Three Local Makers Dial Up the Creativity

Beauty Hides Inside

The outside of a geode – a hollow rock structure inside which mineral crystals form – may be dull and rough, but crack them open and you’ll find dazzling formations of quartz, amethyst or calcite. Jeweller Anne-Marie Warburton of Gallery Gemma transforms them into eye-catching earrings. “You just never know what’s going to be inside a geode,” she says. “Some are duds, but some have this magnificent crystal inside. Nature is just so wonderful.”

Warburton, who has been a jeweller for two decades, travels to Arizona every winter to look for the brightest and most beautiful geodes to wow her customers at her studio inside the Alton Mill Arts Centre. “And that’s always been our goal, to make something you can’t find anywhere else.” (Geode earrings, from $125 to $150, Gallery Gemma)

The Denim is in the Details

Denim jackets, leather hats and bags get a glow up once Connie Brocklebank gets her hands on them. The maker behind Creations by Brocs uses remnants of materials like leather, lace, cloth and tassels to turn blah into beautiful. Sometimes a small addition like a stripe of colour or an embellishment is all that’s needed to upcycle a piece. Others act as a canvas for a one-of-a-kind design, such as a moody mountain or a Canadian flag. 

Brocklebank sources her items from consignment or thrift stores so each is unique, but also takes orders to upcycle clients’ favourite pieces. She works from her in-home studio in Erin, by appointment only. (Custom denim jackets from $85 to $175, Connie Brocklebank)

Heritage Threads

Loons, hummingbirds, turtles and feathers are just some of the distinctive motifs adorning the tote bags, book jackets and e-reader sleeves hand-sewn by Andrea Sudak of Spirited Creations by AMS. This Caledon resident says she is “especially drawn to designs that feature Turtle Island as they represent a deep connection between all people while honouring our Earth.”

Sudak sources the fabric from an Indigenous-owned company which promotes patterns designed by various First Nations artists. She donates part of her proceeds to the food bank of the Henvey Inlet First Nation, an Ojibwe band in Parry Sound her family hails from. Find her handiwork at BookLore in Orangeville or order online. (Book lover’s bundle from $60, Spirited Creations by AMS and BookLore)

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