Leonardo Da Vinci notably said that water is the driving force of all nature. For jewellery designer and silversmith Caitlyn Chapman, water is also the thematic focus of her life’s work—her stunning collection of textured sterling silver jewellery.
Growing up in Qualicum Beach and Kelowna, Chapman was inexplicably drawn to water.
“I can’t swim,” she says. “And I hate getting wet. But I have to be near water. I love to be at the beach and watch the waves and the way the tidal pools shimmer. It brings such joy to me.”
After studying fine arts and photography, Chapman worked in a photography supply store in Kelowna while building her photography business. She and her husband Mark Stafford moved to Victoria in 2016, where she continued to work in a photography supply store, then a fashion boutique on Lower Johnson. But it wasn’t until she inherited her grandmother’s diamond that she discovered jewellery making.
“It was beautiful but badly needed a new setting,” she says. “As I researched my next steps, I found myself learning all about jewellery.”
Chapman found herself going down an Internet rabbit hole: “I ended up watching videos about how things are soldered together and how a ring is built,” she says.
That interest led her to take a basic course at Stairway Studio, a jewellery school in Victoria’s Market Square, in 2019.
“It was pretty basic, like how to use a hammer, how to use a torch,” she says. “But I fell in love with the process—the history, humanity’s relationship with jewellery—and I soon sought to learn everything I could about it.”
After hand-fabricating jewellery for some time, she and her husband taught themselves how to do lost wax casting. Now Chapman could achieve the designs she imagined, like her stacking Shoreline rings, Flow loop studs and Puddle earrings
and rings.
“I really wanted textures that feel like water,” she says. “I like the idea of metal looking and feeling like it’s liquid. I have this distinct memory of getting one of those metallic artist pens as a kid, and breaking the tip off it and pouring the liquid gold out. I thought, ‘Oh, yeah. This is what I want.’ My Flow loop studs are very reminiscent of the day I broke open that pen.”
For the first few years, Chapman and her husband lived in a one-bedroom apartment and hauled their metalworking equipment to and from a maker space in Victoria. Then last year, they purchased a home with a detached studio in Courtenay, where Chapman creates her work today.
In addition to her plain silver pieces of jewellery, she often adds gemstones such as moonstone, jasper and labradorite, as well as precious stones including diamonds, rubies, garnets and sapphires.
“Sapphires are my favourite,” she says. “They come in every colour of the rainbow and are so sparkly and wonderful.”
Chapman now does all her casting and hand fabrication herself but credits her husband with helping her in myriad other ways.
“He is such an important part of this operation, from lifting heavy things and handling any math needed to picking me up and dusting me off on days I want to give up,” she says. “There would be no business without him.”
Going forward, Chapman continues to introduce new designs, including her new Ripple rings and a stunning, heavy fire agate chain. In addition to her online business, she recently hosted a trunk show at Wilson & Co. Gallery in Ladysmith and sells at a number of other galleries across BC and at specialty markets. One day, she hopes to open her own retail store, perhaps to focus more closely on bridal pieces or fine jewellery.
“Retail offers a more relaxed atmosphere,” she says. “For my customers and for me.”
While Chapman says she loved her work as a professional photographer, being able to retreat into her studio for weeks at a time to create what she wants to create is very appealing.
“And the concept of somebody wearing my work on their body and being involved in somebody’s hopes and dreams is wild to me.”
One thing is certain: Chapman’s love of water will continue to influence her designs.