Meet some of the amazing and talented people who help make our jewellery business so successful!
Gardiner Team Members: on the home front…
Brad Gardiner
Let me tell you about my husband, Brad. He is the one who makes all those jump rings, polishes them, weighs them, and packages them. His many years of pre-retirement life as a machinist and maintenance millwright was focused on tools, fixing machinery and production – an excellent fit for this role. He is very particular about high tolerances and quality workmanship. We are proud of the quality of the rings we produce and sell.
Here is a photo of Brad at work. That long metal object holds the coils of wire before they are cut into rings. He is screwing on the cover prior to using the saw. The saw is a Foredom that is hanging in the background. The “dust” on the table is silver – and yes, we reclaim it. The stack of copper wires are used to hold the jump rings while they are in the tumbler getting shiny again.
Brad also inventories and packages all the jewellery kits. As I write this he is preparing a ton of kits in preparation for an upcoming show. Actually, packing is something he’s really good at – you should see what all he can stuff into our van when we’re heading for a bead or jewellery show. I just try to stay out of his way.
Our business would not be what it is without his extensive help, both day-to-day and doing shows. Can you tell I think he’s wonderful?!! The next time you visit our booth at a show, take a look around and you’ll probably spot him hanging about. Please say hello and ask him any questions you have about jump rings.
Stephen Holmes
What would I do without Steve! He’s the guy who keeps the business humming along by making sure my JobPro database is up-to-date and working the way it’s supposed to. This software holds everything! Information about products, vendors, customers, sales, and purchasing. Steve was a programmer at NCR for many years so I’m sure he had a few misgivings about working on a Mac computer (just teasing). I can’t believe how lucky I am to have found him.
Steve has characteristics in common with a bulldog – fiercely determined and persistent as he solves problems that arise. He’s also like a collie, good-natured and calm in the face of potential disaster. And I can also see touches of a poodle – the tendency to be a perfectionist in all he does
Garrett Borland at G. Borland Design Studio
Garrett is my website and design guru. The current version of our website went live in early March 2019.
Richerd Reynolds at Richerd Reynolds Photography
Richerd is the creative genius behind those stunning photos at the top of my website’s Home Page. I thoroughly enjoyed watching him work behind the camera with those models. the jewellery they’re wearing is from my recent book: Fabulous Chain Mail Jewelry: Creating with Components.
Previous Team Members
I would like to say a special “THANK YOU” to all those who have worked with us in the past—at home, at shows in Toronto, Ottawa, Guelph, Montreal, Calgary, Halifax, and in the U.S. in Tucson and Milwaukee. We’ve stopped vending at shows (except for GRBS), but our online business and my teaching is still going strong.
Here are some names: Bisrat Berhe, Kathryn Broadfoot, Sue Henry, Cindy Goldrick, Sam MacKinnon, Laurie Anne Clinton, Darlene Eng, Ann Munro, Deborah Finlayson, Val Ainsley, Dana Schoales, Joanne Neate, Jane Penner, Jana Skladan, Marilyn Coxon, Nicole Benoit Fyen, Jamie North, Gail Speers, Stephanie Dixon,Velda Draper, and Maria Brower. My apologies to people whose names I missed—please remind me!
Their valued assistance occurred here at home, in my booth at shows across Canada and in the U.S., in my classrooms as assistants, at Meet The Teacher night, and for French kit translations. I love you all!
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