Diane Dickin

Handmade Jewelery

After having spent her entire working life in the corporate world, Diane Dickin decided to take an early retirement and enjoy a sabbatical from working (no, that absolutely does NOT mean she is old enough to retire!).

"I had absolutely no idea what I would do after retiring, however, I knew that whatever it was, it would not be back to a regular 9-5 job.

Spending lots of time up north at the cottage during my sabbatical exposed me to a whole new world of creativity, which started with sitting on the dock amidst a group of 8-10 year olds making stretchy ankle bracelets out of seed beads. Over a very short period of time I discovered the love of creating jewellery...from the design idea, to the execution of a design, I was amazed to discover a hidden talent that I never knew existed! To make it even better, I learned the art of Lampworking - the technique of melting glass to create my own glass beads. It has become an absolute passion.

In addition to devouring tons of design books and magazines for ideas, I have taken jewellery design classes at the Haliburton School for the Arts as well as Lampwork courses at Tank Studio in the Distillery District, in Toronto, with acclaimed lampwork artists Amy Johnson and Stepanie Sercisch.

Putting my handmade beads together with a vast array of other high quality components (Swarovski crystals, semi-precious stones, sterling silver, wood and natural seeds, African paper wrapped beads, etc.) has resulted in a style that is truly eclectic as well as organic in nature."