Valerie Davidson

Handmade Jewelery

Valerie was born in 1961 in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, and grew up on a dairy farm just outside of Keene on the north shore of Rice Lake.

She started making jewellery at the age of 19, when she began an apprenticeship program with Libby Smyth, a local craftsperson. Valerie carried on her studies at Sheridan College School of Crafts and Design and graduated in 1984 from the Metal and Jewellery Arts program. Shortly thereafter, Valerie was awarded a residency at the Harbourfront Craft Studios in Toronto, Ontario. She worked creating her own designs and teaching out of the Harbourfront jewellery studio.

A desire to return to a more pastoral lifestyle took Valerie to the north, where she and husband, David Bond lived in Moonstone. Valerie was one of the founding members of Celeden Studios, a craft co-operative venture which operated from 1986-1988 in Barrie, Ontario.

In September 1988, their first daughter was born - Alice. Not long after this, the family moved back to the Peterborough area and eventually built a house on the family farm. Since then, Valerie has continued to create jewellery from her home based studio, and raise her children with the addition of Charlie, in 1992 and Sarah Jean in 1994.