When it comes to baubles and bling, Christie Grace pays attention to the trends but she certainly doesn't follow them.
Instead, the North Vancouver jewelry designer aims to create timeless pieces that can be worn for years.
"My work is more about art and soul," she explains. "I feel like that has way more longevity."
Such is the case with her latest jewelry line, simply called Grace. Released in late 2013, the collection includes pendant necklaces and earrings (complementary rings are coming in the spring) featuring floral motifs. The idea for the line came to her a few years ago on a trip to Italy where she was inspired to reproduce the elegant flower and leaf patterns she saw in art and architecture.
"These are actually classic," Grace says of the motifs embellishing her jewelry, explaining that similar designs can be found on furniture upholstery, women's dresses and even wallpaper.
The necklaces and earrings are available in sterling silver or bronze. In either case, Grace treats the metal to give it an antiqued look.
"They're already kind of like your grandmother's treasured necklace," she says of the finished products.
The pendants come on either a sterling chain or a deer tan leather cord, the latter option having a more hip-casual look, Grace says.
"The thing that's cool about Grace is it's something you can wear every day," she adds.
Because flowers and leaves are symbols of nature, Grace says her new collection will remind wearers of their connection to the natural word.
"When you connect to your inner nature you are grounded in the power of your own identity, the power of your own expression and the power of your own grace."
In recent years, Grace has focused her attention on custom work and one-ofa-kind jewelry pieces, but her latest collection marks a return to the production line. By using computeraided design to reproduce the same motif many times, she is able to offer her jewelry at a lower price point - ranging from $55 to $225. Still though, she files, sands, buffs and treats each piece individually. And she is also open to creating customized Grace pieces if, for example, a customer wanted to upgrade the metal to gold or add a few accent diamonds.
Grace developed a love for jewelry at an early age. She was inspired by the many custom, handcrafted pieces her grandmother wore and eventually went on to study jewelry design and fabrication at Toronto's Central Tech Art School.
She is a familiar face on Bowen Island, having run her own studio there for 14 years. But last spring she moved to 195 Studios - Artists on Pemberton in North Vancouver.
When the multitalented artist isn't making jewelry she's pursuing her other creative ambition - jazz music. In fact, she is currently recording her third album, set for release this fall.
"I'm always working on music no matter what," she says when asked how she balances her two passions.
She often finds herself singing in her jewelry workshop and for that reason always keeps a pen and paper handy should songwriting inspiration strike while she's filing away at a ring or pendant.
"It's very meditative when you're doing that kind of repetitive work over and over," she explains.
Those interested in Grace's self-titled collection may want to act sooner rather than later. The designer says she has created and discontinued dozens of jewelry lines over the years.
"I'm not going to be making Grace for 30 years.
It's just not the way I do things."
She frequently has what she calls "Forrest Gump moments," when she abruptly decides to stop what she's working on. "OK, I'm done, I don't want to do that anymore," she'll say, moving on to a completely different project.
"I'm a bit of an enigma in the sense that you can't really nail me down. I'm experimenting all the time."
The Grace collection is available at Wren Boutique on Bowen Island, at Grace's North Vancouver studio (by appointment only) and online at christiegrace.com.
