and now for something completely different… jewelry became a registered business in January of 2003.

It is currently operated from private studio near the home of Cynthia & David Ryder. The resulting jewelry is shown and sold in the studio’s gallery store, finer arts and crafts shows and a few quality retail outlets in New Brunswick.

They initially moved their small business to a publicly accessible studio and gallery in May 2005 which changed the way that the Ryder's operated their business as they no longer need to take their work on the road as often. Showing and selling had included the Kingston Peninsula Farmers’ Market Co-operative, the summertime Saint Andrew’s Farm Market, the Thursday Farm Market in Fredericton, and the Woodstock Farmers’ Market. Being on the road also includes exhibiting at weekend arts & crafts shows, which had taken the business to the Halifax Regional Municipality several times, Parrsboro, Moncton, Montreal and smaller points in between, including private home showings for clients and their guests.

In early 2007 they moved operations back to a private studio as they felt that needed better year-round accessibility to their equipment and to provide themselves with an opportunity to refocus their efforts and design for a larger marketplace and future gallery exhibitions. As part of the booth display at arts and crafts shows, and sometimes at the farm markets, David and Cynthia would bring their portable lapidary equipment (for cutting, shaping and polishing stone) and jewelry tools so that they could continue to work at their craft. They felt that being able to demonstrate lapidary work and jewelry construction was one of the best ways to educate the public on the qualities of stone and metal and on the time and skill required to masterfully execute the designs. Demonstrations within the booth added a great deal of interest and entertainment value to the shows for the public.

As an aspect of creating unique jewelry with designer lapidary, the Ryder's feel that participation in gallery exhibits is a must in building credibility in the art.

This year they have participated in three gallery shows. The first being the annual Metal Arts Guild of Nova Scotia Competition and Exhibition in Halifax. Their entry of "Ribbon" won The Frank Phillips Award of Excellence for technical merit, one of the top three awards presented at the show. Their piece "A Connected Necklace" was shown at the Mary E Black Gallery in Halifax as part of the juried exhibition of Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council members' work called The New Cartography of Craft. Argyle Gallery in Halifax showed a selection of artist and artisan works in the Ross Creek Secret, a fundraiser and exhibition which included a sketch with the resulting jewelry item by Cynthia and David Ryder.

They will be showing new work at the Nova Scotia Designer Craft Council Christmas Market in the New Product exhibition and they are showing a new body of work at their solo exhibition, Connectivity: Examining the impact of technology on craft, in Fredericton at the Charlotte Street Arts Center in December 2007 to January 2008. As well they will be making their first appearance at the Ottawa Originals Christmas Craft Show this December.

In October 2006 they won awards for Best Piece, Gem Stone category and the Touch of Gold Design Trophy for Best Design in Show for an entry to the Metal Arts Guild of Nova Scotia Annual Exhibit and Competition, hosted by the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax. In 2005, an entry to MAGNS show received an Honorable Mention in the “All Silver” category; and work was shown at Calgary’s INFLUX Jewellery Gallery Cocktail Rings Show. In 2004, pieces were shown at Metalurge Gallery in Toronto, and the MAGNS show. As well being juried award winners with the Metal Arts Guild of Nova Scotia they are juried members of both the Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council and the New Brunswick Crafts Council.

Cynthia Ryder, who has a background in stained glass, was the designer and head artisan for the art glass windows and panels used in the 1999 renovations of the Hilltop Grill & Beverage Co. of Fredericton, NB. She also was instrumental in establishing Candlelights and Roses in 1995 (now Atlantic Pewter), in Harvey Station, a producer of pewter ornaments, jewelry and stained glass giftware. She left the management team of that business in 2000, but continued to consult and design for them while beginning work on developing a new business. The objectives for the new business included making something that would include the use of color, creativity and design, allow for working in a limited space, and was good for retailing. With these requirements, jewelry was a practical choice.

In the attempt to find a niche in the local jewelry market they started to do more research on what was currently unavailable locally and what was catching on in the rest of America: unique wire and cold connect jewelry. Wire jewelry is an ancient art form experiencing a revival, and because it could be made with precious metals and stones, people could take it seriously as a type of jewelry.

The seasonal space at Hoyt House, Kings Landing, allowed the Ryder's the room to continue to explore paths of interest and to add soldered work to their jewelry repertoire which they have continued to pursue at their private studio location.

Though both can cut and craft stone in the studio, David is the primary lapidary artist, and has built portable equipment for sawing, shaping and polishing the stone as well as using their Highland Park and Lortone lapidary saws and cabbing units at the seasonal studio. Their favorite stones to cut and set are the Bay of Fundy agates, which vary widely in color, and depending on picking location may contain amethyst.

The Ryder’s look forward to the many opportunities that may present themselves in 2007 as they continue work in their studio and exhibit at better regional arts and crafts markets.