After living and learning in several locations around the globe, Nicky Boehnisch is able to incorporate a vast range of influences into her jewellery designs.
Boehnisch’s Forged Storm Custom Jewellery is based on the nuts and bolts of a workshop that includes a tiny forge, TIG welder, rolling mill, cleaning station, microscope, mounting bench, soldering equipment and a multitude of hand tools, but it’s manipulating precious metals like gold, silver and platinum while incorporating gemstones that brings her work to life.
“If you can imagine something, I can create it,” said Boehnisch. “Each piece is 100 per cent unique – that’s what I pride myself on, creating something unique. If you want to wear something everyone else is wearing, you can always go to a chain store.”
Born and raised in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Boehnisch’s eye for beauty drew her to nature. At one time, she pondered a career in marine biology, but a need to create through hands-on processes led her to jewellery design.
She attended Russel Road Art College in South Africa and completed a five-year apprenticeship with Francarlo’s Jewellery in Port Elizabeth. After qualifying as a goldsmith, she moved to London, England to earn a master in fine jewellery designation at the Sir John Cass University Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design. She’s also earned her diamond grading designation.
While travelling in Europe, she purchased a tin with a rugged summit on it, which sparked an interest in mountains, and 14 years ago travelled to Banff to visit her brother.
“I loved it here,” she said, “and fell in love with the mountains. My brother said ‘why don’t you try and get a job here?’ I worked at Freya’s Jewellers for a day on an ammolite piece and they asked if I’d be interested in working for them.
“I said I could be back in a year and that’s where this started. From the beginning, I loved the idea of creating something beautiful and unique with my hands and here I am in Banff.”
Jewellery wasn’t Boehnisch’s sole interest in the mountains, of course. While in Banff she married and now has three youngsters.
She worked for Freya’s for five years, and continues to do repair work for the store, while Stratton’s Jewellers in Canmore is her main showroom, along with www.forgedstormjewellery.ca.
“I’ve pretty much worked for everybody locally,” she said. “And working in a workshop, without having a storefront, is challenging, but my kids come first and that’s a full-time job as it is.”
Often, a Forged Storm work begins at the very heart of the matter; by using a propane forge to melt down gold, silver or platinum. It’s then poured into ingots of various shapes and from there, drawn or worked into suitable wire or bands.
“For me, I love it when jewellery has meaning, it’s such a personal thing. I like to have a person’s character and spirit in a piece,” she said. “I like to have a story to work with.”
Her pieces with a story include a pendant created for the Banff Soroptomist Club’s first president, Pearl Riley for a 21st anniversary. The piece, which featured a stylized “21” and was to be set with 21 stones and a pearl, was auctioned off as a fundraiser. For some reason, a setter had placed only 18 stones in the pendant, but the woman who bought it for her 18-year-old daughter’s birthday loved it.
Within the story is the fact that two of the woman’s sons had passed (the 1 and the two 2) and, because a pearl may represent a tear drop (of joy), it was the perfect gift.
Another challenge that stretched Boehnisch’s resourcefulness was creating a ring from a very poor, very grainy, photograph of a woman’s hand. The ring, which had great sentimental value for its owner, was lost and Boehnisch was tasked with replacing it.
Stepping outside the box, Boehnisch also re-purposes sterling silver cutlery into wearable jewellery, thus transforming a cast off piece into something valuable.
“I like it when there is real symbolism for a client,” she said. “I think each piece should have an attachment to people (i.e.: silver snowflake pendants for Banff wardens).”
Another challenging work was to recreate a drawing a youngster did for a grandparent into a 4x2 inch silver and brass Christmas tree ornament.
“I do everything from the mundane to the ridiculous,” said Boehnisch. “I try to meet everyone’s needs and I can do everything in-house.”
Always upgrading her education to keep up with the latest trends, Boehnisch is also excited to now have access to pink diamonds from the Argyle Mine in Australia.
