With pieces like this playfully bold necklace in agate and white jade, the Gingerly line mixes simplicity and precision. As fall progresses, look for the collection to venture into richer jewel tones like emerald green, deep purple, and dark blue.

Megan Wray is picky—at least when it comes to her jewellery line, Gingerly. That’s not just the name of her line; it’s also the way she works: carefully and delicately. Of course, it pays to be meticulous when your pieces are handcrafted and incorporate semiprecious stones. “I’m really picky!” Wray says with a laugh. “I want everything to be really good quality.”

Wray’s precision is palpable in her collection. Her fall line includes a long sterling-silver wide-looped chain with fire-cracked turquoise agate, a shimmery white agate and white jade beaded necklace, and a bevelled sardonyx necklace in jade green with pearly white swirls. The necklaces have handmade clasps that feature a whimsical curlicue pattern.

This season, Wray is emphasizing jewel tones, including emerald green, deep purple, and dark blue. “It’s more classic colours and textures,” Wray tells the Straight over lattes on a trip into Vancouver to stock up on supplies. She’s definitely not afraid to make bright pieces: “A lot of people will say, ”˜Everything in my closet is black and white,’ but mine is mostly patterns and colour. But I don’t mix and match!”

She wants her pieces to be simple, appealing, and fun: “I make sure there’s consistency throughout my line. I like everything to go together.” Wray keeps her designs current while maintaining a cohesive style and an affordable price range. (Earrings start at $28 and necklaces top out at $65.) “I’m always evolving and always changing,” she says. “I want my customers to keep coming back to me for new pieces, but I also want them to understand who I am as a designer.”

And who is that, exactly? Wray, a bubbly 27-year-old who hails from Maple Ridge, is dedicated and ambitious, and has a truly creative spirit. It runs in her family: “My great-grandfather was a silversmith,” she reveals. “His influences and his pieces were always around. My mom and my grandma had tons of his stuff. He made simple things, but they were different and bold.” His creativity and knowledge must have somehow worn off on Wray: she was selling earrings door-to-door before she was out of elementary school.

At 22, Wray decided to take her hobby seriously and start her own company. She considered going to school to study journalism, but instead she pursued her interest in jewellery design. “I just thought I was young enough that if I decide to go back to school, I can,” she says. Her success was almost immediate. “I did my first Vancouver Gift Show in March 2006 and picked up about 10 venders that first time.”

Jewellery is her passion, but Wray is also a musician (she plays the guitar and piano and sings) and a successful shop owner. Wray opened her Gingerly store (11869 227th Street, Maple Ridge) in March 2008, and it’s been warmly received. She stocks the shelves with her own work, but also saves space for other Canadian and Vancouver-based jewellery and accessory designers.

Wray’s carefully crafted creations are also available at Briers (2070 West 4th Avenue), Favourite Gifts at the Lonsdale Quay Market (219–123 Carrie Cates Court, North Vancouver), and Trio Diamond and Gold Jewellery (4669 Kingsway, Burnaby).

“I still do some work from home, but mostly I do it at the store,” Wray says. “There’s a little side room where I make all my jewellery now. Basically, if I need some more stock I’ll just go in there and whip something up!”