Karen Hunter

Karen has been designing and making jewellery since 1983, when she registered her business, while still at the Ontario College of Art. Karen graduated from the Design Department in 1985. In 1990 she took a Niobium workshop, where she found the metal for her! Karen creates her jewellery with Sterling Silver, semiprecious stones and Niobium. Niobium is very light weight, very strong, naturally hypoallergenic, and when anodized, it creates a rainbow of colours. She uses Silversmithing techniques to shape and texture the metals. All of the jewellery is handmade by Karen in her home studio. Geometric shapes, shapes in nature and how metal moves are what inspire her designs, and she loves working with colours. In 2016 Karen made 6000 tiny Niobium Dragonflies for the Royal Canadian Mint, which they attached to a Silver Coin. Karen started doing shows in 1989, and has done shows like Signatures Toronto, Originals Ottawa, Muskoka Arts & Crafts Summer show, Summerfolk, Lake Scugog Studio Tour, and Guild Alive with Culture.