What's in a name?

Over the years, I have been asked many times where the names of my creations come from. And the answer, I always say, is everywhere! Sometimes I name things after people in my life or those who custom ordered the piece, other times it is celebrities or something from the entertainment world. Recently I named three pairs of earrings after Olympians, but most often, I am completely stumped as to what name to choose. When that happens, I will visit baby name websites for ideas. Ultimately, I like to choose names that fit the personality of the piece. I have compiled a list of all the names I have ever used for my jewellery and here are a few tidbits about names that were inspired by popular culture:

Carice: I watched the movie The Black Book as I made the necklace and the protagonist was played by Dutch actress Carice van Houten.

Romilda: These black hypersthene earrings were named after Romilda Vane from the Harry Potter universe because I always pictured her with straight black hair.

Margaux: The prestigious winery Château Margaux was the inspiration behind the name because the earrings' garnets were wine coloured and the cluster style looked like grapes.

Lydia: The purples and blacks in these earrings reminded me of the girl from the Beetlejuice cartoons.

Fiametta: I had just finished reading In the Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant, and that was the name of the title character. Also, the pale blue calcites in the earrings perfectly complemented the colours of the book cover.

First Olympic gold and customization

The last of the Olympian earrings is the Maelle, named after the first female Canadian to win a gold medal on home soil. There are magnificent giant citrines, matching golden tourmalines, mystic pink quartzes, and lemon quartzes:


One of my coworkers loved the cheery colours but wanted something shorter so I substituted citrine coins from the Salome earrings for the large briolettes. We also agreed to use one golden tourmaline and one hessonite per earring to liven things up and here are the resulting Kathleen earrings:

Another Olympian

Here are the lovely Tessa earrings I mentioned in my previous post. They are named after Tessa Virtue, the Canadian ice dancer who partners with Scott Moir. The earrings have a combination of blues, greens, and whites, just like the colours of the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, and are anchored by beautiful tropical blue apatites.

Three Olympians

The 2010 Winter Olympics are over (though the Paralympic Games are still ongoing), and I have three unique souvenirs. Three of my pieces have been named after Canadian gold medallists: Charlie (Charles Hamelin), Maelle (Maelle Ricker), and Tessa (Tessa Virtue). Here is the Charlie:

Introducing Karine

Things have been busy behind the scenes at the Aria Industries because a number of new items will be posted in the shop very soon! I am in the process of editing photos of the items themselves and thought I would share one of my most recent creations... This is the Karine, which features a juicy amethyst just below a nest of tiny aquamarines, morganites, rose quartz, white topazes, amethysts, and pearls.

Olympic break

This past weekend was spent watching speedskating, curling, and of course hockey, and in between those sports I also managed to squeeze in Terminator Salvation, An Education, and Inglourious Basterds. Don't ask me how, I just did. I also named three pairs of earrings after Canadian Olympians. Which gold medallists were they named after? Stay tuned to find out!