Frekkel Designing

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...

Cassandra Bazos is a jewellery designer from Oakville, Ontario.  She lives with a neurological disorder called Tourette Syndrome.  Tourettes is an inherited disorder that is characterized by multiple physical tics and at least one vocal tic.  Tourette Syndrome Foundation of Canada estimates that as many as 1 in 100 people may present symptoms of the disease.  The cause has not been established, although current research presents considerable evidence that the disorder stems from the abnormal metabolism of at least one brain chemical (neurotransmitter) called dopamine. Very likely other neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, are also involved.  Despite the apparent frequency of this disease at mild to severe levels, there are many misunderstandings and mysteries surrounding the symptoms, which have created a stigma.  As we think about courage, it's important to look at the type that emerges from our own fears, and in the face of the fear of others....

The first thing I would like to say about this topic is that it has taken me a long time to differentiate between courage and recklessness.  I will forgo posting wikipedia definitions of each, and say that I believe the deciding factor is in the measurement, concern, and knowledge of risk.  I have come to believe that if a person has no concern of any risk, or refuses to consider it before throwing himself into a ridiculous situation, he is reckless.  As adorable as it is, I firmly believe it does no good but to serve as a warning to others.  Courage, for me is when you know the risks, you know how hard it is going to be, but there is a lot depending on your success, so you push through a ridiculous situation, trying to cause as little damage as possible, with your drive focused on a larger good.  My confession is that my greatest moments of courage have come after moments of recklessness, when I've been clobbered with the consequences of my actions and had to w...

Lindsay Bess is a visual artist from Scarborough, ON.  She is also an Art Teacher who has worked with local community initiatives (Elevated Grounds, Por Amor, CKLN 88.1FM) for over a decade, and is fully vested in the uplifting of her audience and her students. The work she does is never very far removed from the issues going on locally and internationally, and shes consider her work to be functional, artistic social commentary. She has done work all over the world, mostly murals – and shes believes mural-making to be one of the best ways to engage the public in art making and appreciation. Lindsay Bess lives by an aphorism, “The artistic education of those unfamiliar with art relies on its practitioners and how well they convey their ideas – and that is a reflection on how well the practitioners understand themselves and their roles as artists.” What/who inspires you? Many things inspire me, but right now it's my late mother. All of her struggles with l...

 What have I been up to?  Here is what I've been up to: This is Maehem, bgirl/owner/instructor/awesome person, and now, pendant.  She is doing a freeze on one hand while holding her foot with the other hand.  She is made of Sterling silver and is suspended from a Sterling silver cable chain.  To make mini-Maehem, I started with a sheet of silver, a few pics of the real Maehem, and her permission to use her image.  Then, I released her from her paper prison...  And glued her to the silver sheet.   A-sawing we will go.  Very, very carefully, the edges needed to be filed and smoothed with emery paper.  No snags required or desired. Both front and back also got the emery treatment, and the front was polished to a mirror shine. After I pierced the pendant, I used wire to create tiny rings that could attach the pendant to a Sterling silver cable chain.  The rings need to be soldered to ensure strength and du...