All images copyright Lisa Ridout Jewellery. Used with permission.
Lisa Ridout (left)

a life well connected

To Lisa Ridout, jewellery is a metaphor for the way that everything in life is connected. Movement, flow, structure, tension, shape, colour and texture are all facets of a person’s life. Lisa expresses these elements in pieces that she designs and makes, by hand, for people to wear while living life and all its experiences.

She graduated with honours from George Brown College’s Jewellery Art and Design program in 1992. In her final year, Lisa learned how to make chain by hand. She instantly recognized her innate ability for, and overwhelming interest in, manipulating precious metal in wire form.

The traditional skill of chain making is a delicate and time-consuming craft. The chain is entirely handmade by drawing silver into wire form and then turning and weaving rings into delicate patterns. Through a combination of adapted historical patterns and unique new designs, Lisa blends her love of stones, pearls and crystals into her sterling silver pieces.

The links and connections woven through the chainmaille jewellery reflect Lisa’s ongoing design process. As in the fabric of life, each idea, concept and relationship leads naturally into the next. This process, which she also applies to her knitting and other handcrafting, has led Lisa to a career as a leader in innovative handmade chainmaille jewellery.