Flourish + Flame Jewelry
Flourish + Flame Jewelry is an Ottawa jewellery store featuring sterling silver and gold-filled jewellery pieces that are handmade by Dawn in her home studio.
What inspired you to start your business?
I had always loved fun jewelry and when I became a mom, I put all that fun away and opted for reliable (read: boring). When the kids became older, I wanted to start exploring with fun jewelry again but it needed to be in line with my new “mom life”. It had to be effortless to wear and style, shower and hand-wash proof and fit in our family budget. I equally needed something that was uniquely mine; something I could pour myself into and be creative and just close the door and be me.
How do you describe your business?
The first step in the process is sketching designs on paper, all the while knowing, there’s a good chance the design will change as it’s being created. I measure how much of the chosen material will be required for the design and cut with either a jeweller’s saw or flush cutters. Filing the ends of the metal is then a task that must be done carefully and to an accurate angle. At this point, I use a variety of jeweller’s tools to twist, curl or bend the material into the desired shape.
To join the ends of metal to each other, thereby completing the desired shape, I must solder. Solder is a tiny cut piece of metal of my choice and it comes in different metals of either hard, medium, easy and ultra easy categories. Each of these will melt at different melting points, which I must understand prior to attempting the process. Trial and error will assist in the differing melting points.
I will assess if hard, medium, easy or ultra easy solder is required for the piece.
The join must be as tight as possible, sometimes referred to as “light tight”. The join must be free of contaminants such as polish or oil so the last thing to touch the join is a file, not my fingers. I will then dip the piece into boric acid, which is to prevent oxidation of the metal. Flux, which is required for a few reasons, including the flow of the solder, is then added to the join and solder and then I light the torch. The fire is directed at the piece as heat is transferred through the metal. As the heat rises, the solder will flow. It is crucial to diligently watch the piece to prevent the entire metal from melting or from getting fire scale. After soldering, the piece is immediately placed in cool water, and I test the join. If this is strong and if the design calls for it, I will add a handcrafted earring post through soldering the post on using the same process. After cooling off in water, I will test the earring post join and work harden the post with jeweller’s pliers.
The piece then goes into the citric acid for pickling. After pickling, the piece will be rinsed off with water and I will begin the polishing process. This process is lengthy and involves different polishing heads as well as polishing compounds to achieve the shine and brilliance I desire.
If jewellery components are part of the design, this is when they are added. I handcraft all earring posts, earring hooks and jump rings so they will be added.
The final step is the jeweller’s tumbler, which will rotate the piece, mixed with stainless steel pieces. I will tumble the piece for approximately seven hours.
When the pieces come out of the tumbler, I rinse them in water, dry them well, test all joins and give everything a final look and place them on jewellery tags.
I am completely self-taught with the help of YouTube and an amazing community of fellow jewellers.
What’s your bestselling product & why do you think it’s so popular?
Reliable gold-filled stacking rings!
We all love simple, classic, easy and the gold-filled stacking rings are exactly that. With an added bonus of light-catching texture. To create the rings, I use gold-filled wire which comes in varying sizes. I can then add my own flare using different hammers or twisting and shaping the way I want to express myself.
What’s your personal favourite product?
My new Textured Huggie Studs! They’re SO easy to wear, but aren’t just a regular stud or hoop – it’s a mixture of the two, with a subtle texture that catches the light.
What are your favourite local Ottawa businesses?
