Jessica and Gwynne are the indie handmade jewelry designer/producer of Rosella Resin, where nature meets jewels.
They are two sisters, who love making wearable works of art. Jessica was trained in mouldmaking and resin casting while living in Melbourne, Australia, as a feather-collecting junkie. Upon returning to Canada, she taught Gwynne everything she knew. With Gwynne's superior eye for design Rosella Resin was born. The company is named after the beautiful Australian parrot.
Nature is the world's greatest designer: Rosella jewelry showcases the most beautiful designs found in nature, including feathers, shells, and plants.
The transparent resin transforms delicate and ephemeral natural artifacts into beautifully preserved, wearable, durable jewelry. Resin also has a magnifying property, highlighting every wispy strand of a feather, every grain of wheat or spiral in a shell.
Each piece is unique.
When you wear their jewelry you are wearing a one-of-a-kind item that can never be replicated.
The important part: Parrot feathers and shells are cruelty-free and are sourced from licensed dealers. We only use natural feathers, never dyed feathers. The vibrant colours are the bird's natural feathers.
The interview.
_Where do you live?
J.: We are two sisters from a small town called Seaforth, Ontario. We started the business when we were both home for the summer, alternating between afternoons making jewelry and trips to the Lake Huron beach. There’s only about 2000 people in Seaforth, it’s a relaxed neighbourhood with plenty of nature around to find inspiration in. We even have a neighbourhood cat who thinks of herself as our shop assistant, following us wherever we go.
G.: Now we are living in different cities, each running our own studio. Jessica is living in Ottawa and I am living in Seaforth and Waterloo. We have our business meetings over Skype and do a lot of online collaboration. We’re looking forward to our next ‘real life’ business meeting back home at our favourite restaurant over the holidays.
_Inspiration comes from what?
J.: We take inspiration from nature. There is nothing more beautiful than a perfectly formed feather, or an intricate grain of wheat. We mortals could never surpass nature as a designer, so instead we showcase nature’s most beautiful designs in our transparent jewelry.
G.: Exactly. Not only is nature the best designer in terms of aesthetics, but you can take inspiration from nature in terms of science and engineering too. Just look at the Fibonacci sequence or the Mandelbrot set.
Everyone can be inspired by nature, and most of what we consider to be the greatest designs in the man made world are actually inspired by nature.
_What do you want to communicate the world? Your message.
J.: God is in the details. Beauty exists all around you, you just have to look for it. Patterns in the snow, sunsets, tiny birds, footprints, leaves. It’s awesome in the literal sense of the word.
_In your opinion, What is Fashion?
J.: Fashion is ever changing and connected to the values of the times. I think we’re seeing a lot of nature-inspired jewelry because people want to get back to connecting with nature.
_Recycle or Re-used. Vintage, eco-friendly or natural materials. What's your choice?
J.: Our favorite materials are dried natural artifacts such as feathers, leaves, shells and grasses. We embed these artifacts in transparent resin, in handmade moulds we make ourselves.
G.: The resin is a great media to showcase natural artifacts. The resin has a natural magnifying effect, which truly highlights the beauty of the natural objects.
_The creative process?
G.: We often build upon each other’s enthusiasm and similarly, when one of us is feeling frustrated the other does too.
J.: We have very different styles which really helps our creative process. Gwynne has more of a classic style whereas I am drawn more to hippie styles, sequins and all things boho-chic. We both bring new ideas to the table and if one of us is resistant, if the other is persistent enough a new idea will come through and the other person will come around.
G.: Exactly, and most of the ideas that we were once persistent to turn out to be some of our greatest creations. It is also great having this partnership with two very different styles.
We take inspiration from different places and bring fresh perspective to our designs. I think while our styles are very different, they mesh together to create modern, interesting ideas.
_What is creativity inside you?
J./G.: Creativity is inside every one of us. It’s part of being human. People may think they aren’t creative but they just need some freedom and encouragement. A lot of the artist community perpetuates an elitist viewpoint that is discouraging to anyone who thinks they might not have natural talent, or formal training. You just have to recognize the creativity inside of you, and follow through with your ideas no matter how discouraging other people can be.
Shop @ Rosella Resin
