Spot the Designer - Christine Rio/ Slate Jewelry Canada

What did you want to be when you were a child? 

I wanted to be a lawyer – specifically a prosecutor. I ended up in banking and investments for about 20 years before I started making jewelry as a hobby.

When have you started creating jewelry? How did this passion come about? 

I started after I left my career to be a stay-at-home-mother. With my long hours, and my husband’s work travel schedule, our nanny was raising the kids and no one was happy (even though she was amazing). I bought an earring kit at a local craft store, and I was hooked. I signed up to sell my very amateur earrings at a craft show within weeks.

What was your first project or significant piece for you and from what point of view?

Torn

I think it would be when I made a cuff that I called „Torn”. It was one of the first pieces made after I discovered that metalworking was such an intense creative passion for me. It became the focal point of the first collection that I was able to present at Vancouver Fashion Week, and it made it onto a local morning tv show where the host even put it on. I realized that I had something different to offer in a crowded jewelry market. My look was going to be distinctive, a cross-between contemporary and the very old. My work was not going to blend into a display with other jewelry. It was going to be the odd one out, and that was ok with me.  It was a look that I have revisited too, recently making a new version, „Remnant”.

Remnant

How do you charge your batteries? What other passions and creative interests do you have?

I make so much noise doing metalwork, my other outlets seem so quiet in comparison. I’ve taught myself bookbinding, and I make collages. I like to read and to cook. I like to simply hang out with my kids and my dogs.

What does the connection between manufacturing tradition and contemporary design mean to you?

I certainly do appreciate the world of design opportunities something like 3D printers have brought to contemporary design. Literally any shape is possible now with a few clicks on a keyboard.  It’s really interesting to see. It’s not where I want to go though.  I like to stay close to traditional methods, to pay homage to the amazing designs that artisans from thousands of years ago were able to craft with the simplest of tools and fire.  I like to use these time-honored techniques to create very minimalist and sculptural designs. It’s how I pay respect to the artists who came before me and to thank them for their inspiration.

Is there a self-portrait piece that speaks most about you? 

Agamemnon photo by Andrea Salpetre

If you are referring to a piece of jewelry that would be closest to a self-portrait in terms of how personal it is, then that would be „Agamemnon”. I have a degree in Classical Studies, and I remember seeing images of this funeral mask during my research for a paper. I imagined how incredible it would have been to have unearthed this face from the ground, not having seen daylight for hundreds of years. I learned chasing and repoussé and wanted to recreate this piece. It was a personal challenge and testament to how far I have come on this journey to be a jewelry artist. I think this neckpiece embodies what I want to say with my jewelry. It is clearly an homage to the old, yet wearable and modern in its execution.

Which material have you not yet used is a temptation and a challenge for you?

Gold. People are asking me all the time for gold versions of my pieces. Yet, because I do so much distressing to the metal, it is very difficult to see myself doing that to something as expensive as gold. It’s meant to be bright, polished and absolutely pristine, isn’t it? It’s hard to imagine taking a gold cuff and crushing it with a hammer or adding a dark patina. 

How do you see the future of contemporary jewelry?

I think contemporary jewelry is on the rise, and will finally get the attention it is due. With more places showcasing art/contemporary jewelry with dedicated jewelry weeks (Romania, Milan, Athens, Munich come to mind), I hope people will start to really notice that more places will get on board with showcasing such designers. We have a place in both the fashion runways and the art exhibition world. Like haute couture, contemporary jewelry can be something fantastical that is meant to be seen more than worn, that is an expression of the most creative aspects of its designer – yet that same designer can break those avant-garde pieces into more wearable objects that can be worn in daily life. Art has a place in everyday life, and I hope the increasing prominence of promoting contemporary jewelry is a path to bringing more art into our world.

Find more about the designer Christine Rio