CHANTEL GUSHUE

Designer biography:

Based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Chantel is a jewellery factotum. Over the past twenty years, she has consulted as a diamond buyer, studio manager, gemmologist, appraiser, as well as in business operations and administration. She is a Graduate Gemologist and Registered MasterValuer. Her unique set of skills, honed in the studio jewellery world, is complemented by her formal training as a metalsmith. Chantel holds a BFA from NSCAD University and an MFA from MassArt where her studies focused on drawing parallels between crystal growth and the human condition. She maintains an active studio practice while championing projects that give international exposure to the Canadian art jewellery community.

Collection concept:

Flatpack Gemstones are a manifestation of the relationship between the actual and the desired. These gemstones are crafted from common and readily available paper. Through the technique of folding, the paper is transformed into intricate and multi-faceted three-dimensional objects that generate a feeling of desire, luxury, and rarity associated with mined or lab-created gemstones. Despite lacking the same material value as mineral gemstones, Flatpack Gemstones provide a tangible representation of the desired and offer the wearer an opportunity to appreciate the beauty of gemstones while simultaneously participating in a discourse on the financial and social issues often associated with them.

Chantel Gushue (Canada)

CHANTEL GUSHUE

Designer biography: