Michelle Choy has an eye for details. As the owner and designer behind Elsie Grey Jewelry, she’s spent years observing, learning about and playing around with materials and designs in order to create the characteristic look of her line.
“They’re basically pieces that are very true to me as a person. I’m a very minimalist person, I like modern looks and clean lines,” she says.
Her journey as a jewellery maker all started out simply enough – with a love of buying local and going to handmade markets. When she found out a designer she liked in Calgary was hosting a jewellery-making course, she knew she had to sign up.
“I thought, OK, this might be very cool, so I went down to take the course,” she says. “And I got to make my very first necklace, which was amazing. Ever since then, I was just like, ‘OK, I’m gonna do this.’”
With her passion sparked, Choy started buying necklaces at stores, and disassembling and reassembling them to make new designs. And just like that, she was hooked.
“I would stay up like all night making jewellery,” she says. “It was fun, I just loved it.”
Now, more than nine years later, Choy makes necklaces, earrings, bracelets that can be dressed up or down. She prides herself on what she calls, an affordable, classic line of elevated designs.
“Sometimes I’ll add in pearls and details like that, but I try to keep it simple. They’re items that you could just wear every day, or take from day to night,” she says. “So they’re simple, classic designs, but with a little twist to the ordinary.”
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