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Distinctive jewellery has been master goldsmith
Michaela Wolfert’s stock in trade for close to a
quarter of a century. How natural then for her to
mark the 10th anniversary of her company,
Kehla Design, by creating a limited-edition diamond
pendant.
The hand-textured 14-carat gold and diamond
piece, along with a second example of her
work, was a finalist in a major national jewellery
design competition this year. The two pieces
were on display at the Jewellery World Expo
show in Toronto in August as Excellence in
Design finalists for awards sponsored by
Canadian Jeweller Magazine. The award-winning
jewellery designer also added another honour to
a long list of awards when the Metal Arts Guild
of Canada selected her metal sculpture, Sway, as
the recipient of one of four judges’ awards. It is
now being displayed across the country.
As a metalwork artist, Michaela has won
numerous awards over the years for pieces that
include wall art and jewel-encrusted candlesnuffers,
but jewellery is her mainstay — and
passion.
The MAKing of
a jewellery-maker
After completing her apprenticeship, qualifying
as a journeyman, followed by advanced
training at the Meisterschule für Goldschmiede,
Michaela worked as a jewellery designer in her
native Germany until 1990, when she came to
Canada on a one-year work term with Goldart
Jewellery Studio in Ottawa.
Soon afterward, she decided to make
Canada her permanent home. Except for a
short stint in Nunavit, she has lived in the
Ottawa area ever since, where she established a
college diploma program in metalworking.
Teaching others about her art remains an
important aspect of her professional life and,
following in the footsteps of her own training
tradition, she continues to offer regular jewellery-making
classes in her studio.
Her time in the Arctic in 1996 represented
a turning point, Michaela says. This was when
she decided that she would set up her own jewellery
design business after returning to the
Ottawa area.
Initially, Kehla Design was a home-based
business, but for the last three years the company
has operated out of a studio in the Victoria
Woollen Mill in downtown Almonte.
“There is a big difference between being
Due West Magazine • Page 39 • Fall 2008
home-based and having a commercial presence,”
says Michaela. “I like having the separation
between my private life and my workplace.
And this particular location — on the main
street but without a storefront — makes it possible
to have private consultations with customers.”
This is important, she adds, because an
increasing part of her business is devoted to creating
custom-designed engagement rings and
wedding bands. For example, her own 22-carat
gold wedding ring is a diamond set in the centre
of four textured petals on a very heavy base
(“I needed to make it heavy because it is intended
to last for a very long time”).
For someone who believes in quality, there
are no short cuts.
“Every piece is hand-constructed and made
to last,” says Michaela. “And I think of function.
If a ring can’t be worn, it’s no good. I often
make combination pins and pendants, so that
they can be worn more often, and I solder new
endings on chains to strengthen them.”
Although Michaela now employs a staff of
two at Kehla Design, she still designs and makes
all the work on display. “Even if I ask someone
else to work on an intermediate step in a job, I
always check everything,” she says.
Usually, she works in gold, platinum and silver,
which are often blended in a single piece
and combined with a mix of coloured stones.
She creates a variety of styles. Among her current
pieces are what she calls “green” jewellery
— where she uses recycled coloured glass —
and a series of leaf-like designs.
“Recently, my pieces have been geometric,”
she says. “Before that, I was making more curvy,
organic, flowery pieces.”
Examples of Michaela’s work — often oneof-a-kind
pieces or a series on a theme — are on
display in a number of galleries across Canada,
including Lafrénière and Pia and Snapdragon in
Ottawa, Zilberschmuck in Toronto, Harbinger in
Waterloo and Fireworks in Halifax, as well as
Kehla Design in Almonte.
Information
Website: www.kehladesign.com
Telephone or fax: 613 256-7997