One local woman has had the opportunity to not only shoot for the stars, but to reach them – twice.
A kindergarten teacher in Cold Lake with the Lakeland Catholic School District, Nadine Deslauriers-Friesen had no idea that when she started crafting her handmade jewellery 15 years ago it would one day land her at the Emmy's and Golden Globes.
“I started out doing floated bead, so you have a cable and it's like the bead is floating through the necklace. Last year one of my friends said to me ‘why don't you do some pieces for me'. She's a teenage author, she wanted some steampunk pieces but steampunk was quite new to me,” said Deslauriers-Friesen.
She added, “I started making necklaces with lace and cabochons and I was hooked as soon as I got into it. The lace jewellery has been growing and growing.”
In a room in the basement of her family home, she orders the lace, cabochons and settings, which she then crafts into necklaces, bracelets and other accessories. Deslauriers-Friesen sold her completed pieces at craft shows and comic conventions in Alberta and Saskatchewan, that was until last year when a colleague suggested she try giving away her jewellery to celebrities at the pre-Emmy DPA gifting suite.
“I thought like ‘are you serious', nobody's going to contact me for that. I'm just from Cold Lake. A week later I go an email from the boss for the DPA gifting suite, she had saw my website and she loved it, she said they would love to have me...she said the stars would love me, they love French people, they love Canadians and it's a handmade product.”
Three months later in Aug. 2014, Deslauriers-Friesen was in the pre-Emmy gifting suite, giving her jewellery to Emmy nominees, producers and publicists. Before long, she was already invited to showcase her handcrafted jewellery in the pre-Golden Globe DPA gifting suite in January.
“When I did the pre-Golden Globes, I was the only Canadian there giving handmade jewellery. It was pretty impressive for me to think that some people were giving away their jewellery and it was these million dollar diamond necklaces...and here I was with my little lace jewellery.”
For a designer, there's nothing better than having people recognize you for your creation. Deslauriers-Friesen was thrilled when stars that had taken her jewellery at the Emmys recognized her and returned for another piece. At the pre-Golden Globes, 60 pieces of her jewellery that had been made from her basement in Cold Lake were given out to celebrities.
“The CEO who takes care of the gifting suite brought so many stars through. We had four nominees who won Golden Globes for categories like best actress, best show. I have pictures with Jennie Urman the producer and Gina Rodriguez the actress both from Jane the Virgin, stars from Boyhood, I had actors who took some jewellery for their girlfriends or wives...it was an amazing time, I get excited just talking about it because it's like ‘woah, I've been there twice' and my jewellery was even better received this time.”
What's next for the jewellery designer? Stylist Derek Warburton is taking some of Deslauriers-Friesen's pieces on his tour of morning shows throughout the western United States, presenting her newest Lavish Collection as gift ideas for Valentine's Day. While she's hoping to expand her client base, the humble designer said her job as a teacher and her family always comes first.
“I was approached by a marketer in Los Angeles, but that's hundreds of thousands of dollars and I'm not ready for that. I was invited to go to the pre-Oscar awards gifting suite, the pre-People awards, music awards but I don't have the money for that. I have to pay for everything when I do those gifting suites, the plane, the hotels, the meals, nobody sponsors me or anything,” said Deslauriers-Friesen.
Currently, her jewellery and accessories are sold online at www.etsy.com/shop/jewelrybynadinef and locally at Icing's Bridal Boutique in Cold Lake. She added that she's hoping to find a boutique in Bonnyville that would be open to selling her pieces.
Like any designer, Deslauriers-Friesen's goal is to one day have people across the country recognize her and to see more celebrities wearing her pieces, but she said her biggest obstacle is a lack of knowledge about marketing and business.
For right now, the local designer expressed that she is just focused on enjoying every moment and new experience that comes with her unique jewellery.
“I just want people to wear my jewellery, I'm just so proud when people wear my jewellery and I can say I did that. How many people have the chance to go to the pre-Golden Globes or pre-Emmys, I'm one of the fortunate enough to do that. I'm just from Cold Lake, I'm just a teacher. It's pretty amazing.”
