Behind the Reversible Necklace: From Idea to Wearable Art

I could talk forever about my reversible necklaces and how they came to life—a process that took over a year from the first idea to the finished piece. One of the biggest challenges was working through the process with a casting manufacturer. There was a lot of back and forth, adjusting my 3D model, testing prototypes, and refining every little detail until it looked and felt right. It took patience, a lot of trial and error, and more cold coffee than I’d like to admit.

With my arts degree, I think I approach making jewelry a little differently than other jewelry designers. While I majored in silversmithing at OCAD University, I also dabbled in textiles, mold making, printmaking, and other art forms. Because of all that, I see myself first and foremost as an artist who happens to make jewelry. Tiny, wearable pieces of art have always fascinated me, and my reversible necklaces are the perfect example.

These pieces let me mix traditional jewelry methods, like lost wax casting, with modern tools like 3D modeling, laser cutting, and hand-painting, turning each necklace into a tiny canvas you can wear. I love that jewelry can be interactive, and the reversible design really plays into that—you can spin it around to reveal a completely different side, like a little secret art moment you carry with you.

Every part of the necklace takes careful attention. Each wood piece has to fit just right, and because manufacturing introduces tiny variations, every new batch needs a little adjusting. I measure and tweak each wood piece by hand to make sure it sits perfectly. Then comes the sanding and hand-painting—layering colors, darkening each etched line by hand between coats, making sure every detail pops.

Polishing is another step that takes patience. Each piece goes through a few different polishing compounds to buff out scratches and bring the metal to a high shine, all while making sure the delicate wood pieces stay untouched. It’s time-consuming, but that’s what makes the finished piece feel special.

I’ll admit—I’m not great at documenting the process. I forget to take videos, or the lighting never seems right…at least, that’s what my perfectionist brain says. But I’m trying to take a page from the author Florence Given: playful, not perfect. So next time, I’ll just take the damn videos, lighting be damned, and enjoy the process.

The reversible necklace isn’t just jewelry—it’s a tiny, hand-painted canvas, a mix of traditional techniques, modern tools, and careful craftsmanship, made to bring a little moment of delight to anyone who wears it.

Thanks for sticking around! Making these necklaces is a long process, but I love sharing it with you. If there’s any part of the process you’d like to see more of, just shoot me a message—I’ll do my best to include it in a future post.