The Blog — handmade jewelry

There are so many styles of jewelry out there, from delicate and petite to chunky and rustic, to colorful and bold. It can be confusing and overwhelming taking it all in. So how do you decide what's for you, with the massive selection available?  As with clothing and fashion, I say we should wear the jewelry that makes us feel great and most like ourselves! Often, you'll know it when you see it. But not always. So many people get stuck on "rules" about dressing your age, colors and styles you should be wearing. The reality is, it's entirely your choice! Only you know what makes...

As much as I love most of the older pieces I've created, at a certain point, I want to clear them out if they haven't sold. That helps make way for new work. At the end of the day, I don't want to have too much inventory. To that end, I've got a Sale section on my website with a good assortment of items, all of them top quality. It's a great opportunity for you to save 30% on all kinds of my handmade jewelry. You don't even need a code - the discount is applied automatically at checkout. You DO...

You might not know that I only became a full-time jewelry-maker when I was 51. At 18, I took a course and was seriously bitten by the metalsmithing bug. Then I did an apprenticeship with a local jeweler one summer. I got sidetracked into journalism and ended up writing and editing for about 30 years, which worked well when I had my kids. But I'd always hoped to get back to jewelry. I finally took a refresher course when I was 50 and that was it! I started with a tiny studio in a little porch in Toronto. And more courses. Then came my online shop. About...

Here, at Le Chien Noir Jewelry, I try to work with recycled metals as much as possible. I melt my scraps into ingots that I can roll out and reuse in my jewelry. I also seek out and use some really wonderful recycled materials. Some of the alternatives I've discovered and love include: Leland blue - cut from beautiful antique slag, a waste product from the smelting process used in the late 1800s by the Leland Lake Superior Iron Company. Here's an example from my shop.  Fordite - cut from built-up layers of dried paint used in painting cars in factories. It becomes colorful...

There are so many reasons to choose handmade jewelry over mass-produced. Here are a few reasons to opt for handmade: 1) They're made by a jeweler's or artisan's actual hands, meaning they're going to be unique! 2) Jewelry makers are highly likely to choose more sustainable, ethically sourced  materials, making handmade jewelry a greener purchase. 3) When jewelry is handmade, it's often more likely to be made from better quality materials, and the final product is more likely to be better quality. 4) Small studios are better able to create exactly what they want to create, so chances are good you'll...