Frekkel Designing

 Through the pandemic, much cleaning was done.  Many boxes discovered, and their treasures revealed.  Treasures like old rings (too small), brooches (too outdated), and necklaces (too broken).  You may, like me, have wondered why treasure chests in the old movies always seemed to have loose gems in them.  There could be a terrible, historical reason for that I can cover in a another post, or it was just theatrical drama, but I think many people these days have similar stashes because they simply do not know what to do with them.   Over the last few decades, there have been literally tons of silverware and ornate jewellery deemed gaudy and melted down for money.  Diamonds get reset into new engagement rings.  But what about pearls?  How do you know if they are real, if they are worth anything, do they need to be treated in a special way, and what can you do with them? 1. Real pearls have a subtle, grainy texture.  Experts will look f...

Fall colours are beautiful for their differences. I once flew east over Canada at this time of the year.  The steady red sea of fiery maples was breathtaking, but for the most part, I enjoy how the yellows, greens, reds and oranges vibrate together along autumn country roads. The stones of October have similar traits - modest hues, variety, and gorgeous, breathtaking beauty. Traditionally, Opal has been the October stone.  Its silica and 10 percentage of water brings out lovely colours the way a good rain before a sunny day brings out a rainbow over a Fall feast of foliage.  We know White Opal, but there are also the deep greens and blues of Black Opal, and NOTHING does red or orange like Fire Opal. In modern times, we also consider Tourmaline an October stone.  Most birthstone displays will show a pale pink sparkler, but Tourmaline can show an array of pinks, browns, greens, yellows, blues, and even combinations within a stone. Which of these gorgeous gems says...

 I love watching custom car reality shows.  I like watching the team pull various talents together, I like the resourcefulness, and I like to watch an idea become reality.  But, I really, really, like the look into what it's like to pull thoughts from a client's mind, to shape those thoughts with hints of what they enjoy, to fuse everything with what will actually work, and, hopefully, create something fantastic.  This is really what custom is supposed to be about - adventure.  Like most adventures you embark on with a stranger, the first custom project with a new client or artist is exciting, full of possibilities and hidden expectations. Clients have come to me with an idea for an engagement ring, a pendant, earrings, brooch or something innovative and new.  No matter the item, the conversations we have about musical tastes, favourite people, most memorable travel spots, and dreams for the future are what give me the information I need to create something...

I could end it right there.  There is enough going on, why not space aliens?  But let me explain... August is the month of heat, and last hurrah's, lions, dried grass, earlier evenings, and the stone that sums it all up - peridot.  I say "pear-ih-doh", but some people say "pear-ih-dot", and google translate agrees with them.   There are only 2 green birthstones.  One is Emerald, which is famous, and has ties to other stones in its Beryl family, like Aquamarine.  The other is peridot, sometimes called "the evening emerald" because it keeps its glowy green essence in low lighting, like an... alien?  No, not yet.  Stay with me.   Peridot gets its green from its iron content, which is unique in stones.  It comes in many shades, but no other colour, and is linked to no other gems.  It is a loner, a maverick, an outsider.  The world used to get its peridot from the Red Sea, but now peridot is mined from Pakistan to Arizona....

  I have a truth to tell. The best-smelling, cleanest, most beautiful, put-together people you can imagine, usually have the grimiest jewellery repairs.   Without getting too graphic, let me remind you of what the tops of sunblock bottles, hand lotion tubes, and jars of face creams look like, right around the edges, where air dries out the build-up.  You got it.   These same products get up under watchstraps, diamond settings, earring backs, and absolutely everywhere.  The oil that makes them so great for moisturizing, also makes them great for sticking.  To  jewellery.  And for collecting every speck of dust, dander or dna to form enough layers, that one may wonder if the wearer had taken a pottery class recently.  But it's not recent at all.  Much the same as the the product containers I've mentioned, the buildup is slow.  If people realise at all, it's usually not until they are getting a piece back from their jeweller,...

Know your "why". Someone told me, not early enough in business, that to be able to withstand the turbulence of entrepreneurship, I need to hold on tight to my "why".  As a creative, I think this is especially important.  Our selves are so much a part of what we do, that losing the "why", would really be more of a symptom than a catalyst, of something going wrong.  Do you have your "why"?  Do you post a reminder of it somewhere?  In what way does it influence your "how", "what", "where", and "whom"?  Because it definitely all connects. When I decided that I needed to develop a healthy business where I could optimize my skills and talents to provide for my family, I made a list of everything I am able to do, everything I like to do, and things I would like to become better at doing.  I made note of where those things intersected, and started my dive into why I do what I do.   In every intersect, no matter the...

“Is this real or fake?” is a big question in jewellery.  There are a number of answers, and without a little knowledge about how gemstones are made and sold, you can feel like you are being taken for a ride. Jewellers use terms like Genuine, Mined, Imitation, Simulated, Synthetic, Lab-grown, and Enhanced. Once you have a general understanding of the choices available for gems in the market, you will be able to make the best choice for yourself.  I have been thinking about this a lot, and have decided to break down the terminology using popstars. Imagine one of the biggest stars of all time is called “Sapphire”. They’ve also had success as “Ruby”, but their real name, given at birth, is “Corundum”. So, it’s Corundum on their driver’s license, but Sapphire on some albums, and Ruby on other albums. Same popstar. People cannot get enough, so Sapphire/Ruby is EVERYWHERE. Concerts sell out, streams are prolific, and even impersonators make a good living at tribute shows. ...

Jewellery is often with us during special moments, experiences, and milestones. Sometimes it is given to us by a special person, or in a special way, or at a special time. Our jewellery pieces carry these memories for us, even when we didn't mean them to. Sometimes, there are experiences so personal, and so common, that we keep them in our own special way, and only share them with certain people, when we feel the time is right. It might be through a song, a poem, sculpture, or painting, and this is often the way that artists touch us in the deepest way - by channeling, sharing and expressing our stories. As a goldsmith, my poetry and sculpture is precious and portable. I am acutely aware that I am always creating vessels that may carry memories and emotions which haven't happened yet, but sometimes, I also get to design pieces that can carry an emotions someone has been holding alone. This is a special connection we artists have, and always have had, to the human experie...