Most of the times, small girls wish to be just like their mothers. This means they try on your makeup, your lipstick, nail polish, your jewelry and even your high heel shoes. So why not get your little girls fancy jewelry of their own?
A special and talented jewelry maker has just that in mind. Her name is Jennifer Robinson and she is a self-taught jewellery designer living in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada. She studied design at Georgian college in Barrie, Ontario, but interestingly enough it wasn’t jewellery design, it was interior design.
In spite of that, she has applied many of the same skills that she studied in college to her current profession though, including colour theory, proportion and sketching.
“I work out of my home studio, which I love. While I used to commute over an hour to work each way, now my commute is about ten feet from my bedroom to my studio every morning. My studio is the place where I most feel at home - my happy place. I painted it pink, my favourite colour, and it contains everything I need to work efficiently: my work table, my computer, lots of storage, my small photography area and even a small shipping station. During my busy months, I am very happy to have a space dedicated to my work.”
“For many years, I ignored my creativity and worked at a job that paid the bills but wasn’t really suited to me. After college, I knew that interior design didn’t seem quite right either, and before I knew it, over 10 years had passed.
I knew that I needed a real change but I didn’t know what. One day, as I was wandering through an arts and crafts store looking for inspiration, I found a free booklet on wire wrap techniques. I was intrigued, and took it home along with some supplies and a set of pliers and cutters. I was instantly hooked.
I loved making the tiny little links, loved the challenge of keeping them consistent in size and shape, and I loved how quickly a few beads turned into a pair of earrings.”
“I discovered etsy.com at about the same time, and it suddenly seemed possible that I could make this my new career. If others were doing it, why not me?
My husband and I quit our jobs and moved 3 hours away, to a more affordable area. We realised that we had been working and commuting long hours just to pay for a big house that we were never home to enjoy.
Now I spend all day making beautiful jewellery that I sell around the world. More importantly, I am home for my little girl. Life is good.”
Steps to Designing and Creating a Piece:
“I am a very visual person, which means that I need to see something in front of me before I know whether or not it will work. When I set about designing something, I call it “playing with my beads”, because essentially, that’s what it feels like. I spread out my gemstones, pearls and findings on the table and try different combinations until I am happy with one. Often the design that I start with turns out entirely different in the end. For me, being creative means keeping my mind open to possibilities. I know when I am done when I can sit back, look at my design and smile. The designing is my favourite part of the process.”
“What Inspires Me?
Every day I am inspired by the gemstones and pearls that I buy. I try to keep a constant flow of new materials coming in because when I get something new, I can't wait to start working with it. My favourite days are when I get a large gemstone shipment in - it's like Christmas morning! I am also inspired by the colour combinations that I see around me. “
“Photographs, clothing, other jewellery - almost anything can inspire a new palette for me to try. The other day I came across a gorgeous landscape photograph that included mustard yellow, dark purple and fuchsia, and that evening I purchased beads in all of those colours. Finally, I am inspired by my daughter. She loves all things feminine and gives me her opinion on my work on a daily basis. She is my biggest cheerleader, and has even started making her own jewellery.”
“I do a lot of custom work, particularly for brides.
One of the nicest things about buying handmade, and working directly with the designer, is that there is no need to buy off the rack.
Sometimes I am only changing lengths or a particular gemstone for a customer; other times we design a brand new piece together.
It is challenging, but very rewarding to create something for a customer that they cannot find anywhere else.”
Nowadays Jennifer is very busy running a collection of shops. You can find her jewelry as follows:
- Jewelry for children: MyFirstJewelry
- Jewelry for Women: LivJewellery
- Jewelry for Brides: LivBridal
- Crystal and glass jewelry: LivEveryDay
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