About Lori
Each Place Left Something With Me
I trained as a painter. Oil on canvas, portraiture, the slow study of light on skin. But I never could stay still.
For years I moved through the world collecting experiences the way some people collect stones. New York street fairs. Winters in Mexico. Attending births as a midwife in Tanzania, the Philippines, Uganda. Each place left something with me.
In 2018, I wandered into a small shop in Moab, Utah selling traditional Navajo jewelry. Something shifted. I came home, set up a bench in my guest bedroom, and taught myself to work metal.
Seven years later, I work from a quiet studio in the Haliburton Highlands. The painter's eye never left. I still see each gem as a tiny painting waiting for its frame.
How a piece begins
Design to the Gem
I rarely sketch. Each piece begins with a gem. I turn it over, hold it to the light, wait for it to show me what it wants to become.
Inclusions are features, not flaws. A crack of colour, a cloud of mineral, a landscape frozen in chalcedony. These are the things that make a gem worth setting.
Perfection is not my path. Character is.
Materials
Gold & Natural Gems
I work in 18k and 22k solid gold. Never plated, never hollow. The higher karat gives a richer colour, closer to the ancient jewelry that first called to me.
I care about where materials come from. Some of my gold is Fairmined certified, traceable to small-scale mining operations with real environmental and labour standards. The gems I choose are natural, often unusual, selected for character over convention.
Credentials
Training & Recognition
Education
BFA Drawing & Painting, OCAD University, Toronto
Gem Setting Intensive, Accademia delle Arti Orafe, Rome (2024)
Certification
Licensed Fairmined Gold Artisan
Featured In
JCK, InStore, Metalsmith (SNAG), Gem Gossip, NYC Jewelry Week
Stockists
Pistachios Gallery (Chicago), Robert Goodman Jewelers (Zionsville), Long's Jewelers (Burlington), Trish Boutique (Virginia Beach), Chebe Jewelry (Ponce), 1stDibs
The studio
Haliburton, Ontario
I work from a home studio in the Haliburton Highlands, two hours north of Toronto. Forest on all sides. The quiet suits the work and the way I like to think.
Studio visits are welcome by appointment for custom consultations.
Where to Begin
Browse current one-of-a-kind pieces, or start a conversation about something made just for you.