By Jacquie De Almeida
The sight of several silver and stone pendants of varied sizes and shapes hanging by their T-clasps proved too great a temptation to ignore.
Slipping a handmade silver chain from a counter-top display, the client wraps it around her neck.
“It’s a necklace that you can add anything to—that’s different,” she says, turning to her friend. The two women are taking in the sights and sounds of Toronto’s One of a Kind Show, a mecca for those seeking innovative and not your run-of-the-mill wares.
“I need about ‘that’ much,” she says, indicating with her fingers a length of about two inches.
“No problem. I can make it longer,” says Jennifer Shigetomi, co-owner of Toronto’s Matsu Jewellery and one of the 500 jewellers, artists, craftspeople, and makers of all things unique exhibiting at the show. About 60,000 people attend the Spring edition.
Interchangeable jewellery is a big hit with consumers, says Shigetomi, offering them more bang for their buck and the ability to wear jewellery differently depending on an outfit.
“Once people invest in it, they love the idea and come back to see what pieces are new that can be added,” she says. They also get inventive, Shigetomi adds, noting a few clients have made suggestions about what they’d like to see that just might end up in her collection. The 18-in. necklace is one sought-after style this season, perhaps a reflection of deeper necklines, while staples like blue stones don’t fail to draw the gaze of passersby.
Kyanite, a deep blue gemstone, is popular among visitors to the Matsu booth, an attention-getter Shigetomi attributes to its denim-like colour. “It’s one of those colours that works for spring. It transcends all blues,” she adds.
Two aisles over, the lab-grown beads Meredith Robb incorporates in her designs are machine parts used in flow metres and bar code readers. Tension-set in 18-karat gold and sterling, spheres of synthetic rubies, sapphires, and spinels catch the eye amid a group of smaller booths.
Customers sidling up to the Toronto designer’s showcase usually end up in a tutorial of sorts on what a lab-grown gemstone is and how a stone that is chemically identical to its natural counterpart can be had for a fraction of the cost. It appeals not just to the environmentally conscious, but techies and science geeks, Robb explains.
“Their lab-grown origin is part of the appeal for some people, and those are the clientele you market to because they understand you’re trying to do something a little bit different that involves creative thinking,” she adds.
“Combining gold with lab-growns does create a bit of sticker shock because the metal is so expensive and it’s hard to get them to understand that what they’re paying for is mainly the gold, craftsmanship, and esthetic look of a ruby, but there are people who really appreciate the use of alternative materials.”
Amid the show’s hustle and bustle, Evendesign’s ‘Balance’ collection beckoned with its use of level bubbles set in sterling silver. Owner and designer Judi Patson says she came up with the line to remind her friends to live a balanced life, a message embraced by the showgoers who stopped to find some equilibrium themselves.
“Their lives were just spinning out of control,” says Patson, who is based in Vancouver. “They had houses, were doing renovations, starting a family, maintaining their careers. I just thought there isn’t one moment for yourself anymore and that if they took the time to put the bubble in the centre, they would calm their minds€¦There are themes like balance and community that we all look for within ourselves.”
Community, though on a much larger scale, is one of the reasons why couples are leaning toward incorporating Canadian diamonds into their engagement and wedding rings, says Toronto designer Shelly Purdy.
“They like the patriotic aspect to them,” says Purdy, who has come to be known as a Canadian diamond diplomat. “They have some form of integrity that people want to have in the symbol of their most cherished relationship.”
For custom designers like Purdy, shows like this one help provide a sense of what strikes a chord with consumers. “It’s about showcasing the work and seeing what people are actually looking for. There are always a few pieces that customers point out and try on over and over again, and then you have a realization that a certain design really resonates with them.”
To help drive clientele back to her studio, Purdy used a draw for a piece of jewellery as a way of collecting e-mail addresses. It’s a small investment to ensuring a fresh batch of clients is introduced to her work on a consistent basis via e-blasts. It will also help her get the word out on upcoming events at her studio, as well as the Toronto International Jewellery Festival (TIJF).
Among the jewellers exhibiting at the show, TIJF is the big news at the moment and will be held during the month of May. About 45,000 people will take in the sights at 22 venues across downtown Toronto. So far, about 30 exhibitions are planned when the biennial festival kicks off in May. Jewellery Business is TIJF’s official publication.
In addition to creating hype for the festival through an open house, Purdy is also one of the featured artists at ‘Family Album,’ an exhibition of work from Harbourfront Centre’s Jewellery Studio alumni.
“The festival is really going to showcase our city and create an awareness of what an awesome community of jewellers there are in Toronto coming out of Georgian College, George Brown College, and OCAD University,” says Purdy, herself a George Brown graduate.
Exhibitor Margaret Lim is also participating in Harbourfront’s ‘Family Album,’ as well as overseeing the social media aspect of Meta-Mosaic, the Society of North American Goldsmiths’ (SNAG’s) annual conference, which is being held in Toronto and coincides with TIJF.
“Twitter and Facebook are wonderful platforms for [spreading the word],” Lim says. “We have three people that are always on this. TIJF and SNAG are a great way to unite the jewellery arts community and to also bring together a wider range of jewellers, such as those who make fine jewellery. It’s pulling from all areas of jewellery. The cross-industry aspect of this has been significant.”
For more information on the festival, visit http://tijf.info/.
