The journey that led to the opening of Bamboo and Roses Custom Jewelry began 8 years ago when I first set foot in my current home in Chilliwack, British Columbia. The house was a fixer upper (to say the least) but I fell in love with the charm of this 1930's home and its fabulous garden. The previous owner was a horticulturalist who had lived in the house for 18 years and had lovingly created an e
cosystem of plants that was truly unique in the Chilliwack area. The garden contained dozens of varieties of roses, clematises, magnolias and bamboo plants along with banana plants, a silk tree and a 60 foot tall monkey puzzle tree, to name a few of its exotic plants. After purchasing the home, my husband, Peter and I began the 1 1/2 year project of finishing the inside of the house. When we purchased the house it had been gutted down to the bare framing and still had the original knob and tube electrical system. We renovated the whole home - electrical, plumbing, HVAC, the works. Getting to start from scratch really allowed me to delve into the creative side of my personality (one that had been in hiding for many decades). I also felt a strong responsibility to match the inside of the home to the marvelous garden. What I discovered during the process of renovation is that I feel the most fulfilled when I am engaged in artistic endeavors. I rediscovered how much I love to make beautiful and expressive things. I had dabbled in beading as a hobby for many years but had never considered taking it to the next level. In 2015, I took a couple of courses to develop skills in working with wire which opened up a whole new world of beading for me. With new skills and new supplies in hand, I started to get serious about jewelry making. Over the last 5 years, I have worked at building my skills and developing
designs that express a little bit of who I am. Now that it is 2020 and I have been pushed into what I like to call "Covi-tirement", I figured there is no time like the present to launch my jewelry business. So here I am with my first 60 items for sale, I hope that you find something that you love in my store and will visit it often to see what is new. Bamboo and Roses Custom Jewelry - from inspiration to design