It's a fairy-tale wedding story that turned into a business idea. Big sis was getting married and little sis thought of making something special for the event. Many crystals and several backaches later, a new jewellery line took shape. Not long after the Just Married sign came down, Amanda Vogler had launched her first sample collection. "I put myself to it and wanted to do a really beautiful job for her and made for her a stunning collar necklace with three rows, with crystals draping underneath. It was a spectacular piece," recounts Vogler of the creation that kicked it all off. She ended up creating all the pieces for the wedding party, too.

Now that her intricate crystal, semiprecious stone, and gold work is well-established in stores throughout Vancouver (Blue Ruby [various locations], Hill's of Kerrisdale [2125 West 41st Avenue], the Cross [1198 Homer Street], Peridot Decorative Homeware [1512 West 14th Avenue], and Loulou LUV [3071 West Broadway]), as well as places in the United States, Vogler finds her backaches are continuing without respite. "It's intense work on your back and it gets totally strained and you have to get under your light to see. It's hard work, but I try to remain competitive in my pricing." (Vogler's pieces typically range from $45 to $500.)

Vogler's chandelier earrings can take four hours to craft-a comparatively easy piece for her. To create some of her trademark fringes of cascading stones or gold beads she will spend hours filling out each link. "A big thick fringe with numerous beads added to one link, times 30 links…" she trails off. It's easy to do the math once you've seen her pieces. Layers of white topaz, chalcedony, white opal, pink opal, aquamarine, blue topaz, mother of pearl, and/or rose quartz are accented by delicate laces of gold chain link. The line, as she explains it, is "feminine, bohemian, sort of more glam-boho, not organic. There's lots of sparkle to it and also an elegance to it for sure." The pieces have a very slight antique appearance, mostly due to the smoky and subdued pastel stones Vogler uses. Some pieces, such as a gold-dipped leaf pendant, look very much like a keepsake pressed in a young girl's favourite book.

Celebrities who have bought the line have gone mad for the pieces: singer Sarah McLachlan, Dark Angel's Jessica Alba, and former supermodel Vendela are just a few names. "Vendela was doing a shoot for an ad campaign and a friend of mine was there and wearing my necklace and Vendela went crazy for it." Vogler's jewellery caught McLachlan's eye when she spotted it on the designer's sister, Stephanie, at her Yaletown furnishings store, the Cross.

Vogler has an innate understanding of the way women are attracted to shiny things; it's what appealed to her about her art form in the first place. "I'm just so drawn to sparkly, beautiful things and the colours, and that these things are natural is alluring. They come from the ground and there is something mystical about that." The allure is that this is the kind of jewellery that gently swings as you walk, subtly capturing and reflecting light onto your face.

It doesn't take a whole new wardrobe to enjoy either. A few choice pieces and Vogler's jewellery creates a sense of individual style that can be paired with any type of clothing, from casual to luxe to business. "It makes me feel good when I'm wearing something beautiful, and clothes don't always do that. You can be self-conscious about your body, but jewellery can look beautiful on everybody," Vogler says.