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 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 28: Yellow gold leaf brooch

Yellow Gold Brooch

I've never made a brooch before so I was looking forward to adding this project to my repertoire!

I accidentally deleted the photo of Margo's bracelet but it looked like the sample below. 

One of the first things I noticed about Margo when I met her is that she always wears interesting matching accessories. And she wears a lot of brooches and makes them look super stylish.

To make her brooch, I melted her gold into a half inch by 6mm ingot. After I rolled it out (to 0.8mm), I started cutting out pieces in the shape of windshields that were then soldered together to create a conical marquise and pear-shape pieces. The windshield-shape is what creates the cone-shape.

Once I had a selection of sizes, I soldered all of them together and added the brooch mechanism which I also mostly made by hand (I purchased the pin catch - the thing on the left that the pin fits into). A little filing and polishing later and the brooch was complete!

METAMORPHOSIS 21: REVEAL

Stackable Rings

Other than mentioning that she'd like to acquire stackable rings, Irene said she'd like something that represents her family. The amethyst (yellow gold) and peridot (white gold) rings represent her daughters and one day she has the option of giving them their respective rings. The diamond ring is for her husband since the stone is from a ring he gave her. And the twisted wire ring represents Irene: both colour metals bringing everything together!

METAMORPHOSIS 15: REVEAL

Multi-gem cuff

I knew I wanted to make Aleksandra a cuff from the moment she left my office. I had originally wanted to make a reptile-esque pattern on the cuff but in order to successfully do that, I would have needed to make a wax model which I didn't have time for. I tried carving that pattern into the metal but it looked terrible so I had to start the cuff over. I opted for a simpler pattern which actually highlights the stones better.

I'm always stressed about metamorphosis jewellery but this one was extra stressful. Once it was done, I couldn't decide if it was actually vintage-looking/vogue-ish. Also, she prefers white gold but I was drawn to making this cuff in yellow. Lastly, combining stones can be a personal thing so I hoped she would be into the purple and blue combination. Thankfully, it was a success and she liked it!