Fall for Local: GREY by Becki Chan finds jewellery inspo in geometry

In anticipation of Fall For Local’s biannual pop-up market, taking place on October 22 at the Pipe Shop Building (115 Victory Ship Way, North Vancouver), we’re getting to know some of the fair’s 70-plus independent designers and small-business owners.

Today, we meet Becki Chan, metalsmith and founder of GREY by Becki Chan.

Who are you

My name is Becki Chan, I’m the designer and maker of GREY jewellery. I also design brand interiors and organize PechaKucha Night.

What’s with the name

GREY's clean and minimalist perspective manifests through the use of primary forms, linear relationships, and geometrical composition.

The innumerable shades of grey within the silver have always fascinated me. It’s quite elegant and refined. It resonated with my design aesthetic.

My jewellery line is also named after my cat, Hanna Grey.

Describe your craft

I create handmade jewellery and art objects from my studio at MakerLabs. Given my educational background in sculpture and architecture, I find beauty and inspiration in structure and geometry.

Each piece is developed out of my sculptural work and is defined by a stripped-down vocabulary of form. Cast in silver, elementary lines and simplified shapes combine and repeat with slight variations and irregularities.

Business philosophy

There are certain people who want to buy a jewellery piece as if it was a piece of wearable sculpture. They want quality; they want something that is beautiful and that is going to last. I am one of them.

When I started this jewellery collection, I wanted to make sure that if I was going to introduce a jewellery line into the already saturated market, then it would be well-made, sculptural, and original.

Each piece is meant to last forever and was designed with the wearer in mind. Rings are designed to be simple and bold, yet understated.

Claim to fame

I would have to say the Rift Ring, because the design is bold, simple and elegant. It is a statement ring.

Favourite item handmade by you

My Contour series—a series of paper cut art. To me, spatial design is not so much about the materials or the ornaments.

It is about the pure relationship of form and space and how one experiences pure space. This contour series is my way of reworking architecture into abstracted lines and forms. 

Sending local love to…

Anita Sikma Jewellery—her work is unique with a strong point of view. Her jewellery designs are reminiscent of Art Deco architecture and automotive machinery.

Tickets to Fall For Local are $3 in advance online or $5 (cash only) at the door. For more information about the event, or to purchase tickets, click here.