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creating memories with a file and torch
I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have a sketchbook tucked nearby, pens scattered all over so I could jot down an idea or draw up something that had come to mind. My mother once told me that as soon as I discovered drawing, she knew how to get some quiet time to herself - I would happily sit and colour for as long as she
would let me!
After high school I finished the Foundation Arts program at Camosun College in beautiful Victoria BC and then flew to the other coast of Canada to study jewellery & metalsmithing for three years at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD).
Ever since returning home to Vancouver Island I've been making jewellery out of my home studio. That studio space has changed and evolved over the years. For some time, we raised our young children in Vancouver while my husband finished his master's degree, which meant solo weekend ventures across the ocean once a month to work in my studio. These days were filled with building and making pieces commissioned for weddings, engagements and holiday markets and sales.
During this time, I discovered something very important about myself: I need to make things with my hands.
This discovery solidified my work as a maker and fuelled my drive to stretch my creative and technical abilities to new levels.
Creating jewellery breathes life into every part of my day.
I am grateful to have found it.
With degrees completed and our children transitioned into school, I've nestled myself into my studio filled with my much-loved bench (read: battered and filthy) and assortment of fabrication tools. Each day I wake up inspired by the beauty of the west coast island I call home and honoured by each client that chooses me to create meaningful pieces of jewellery.
The Story Behind JM Janamade
JM grew from a desire to make heirlooms that my children would some day cherish. My own treasured pieces, handed down from my grandmother, are some of my greatest inspirations. The stories told to me while she showed me each piece are forever etched into my mind, as are the times spent with the incredible woman I looked up to so much. It was afternoons spent gazing at her jewellery boxes that inspired me to try my hand at learning the art and craft of goldsmithing. I remember very clearly, stepping into the studio at NSCAD for the first time and feeling like I had come home.
My work is inspired by nature and our connections to each other. Simplicity of form and comfort are important to me, as I design each piece with the intention of daily wear and the hope that my work will be passed down to loved ones in the future. Future heirlooms with a touch of whimsy and an eye for detail. I am continually inspired by this island, the beaches, plants and animals that I encounter while out with my young children and the memories we are making every day.
I am currently working with themes of serpents and seeds, and the slightly otherworldly nature of the stars, how these ideas connect us to ourselves and to our ancestors.
