While all of Hollywood seems to be searching for the perfect piece of conflict-free glamour, Danish-born/Montreal-based designer Camilla Jørgensen believes she has one heck of an alternative—and it was on full display at Nathalie DuBois-Sissoko’s suite for all to admire. With a mix of Swarovski Crystals, semi-precious stones and precious metals, Jørgensen devised her Micalla collections—one line which has a prêt-a-porter cache and another that is clearly one-of-a-kind couture. Though many young jewelry designers are doing very interesting things with Swarovski crystal, Jørgensen does it with an edge and a modern Scandinavian sensibility.
Her background in manufacturing, a successful stint in retail ownership, time as a medical student in London and a passion for charity work that brought her to Africa also plays a role in her unique approach to jewelry design. After meeting and marrying a Canadian pilot, she settled into life in Montreal and soon after that lent moral and emotional support to a friend diagnosed with cancer. To lift the friend’s spirits, she engaged her in making jewelry to distract her from life’s challenges in the cancer ward.
Noticing the healing impact creativity had both on herself and her friend, Jørgensen found herself returning to her entrepreneurial roots, and started designing seasonal lines of handcrafted jewelry using carefully selected semi-precious stones, gems, pearls and sterling silver that would form the foundation of Micalla. Jørgensen’s inspiration is drawn from the unique nature of each stone thereby creating a quality piece that is as timeless as it is individual and can be worn for years to come.
Since the inception of Micalla, and the enthusiastic embrace of the line by Canadian and American celebrities, she has moved forward to create her bridge line, Callura, which offers fantastic, affordable everyday pieces that echo the sensibility and global style of her higher end Micalla lines has seen that jewelry, and accessories in general, are essential to complete any high fashion outfit. All three lines not only appeal to the fashion conscious, but the globally aware.
“We actively seek out small, artisanal mines with an eye to the future of the environment,” says Jorgensen. “We will not buy stones from suppliers who cannot produce a concise supply chain. We want you to know that every piece of jewelry you buy from Micalla and Callura will be free of the shackles of child labor and unfair work conditions and that each stone will be mined from the earth without great harm or erosion to the very birthplace of nature. We are also actively seeking societies and communities who share our values and are planning a guild or foundation in the near future.”
Prices run $100 to $5,000 for the Callura line and $250 to $8,000 for the Micalla pieces. All purchases from Micalla result in a donation to such charities as Ruban Rose for Breast Cancer Research, The West Island Palliative Care Clinic near Montreal and The Animal Rescue Network which is a no-kill shelter for abandoned animals. To read more about Camilla Jorgensen’s design outlook and charitable leanings, visit www.micalla.com.
This week, a lucky winner will receive a lovely piece from the Callura collection.
Winners will be randomly selected and notified March 22, 2010. US only. Rules
