Maureen O’Connor Jewellery

I am a jewellery designer, glass bead artist, and silversmith. The work of creating a piece of jewellery is extremely engaging and stimulating. Making jewellery provides me with the opportunity to play with colours and textures, and to express myself as I experiment with the age-old fascination of personal ornamentation. It is always my intention that the person who wears my jewellery will be positively affected. 

The history of glass beadmaking goes back 4000 years. Silversmithing is also an ancient art. The approach to these two practices has not really changed over the years. The tools used have virtually always been the same. Interestingly, the processes for creating adornments from silver and glass are similar, although the specific techniques are hugely different. Respect for fire is essential!

Flameworking to turn solid, cold Murano glass rods into a molten state in order to meld them into the desired form and fuse them with other colours has taught me about patience. Working with silver wire and sheet to cut, bend, hammer, and solder my way to constructing an article has taught me about perseverance.

The adornments that I make are painstakingly, individually, hand-done: each silver clasp, silver bead, silver link is made one at a time. I make each lampwork bead from Murano glass, one bead at a time. The handcrafted silverwork with the lampworked beads combine to become a one-of-a-kind art piece. I also work with a variety of stones and pearls.

Nothing is cast, nothing is mass produced. I do all the work on Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada. I hope you find pleasure in the results.

Occasionally our artwork and jewellery selections change, so please contact Sooke Harbour House for pricing and availability. We will be happy to hear from you and answer any questions that you have.