Another day, another diamond..... possibly a rough one!

No time for dull moments, when  everyone wants something shiny! With the price of gold at a cost of over $2100.00CAD, more and more people are rounding up their old, outdated, broken gold jewelry, or the hideous brooch that aunt Edna left them in her estate. The one she wore out "for good" you know, to bingo and rotary club, and saving a great deal on material cost by using this gold to create something fresh and new! And YOU!! It all starts with an idea, an inspiration, maybe a picture you found in a magazine or on Google images. Maybe even by taking an existing piece of jewelry and molding it to make an exact replica. After we narrow down a basic design, we do a few sketches or carve a model out of carving wax.  With an array of tiny grinding tools, a solid block of wax gets transformed into your design. When the customer is satisfied with the look of the model, it is ready to be cast in the metal of choice. Even Edna's brooch can go into the melting pot an

It’s only a few weeks away Gem Expo 2020 in Toronto! Every show that I’ve attended has been exciting and an adventure in its own way. Music festivals, Scottish festivals, markets, fairs, Renaissance, and the list goes on. The one problem is having the right stock for the event.  There are so many things to consider when vendors prepare for a show and it is usually just overwhelming to think about. What is the theme? What are this years trends within the theme? What season is it? What materials do I have already? What materials do I need to buy? How many pieces of each item should I make? What is my table design?  Also, it really doesn’t help that the sky is the limit when you actually make all of your stock. Anything can potentially be created and the ideas are endless. Ugh!! Of course, making pieces that people will want to buy is up at the top of the priority list... but often the trendy stock is not quite as much fun to prepare as your own inspired designs.  When