Connor Arsenault
Special to the Review
Revelstoke’s newest storefront is jam packed with unique nature-inspired and sustainably crafted jewelry.
Sharing space with Revelstoke’s flower shop right downtown, Kat Cadegan Jewellery caters to those looking to adorn themselves with unique pendants, rings and earrings, while supporting all things local.
COVID has left many of us stuck in the amber, but Kat Cadegan has seized the opportunity. From the initial conversation with Christine Pavlik of the flower shop in mid-October to a grand opening in early December, Cadegan couldn’t be more pleased with how the store has turned out.
Everything has been created in Revelstoke, including the display cases.
Cadegan and her fellow designer and crafter Stefeni Wood have both done extensive training in jewelry making.
Cadegan spent a few years in Mexico apprenticing under the wild and zany Billy King.
“He’s hard to describe in a way you can print,” she says with a laugh. “Billy is a stormy sea.”
He is wildly unpredictable, but very talented and gifted at bringing out the creativity in his students and inspiring confidence to pursue these ideas, she said.
After her experience in Mexico, Cadegan graduated from the Kootenay School of the Arts in Nelson and did two artist residencies in Nova Scotia, where she is originally from.
Wood, who has been working with Cadegan since 2018, is a graduate of the Gemological Institute of America and an indispensable addition to the shop with the skills she brings to the bench, said Cadegan.
“We have a tremendous amount of fun, 95 per cent of the time in the studio, we’re just laughing and the other 5 per cent we’re on the floor looking for something we dropped.”
Cadegan is passionate about the ethical sourcing of her gems and materials.
In a trade that has historically been characterized by unfairness and exploitation, Cadegan buys her gemstones through an American organization called the Gem Legacy Project.
This group makes sure that the people on the ground mining and collecting the raw gemstones are treated equitably and fairly.
And, through a charitable program run by the organization, Cadegan’s gemstone purchases have provided a months worth of meals to over 50 children in East African communities that have been hard-hit by COVID.
Though the store is stocked with their own designs, the team also welcomes commissions and special requests. Cadegan and Wood will melt down old rings, pendants and trinkets and rework them into something with a more modern feel.
Kat Cadegan Jewellery is located at 211 Mackenzie Avenue. Follow the journey on Instagram @katcadeganjewellery and see a selection of the products available on their website, www.katcadegan.com.
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