Long-time award-winning Canadian jewellery designer Claire Vessot tells us about her perspective as a designer in these changing times, along with her own creative adaptive thinking.
With European ancestry from both Switzerland and France, Claire Vessot has inherited artistry that drives the creative passion in her life as she pursues her ever-evolving vision for her design career. Claire lives and works in Montreal and enjoys a rich cultural presence and appreciation for the international influence of the city’s thriving fashion and arts scene.
While earning an impressive 20 industry design awards with accreditation highlights that include Canadian Jeweller magazine, JCK, AGTA and DeBeers, Claire is perhaps best known for her most visible work as a former lead and senior designer of ELLE Jewelry.
A long-time dream realized, Vessot launched www.vessotdesign.com this past November after an 11-month hands-on experience while maneuvering between contracts.
Shop Vessot Jewelry, Claire’s online boutique, features sterling silver-to-14K-gold made-by-order creations, along with a select range of 10K gold essentials with a focus on things she personally endorses such as Italian hoops and light-hearted spreadable rings. Claire’s message in her work is about empowerment, kindness, strength, and confidence – expressions that evoke a unique individual style with her jewelry.
When we spoke a few years back, Claire mentioned to us that collaborative efforts made the design process a pleasure. Claire still maintains that same sentiment today but with a twist:
“Collaborations these days are taking on an even more meaningful definition. I’m currently finding that my clients are like partners in more ways than simply inspiring my design efforts.”
In other words, collaborations and partnerships are changing way designers work.
“Design by contract isn’t enough anymore as we want to feel there is a responsible commitment on all sides towards a successful outcome, moving ahead in a more defined way”.
‘Splitting’ is a term Claire uses to describe her own way of expanding a theme well into a strong collection that holds together, where a single idea branches into several other looks within a concept range. Claire exclaims with a wide grin, “Splitting now to me means less expansion and more variety. Themes or let’s call the designs ‘looks’, are highly desired but with more style range within a concept.”
From the design perspective it’s a welcomed advancement in Vessot’s opinion to be able to work closely with a CAD designer who has spent years perfecting their own craft, who can quickly render her technical designs to perfection, produce head spinning-realistic 3D artwork, all this in advance of costly sample production eliminating waste and saving time with pre-sample adjustments. It’s this teamwork that matches skills and creates something both technologically and creatively blended.
When asked what advice she would give to others, Claire used to say that one should discover what they were good at and stick with it. But she’s since shifted her thoughts because of these changing times. “I still agree with that thinking, as we all have obvious natural strengths and passions that make us stand out. But if you’re going to succeed, having an expanded repertoire or having a first-hand understanding of them is only an advantage that will serve you and your clients well. Taking up CAD, or building great Designer to CAD Artist relationships, embracing the digital world with arms wide open, and any complimentary asset being able to explain and ignite a passion for your brand is where we’ve gone”.
It’s no longer as simple as building your own fabulous designer line and getting it out there to retail operations alone. We all know this. Claire explains, “It’s all-encompassing, somewhere between skipping steps and getting more detailed at the same time. Manufacturers going direct, more unique packaging design, the organics, eco-friendly materials, competitive price points, .com competition, sourcing disclosures, fair trade, social responsibility and giving back, social media with fast-paced additions and let’s not forget some people prefer everything to look ‘Influencer’ natural. And the list goes on”.
Originality still sets fires. Staying present and being true behind your brand is what Vessot feels is essential when connecting to your market.
Claire adds that creating something unique that resonates is what makes something irresistible, and she’s not changing her mind about that belief any time soon.
Claire wraps up the session by saying that overall, the way she works has changed, mostly between technological advancements, the blending of traditional ties combined with new relationships, and the exploration of multiple platforms.
It’s a vibrant and exciting world, rich with domestic talent and skill available to ride the wavelengths that connect us. Being a jewelry designer today brings us back to the original passion of jewelry in ways that an ancient art with relentless and everlasting transformational beauty does. CJ
