What you’ll learn in this episode: What the difference between an artist and a designer is The barriers that can make it difficult for solo jewelry artists to enter the retail market, and how Colette overcame them What Colette has discovered about her creative process by working with George Brown College psychology students on a research project Why it’s important for artists to avoid looking at trends in stores and on social media too frequently How a spontaneous haircut sparked Colette’s creativity and paved the way for her future business About Colette Harmon Colette Harmon’s one-of-a-kind accessories are a dazzling blend of crystal, mixed metals and semi-precious stones. With an appreciation for meticulous craftsmanship, the metal meshing and intricate beadwork in each of her statement pieces are an audacious departure from mainstream minimalism. Born in Sisters Village, Guyana, Colette studied fashion design in Toronto before apprenticing as a belt and handbag designer for a leather goods manufacturer. Harmon soon founded her own eponymous label, whose name became synonymous with maximalist glamour. Harmon’s modern approach to vintage flair has earned her a devoted following of customers, fans and fashion stylists from across North America. Her pieces have been sold in Saks Fifth Avenue and Holt Renfrew Canada, and her work has been featured in Elle Canada, Flare, Martha Stewart Weddings and Nylon. She currently focusses on one-of-a-kind couture creations for select clientele.    Additional Resources: Website Twitter Photos Available on TheJewelryJourney.com Transcript: Colette Harmon has seen many trends come and go over the course of her career, but she has never let that influence her work. She has always found an audience for her one-of-a-kind jewelry, even when her hallmark maximalism is supposedly “out.” She joined the Jewelry Journey Podcast to talk about why she defines herself as an artist; how she nurtures her creative vision; and how her job as a leather accessories designer led to jewelry (and how that experience may come full circle in the near future). Read the episode transcript here. Sharon: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Jewelry Journey Podcast. This is the first part of a two-part episode. Please make sure you subscribe so you can hear part two as soon as it’s released later this week.   Today, my guest is Colette Harmon, who is speaking to us from Canada. Toronto to be more specific. I have to say I’ve never met her, and I’ve never seen her jewelry in person, but it’s my kind of jewelry. It’s over-the-top kind of jewelry. You may have seen it on a celebrity on the stage or screen, but if you’ve seen it, you’d remember it. I couldn’t find a lot of information about Colette, so I’m going to let her tell you her story. Colette, welcome to the program.   Colette: Thank you so much, Sharon. It’s a pleasure to be here.   Sharon: I’m so glad to have you. It took us a while to connect, to actually make this happen. Are you a designer? How do you refer to yourself? A Canadian designer?   Colette: That’s a good question. I don’t think of myself as Canadian, but I am a Canadian designer. I think of myself more as an artist as opposed to a designer. To me, a designer is someone who—can I start again?   Sharon: Yes.   Colette: Let me start again. To me, a designer is someone who creates things that can be worn by the masses, who is able to distill things and make them very simple so that everyone can wear them. Like you said, I’m more over the top. I don’t think about the masses. I create for myself. I create things that I, myself, would wear. I don’t really think about it, and I don’t really want the masses to wear my pieces. I want them to be unique. Maybe not one-of-a-kind, but limited editions. I don’t want to see my pieces everywhere on everybody. When you’re creating things that will be liked and appreciated by many, many people, it becomes distilled and watered down. To me, it loses its soul and its ener