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Vancouver is home to a thriving fashion industry made up of individuals committed to its growth and success. Get to know these personalities in The Inseam and discover what makes the Vancouver Fashion scene so awesome. |
Photo: courtesy Sonja Picard
There are few pieces in one’s life that hold symbolic value - not to mention, the power to motivate and uplift one’s mood. The Sonja Picard Collection is a jewellery line that carries “wearable mantras” with a positive message. The pieces are handmade, hold a unique, vintage style and use fine quality materials.
I meet Sonja Picard at her beautiful Main Street studio and boutique, which houses the artist’s work, which has spanned 20 years.
Valerie Tiu: You have been an artist for years. Can you tell us about your background?
Sonja Picard: The first ten years of my career was based on ceramics. I was in studio ceramics, architectural ceramics and fine arts. I created a line of vases that caught the attention of a leading giftware company, and they bought the rights to my designs. That went worldwide and I designed for them for a little while. That was a pivotal point for me. I wanted to get out of ceramics and got into jewellery design, which I have done now for ten years.
VT: What led you to start your jewellery collection?
SP: It started out on a dare actually, through someone that I was dating at the time. I was doing sculptures that were five feet tall and he suggested that I do jewellery. As something that I could hold in my hands, I found it to be quite intimidating.
At the time, I had been about three or four years into the study of yogic philosophy. I have a guru who is a scholar in the Vedas, which is the whole philosophy of yoga. I was so inspired by it that I started chanting the mantras and realized that it had such an amazing power to heal. I started dreaming up designs, but I didn’t know what they were. I didn’t know if they were sculptures, I couldn’t understand what they were but later I realized that it was jewellery. I thought it was a great way to give back in the knowledge of it. People could have a wearable mantra, in the sense that it could act as a positive affirmation for the day. The line now has grown into over 400 pieces.
VT: How would you describe your design aesthetic?
SP: My design aesthetic is very organic. I actually hand carve each piece of wax. I am in a meditative state and I chant during the process of making the piece. A lot of jewellery is made with CAD and it’s just not my aesthetic - I want the human touch in it. I want my work to convey old world, and I want it to look old. I like that I am touching and making each original piece. That’s how the originals are made and therefore the quality and aesthetic of that shows up.
VT: Can you take us through your design process? How do you go about creating unique styles?
SP: I dream about it. Sometimes when I travel, I am inspired by the architecture and the environment. I was in India over a year ago, but I’m still downloading stuff in the back of my mind that are coming out in my paintings and my jewellery. My entire lifetime will never be able to see the reality of those pieces in my sketchbooks, so I have no shortage of pieces to put out there.
VT: What kind of materials do you use?
SP: Silver, gold, diamonds. We like to use Canadian diamonds just because of their ethical mining processes. We have a company policy called Himsa, which means non-injury to the planet, so we try to do whatever we can to reduce our carbon imprint. We do not source outside of the country. Everything is done in Vancouver and I hire local talent to help me create the pieces.
VT: You have a program called “Recycle your love”. Can you talk about that?
SP: I was so inspired by listening to many women who say that have lots of gold, diamonds, or listening to women who would say things like, “I’ve got an old engagement ring but I don’t want to have anything to do with it anymore, because it was from a past relationship.” I see how women would disempower themselves with a piece of jewellery. So I thought, why not look at it differently? Why don’t you empower yourself? This relationship and all the people that have given you jewellery, it has a story. Jewellery carries a vibrational quality. It was given to you in love and now you can transform it into a piece that resonates with who you are now. It’s about utilizing all these old pieces, taking all these stories, and creating something positive. I feel like it’s a gift, not only to the planet by recycling, but also a gift to this woman that can take her valuable belongings and create something that’s really unique.
VT: What has been your biggest accomplishment to date?
SP: Creating this beautiful gallery. As an artist, you are really putting yourself out there in the world in so many ways. To have my name out there on a banner and everything that I do in here – the glass, my paintings, my jewellery – is a culmination of 20 years of my studies of the arts and creativity. It’s all me, so I would have to say that was my biggest accomplishment.
VT: What’s next for you?
SP: Just to keep the collection growing and evolving; keeping it fresh. Just to push myself artistically and hopefully create pieces that people can continually resonate with. It’s just a really big gift and something I greatly value.
VT: What makes Vancouver so awesome?
SP: I love the fact that it has four distinct seasons; the whole year is broken up, which is nice. I love the west coast “crunchy granola” attitude - we’re very chill. We’re very eco-conscious. We have the opportunity of growing things here. We have an amazing variety of food and fish. It’s a gorgeous city – those big, amazing mountains, the ocean… it’s a playground for outdoor people. I’m really grateful to be living in this stunningly beautiful city.
