By Anna Cipollone

Remember that first beloved gift you got that gave you an escape to a fantasy world? What about later on, when your parents threw it away and you couldn’t have cared less? For some it was a toy, or maybe a costume. In Katelyn Joliat’s case, it was a shiny bow necklace she owned when she was four. “As soon as I started thinking abut it, I phoned my mom and she could have sworn that she kept my jewellery box. We literally went through my old house and we couldn’t find it,” says Joliat of the single piece that inspired her to create K8 Jewellery, a line of vintage-inspired bow tie rings and necklaces. “I just had to do it through my visual of how I remembered it to be, which could have been warped,” says Joliat. With the fading memory of this adored trinket as a starting point, 25-year-old Joliat set to crafting her own line of miniature and oversized bow tie jewellery in 2008.

After attending U of T for Cinema Studies, Joliat began working in an on set art department with inklings toward styling. It was this opportunity as well as a part-time gig in a clothing store that led her to pursue design. “Without that job, I wouldn’t have realized that it’s fairly easy to get into if you have the passion,” she says. “And it felt really good to be doing something on my own.” After a couple of courses in wax making at the Devil’s Workshop on Queen West and practice reassembling antique necklaces, K8 Jewellery was born within the walls of Joliat’s Parkdale home.

Joliat’s vision for K8 Jewellery has a dedication to quality craftsmanship at its heart. As an avid collector of antique clothing and accessories, she credits her love of fashion design as inspiration for her jewellery. The pieces reference the French Renaissance in particular, when bow ties, known as cravats, first became popular among men’s fashion. “The bows originated from that classic element of clothing, especially for men, and the romantic ideal behind a bow tie,” explains Joliat. Her carefully crafted pieces, available in 18k gold plating and sterling silver, are elegant and versatile, ready to compliment pretty much any outfit. “It’s classic and timeless. It’s not a piece that will be outdated and it’s not necessarily going to be just for that moment. It can be consistent throughout different trends,” says Joliat on her designs.

After trying her hand at designing a costume jewellery line called Circa 1974, Joliat says she has come to prefer working with precious metals. “The quality’s there and the longevity’s there. It’s a piece you can have forever,” says Joliat. With the romantic aspect of garments rich in history, the feeling of forever is deeply etched into Joliat’s work. “If someone remembers the necklace that I designed and they have it years down the road or even pass it on through generations, it has that lifetime.” Working with high-quality metals while referencing 19th Century fashion has given Joliat’s work a sentimental grace that seems lost among the modern hipster generation.

Currently working on her next line for K8 Jewellery, Joliat plans to continue with her homage to antique styles. “How I incorporate vintage clothing into my designs will always be a thread that will connect all my bodies of work,” she says. When I ask her what the response from the Toronto fashion community has been to her line, she answers, “There’s a lot of support behind local artists, which is pretty cool. It’s starting to happen more and more.”

With an entire jewellery line sprouting from one small hazy memory, I was curious to sneak a mental peek at the accidentally prolific pendant. Recalling the cherished childhood accessory, Joliat says, “It was a silver necklace bow. It had a bit more movement [than my designs] because it was very girly. I just remember feeling like ‘this is so pretty, I feel so much older wearing this’.”

Ideally that’s the feeling that all jewellery should have, and it’s certainly apparent in K8 Jewellery designs.

K8 Jewellery, with pieces ranging in price from $90 to $235, is available at Delphic and Franny Vintage in Toronto and Blush in Guelph. Joliat is also available for private consultation, custom orders and special sizing by request.

www.k8jewellery.com