Gillian Johnson’s Jewelry Embraces the ‘Perfectly Imperfect’

When jeweller Gillian Johnson was 20, she heard about some magical hills north of Toronto: Hockley Valley. So taken was Johnson by the description of the area’s beauty that she wrote in her journal a promise to one day experience it for herself.

Years later, at a party hosted by sculptor John Farrugia, Johnson took one look at the view and asked, “Where am I?” Upon being told she was in Mono, north of Hockley Valley, she immediately widened her geographical aspirations, thinking “I feel like I’m home.” In 2013 she bought 25 acres of land a little farther north, in Mulmur. In 2022 construction began on a house and studio, complete with her own expansive, inspirational view. 

The Toronto native maintains a soft spot for her original Headwaters crush, though. She named the jewelry business she opened nine years ago Hawkly, as an homage to both the majestic birds of prey and the region that had always called to her.

Now, Johnson finds being surrounded by natural beauty, from those rolling hills to the Pine and Boyne Rivers, helps her unlock a flow state of creativity in which she designs her handcrafted earrings, necklaces, rings and bracelets. Johnson’s designs capture details from the natural world, such as a river pebble-inspired charm hanging on a pendant. Her newest collection encourages buyers to customize and wear pieces in multiple ways. Rings are adjustable for different sizing and charms can be added to earrings.

The process Johnson uses is called lost wax casting – a method for creating metal objects from a wax model by encasing the model in a ceramic or plaster shell, melting the wax out and then pouring molten metal into the cavity. “Then you will have a metal object that is an exact replica of your initial wax model.”

At this first stage, the jewelry created is either a one-off or a prototype; to make more she will then make a rubber mould of the metal object. “When I need to produce multiples of the same piece, I can inject that new mould with wax and create many wax replicas, which will then be turned to metal using the same process.” These replicas are the pink wax pieces I watch Johnson work with the day I visit. 

Today Johnson’s studio is full of light streaming in through the windows; she harnesses that essence in her popular “radiance” designs, which are sun-inspired. Natural wood studio benches and tables seem in harmony with the trees swaying outside. Johnson often deliberately captures an edge of her fingerprint in the pink wax moulds she sculpts, mimicking the woodgrain she loves. 

She finishes the wax pieces with a utility knife and TouchAmatic wax pen. A specialist in Toronto will cast them in silver and bronze. Once they come back to her, Johnson will refine and finish them to remove excess bits and stray lines. She will also solder posts to earrings. “I like to leave some texture. Mine is a very handmade, organic look – no high polish.” 

After cleaning, buffing and shining, final finishing might involve deciding on chains, and lengths for necklaces, or putting earrings on earring cards. “These are the merchandising steps,” Johnson says. “It’s all part of the vision I have when I first begin designing a piece.” The pieces are then ready to go to boutiques across the country or to fulfill online orders. 

Johnson’s first foray into her craft started with beading and wire working, along with travels to Thailand. “I was studying business at McGill University in Montreal, and I had to get away from the cold, so I applied for a yearlong exchange program in Bangkok.” While visiting the beaches there, she was enthralled by an artisan making jewelry, who told her where to find materials in local markets and seek additional training.

Johnson cites the textured, high-quality silver handmade works of the Thai hill tribes as a major influence on her work. She also worked in silver during metal arts training in Santa Monica and workshops in Mexico. She has developed a belief in a compelling Japanese notion of beauty: “I embrace the wabi sabi – perfectly imperfect – design aesthetic,” she says. “My favourite pieces are ones that show unique, fine details in an almost unfinished presentation – just like you’d see in nature.”

Since moving to Mulmur, Johnson’s wanderlust – she has roamed through Guatemala, Colombia, and Sri Lanka, in addition to Thailand – has been satiated and she now finds endless inspiration close at hand, in the rocks of the Niagara Escarpment and her gardens, filled with wildflowers. “In life and in jewelry making I find I am attuned to small details,” she says. “It helps me see beauty on a daily basis and I try to appreciate the gifts we have.”