I traded her silver for what the gold earrings cost me. I don’t make this style hoop in small sizes as they are a lot of work and much cheaper to buy pre-made (because they’re usually machine-made).

As I mentioned in my earlier post, the point of Metamorphosis Redo is to show people that I don’t mind melting down things I’ve made in the past. Sometimes people are nervous to ask me to melt things that are outdated. Please don’t ever be nervous! Styles change and I am always happy to melt things down!

Metamorphosis 36: Sterling silver and Moonstone Ring

Sterling silver and moonstone ring

Haven’t done a metamorphosis in awhile! I’ve been meaning to and have another two on the go, time has just gotten away from me!

For this metamorphosis, Tara wanted a new wide-band ring with a lighter stone. She had plenty of stones but they were darker than what she wanted, so she purchased this moonstone from me.

I tried repurposing some of the bands she had on other rings as the base for this ring but the bands were weak once they were cut down to the size I needed to make a new triple-band. So instead I used a set of three rings that I had lying around. I didn’t make them (these types of rings are machine-made - it’s not that they can’t be made by hand but it would take forever and be very expensive and they wouldn’t be “even'“ so you either buy the beaded wire and make rings or you buy the rings already made). I bought the trio once for a project but then never used them and I found them again while I was working on this ring so I think it was kind of meant to be!

I made the vessel for the moonstone, attached it to the ring trio, then set the stone and polished it. It’s simple and it wasn’t one of the most complex things I’ve made but I’m really happy with how it turned out.

Metamorphosis Redo

This year my Metamorphosis focus is on redo’s of old metamorphosis!

I have two non-redo metamorphosis planned for this year but the rest will be redo’s and I’m really excited about it!

A lot of people are scared to ask me to melt things down that I’ve made them in the past. Never feel bad! Styles change!

I decided to use metamorphosis as a platform to show people that it’s ok to melt down jewellery I’ve made them. So stay tuned…the first redo will be coming soon!

Metamorphosis 35: White gold, moonstone, and mother of pearl ring

Kat came all the way from Seattle to be part of this project! She left me her old grad ring that she never wore and trusted me to turn it into something new!

Kat was super organized in regards to sending me information of what she liked and didn’t like. I always love when people have visual references of their preferences because sometimes things get lost in translation or my idea of something is different than theirs!'

To make Kat’s ring, I melted down her white gold ring (see photo of it below) and made a plain band. I picked moonstone and mother of pearl for her ring because they are alternate birthstones to hers (pearl/alexandrite). Her grad ring had an alexandrite but I didn’t want to repurpose it. I made the settings for the stone and then soldered them to the band. After the ring was cleaned up and polished, I set the stones with the middle piece still between the settings. Cutting it out before I set the stones would make the stones harder to set since the band would be weaker once cut. After the middle piece was cut out, I gave the ring one more polish and voila!

Metamorphosis 34: Yellow gold and diamond cluster ring

This Metamorphosis found it’s way to Greece for my sister-in-law Vicki! She left me all of her old jewellery (see photo below) that last time she came to Vancouver and told me to surprise her with a ring. She sent me several photos of styles she liked and I picked a style I hadn’t quite made yet!

To make this ring, I started by taking out all of the stones from her old jewellery and melting down the gold. I traded most of her white gold for yellow gold, which I then turned into a 4mm band. Once the band was shaped, I use the leftover gold strip to melt “blobs” all over the top of the ring. Then I created seats on the blobs and soldered the settings to those seats. After that, stones were set, ring was polished, and voila! From Vancouver to Greece with love!

METAMORPHOSIS NEWS

The draw to metamorphosis has always been that someone can get a custom piece of jewellery for a reduced price. Over the years I’ve had to raise the price to cover the cost of tools and specialists I work with (casting/stone setting). The reality is, that the more I have to raise the price, the more people lose interest. Metamorphosis is a creative outlet for me and I’d like to keep doing it which means I have to rethink the project in general and how I can make it better for everyone.

That being said, instead of offering 6 spots for the year, I have decided to change my metamorphosis offerings: I will have three types of metamorphosis available to you!

First, there will be two FREE metamorphosis. Details below.

Second, I will still offer metamorphosis for people who want to turn their old jewellery into something new. Details below.

Third, one of the first things people say when interested in metamorphosis is “I don’t have enough materials”. This got me to thinking, how can I include people who don’t hoard old jewellery? I decided I would offer a version of metamorphosis where I supply the materials! Details below.

Metamorphosis offerings:

1. Metamorphosis - FREE and your materials (must be a referral - application process) - Click here for more info.

2. Metamorphosis 100 - $100 fee and your materials (must be a referral) - Click here for more info.

3. Metamorphosis: Sterling Silver - $150 fee and my materials (anyone can sign up) - Click here for more info.

Here are the basic details for all:

1. There is an initial interview where we discuss your likes and dislikes.

2. It takes 6 to 8 weeks to make jewellery

3. Your jewellery will be posted on social media

Questions? Don’t hesitate to ask!

METAMORPHOSIS 33: Silver, rose quartz, and diamond necklace

I had seen a similar necklace months ago and kept the photo because I knew I wanted to make something similar for someone one day. Verity was that someone! As I was rifling through my stones to find something she would like (she likes pastel colours), I stumbled upon a purply rose quartz. I set it aside while I looked at other stones, but I kept going back to the rose quartz. I decided that it was a sign that the stone was meant for her!

To make the necklace: I made the vessel for the stone which consisted of melting silver and rolling out a piece wide enough to be the walls around the stone and a flat piece for the bottom big enough for the stone and vessel walls, then soldering it together, cleaning it up, soldering the jump rings to it and the 4-claw setting for the cubic (which was from another earring she had), soldering the chain to the jump rings, polishing the whole thing, setting the stones, and lastly polishing everything again.

Really happy that I finally got to make this necklace!

METAMORPHOSIS 32: Sterling silver bangles with yellow gold connector

Here’s the coles notes on how I met Michele: she was referred to my dad by some friends of hers. She came in to discuss jewellery with him…and I basically poached her. Sorry dad! And now Michele and I chat about business ideas and she’s a constant source of inspiration (she’s so great - check out her website here).

Michele has great style! Every time I see her, I feel inspired to wear something other than workout gear. And she loves really unique jewellery which is fun because we get to be extra creative!

I originally wanted to make Michele a silver bangle with a splash of gold running through it. The only reason I didn’t end up making it was because I’ve never done it before and I didn’t want to ruin her materials. I would have to play around soldering her silver and gold together and if I screwed it up, her materials would need to be refined to be salvaged. At the time I didn’t have time to play around with my own materials as a test so instead I opted for something I knew would still meet some of the things she said she liked.

To make her metamorphosis, I made five thin bangles and two small and wide gold ones. The process goes as follows: melt silver, pull wire, anneal silver and quench, pull wire, get wire stick in draw plate, have dad pull stuck wire through draw plate because he’s stronger, anneal and quench silver, make bangles, solder them together, polish them, then…melt gold, roll out, anneal and quench, roll out to desired size, make rings, polish them, join them to silver bangles, solder them closed, polish everything.

The best part is that the day of the Metamorphosis reveal, Michele showed up in the cutest outfit that actually looked like she planned her outfit around the bracelet she hadn’t even seen! So great!

METAMORPHOSIS 31: Stering silver and pearl brooch

Pearl Brooch

I spent a long time figuring out what to make for Metamorphosis 30! Lizette had these opals that I really wanted to use but I just couldn’t figure out how to incorporate their asymmetrical shapes into any designs that would suit her. She also had a few pearls and it made me think of all the lonely pearls we all have but don’t know what to with! How many of you have a bag of random pearls (mostly single earrings because you lost the partner)? Exactly!

Lizette loves brooches which made the choice of what type of jewellery to make easy. To make this brooch, I soldered a bunch of settings together and then soldered them into a hammered silver ring. Then I added the brooch pin and set the pearls. I would have liked to make it a convertible brooch to pendant but with the open back design, that wouldn’t work. (Note: the brooch pin can’t be seen when the brooch is being worn!)

METAMORPHOSIS 30: White gold and diamond stackable rings

Stackable White Gold and Diamond Rings

These rings may seem simple but let me tell you, when there are infinite possibilities in stackable ring designs, it’s hard to pick just a couple!

I started by swapping Shannon’s yellow gold for white gold since she prefers white and didn’t have enough. I was able to use one of the pre-existing settings (princess cut - square centre stone) from a pendant she had for the thinner ring. Once both bands were made and I soldered the princess setting to the thinner ring, I sent them off to the stone setter!

With all the materials Shannon had left over she actually ordered a third ring which will balance the other two rings nicely. I’ll post a photo of it when it’s done!

Before photo of Shannon’s jewellery