Contributors

Elaine Barrick (owner/designer "Valerian") - jewelry and hat design, web layout and graphic design, product photography, marketing, customer service, inventory, accounting, shipping/receiving
Michael Barrick ("Atratus") - web development, email support, fashion photography, hat design
Bart Adrian ("Disdain") - web development
Tanya McDonald (designer "Lady V") - jewelry, decor
Sandi Thomas (designer "Kitsune") - wood hair accessories
Tania McIntyre (designer "BinarySoul") - chainmail accessories
Wynne Palmer (designer "GrannyGoth") - decor

Although our names may appear similar, we are NOT affiliated with:
* Schmucken, The Art of Adornment: Jewelry And Tableware - book published 1995 by A. Verlagsanstalt
* Ribbon: The Art of Adornment - book published 2008 by N. Wright
* The Art of Adornment (USA) - store established c. Aug. 2001
* Art of Adornment Jewelry (USA) - website established Apr. 2008

This information is provided to avoid confusion on visitors' behalf. Actual affiliations are noted here.

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Message From The Owner

75% of the products in this store are HAND MADE in Canada by one designer (me)! They are not mass-produced in factories or "sweat shops", nor are they merely the product of a casual hobby. Creating art is my full-time legitimate business. I take my work very seriously; I regularly test and wear my own products, and I have experience in making and selling fine art and crafts for over 20 years. My company Art of Adornment has been in business online since 2004, and there are no plans to stop anytime soon. So rest assured that we are not going to disappear overnight!

I hold very high standards both for materials and craftsmanship and stand behind my work 100% - I would not make or sell anything I would be ashamed to give to a good friend. Even the work of other designers for sale in the store has been carefully hand-selected according to my requirements for solid construction and clean finishing.

I value my time, experience, and commitment to quality and choose not to "cut corners" to ensure you get an attractive durable product and reliable time-tested professional service. On the other hand, I respect your hard-earned income and do not inflate our prices just to be pretentious. Our pricing reflects the materials, skill and passion put into them, not enormous markups. I believe fashion design AND customer service is an art - and art should be available to everyone!

~ Elaine Barrick ("Valerian")

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About The Owner

Elaine Barrick (better known online by her nickname "Valerian") is 40 years old, and has been an active part of the punk/Goth subculture in Vancouver since 1983. She graduated from the 4-year fine arts program at the Emily Carr College of Art & Design in 1991 where she focussed on Painting and 3D/Sculpture. Her creativity and passion for making art has been a large part of her life since (in her own words) she was "old enough to hold a solid object".

Elaine Barrick ("Valerian")

Elaine began exhibiting her paintings and prints in local galleries and cafés while still a student in 1989, and still participates in occasional group shows today. After finishing art school she worked as a picture framer for 12 years, most of that time being custom department manager in a wholesale company. Elaine's paintings have been published in New York's Art Business News magazine and the Vancouver Sun newspaper, as well as featured in the upcoming documentary film Dark Canada. In 2001 she began selling her artwork on Ebay.com, her first taste of online exposure.

It was not until 2004 that she began to shift her focus to fashion. After so many years at a physically demanding job, she was eventually forced to quit due to having developed chronic tendonitis in both shoulders. During the 1980's Elaine had made her own costume jewelry as a hobby, deconstructing her grandmother's antique pieces as well as vintage finds from thrift stores, and re-assembling them to create new designs. After almost 18 years, Elaine re-awakened this talent and has since offered her work for sale online. But the "experimental" jewelry of her teen days is long gone - now she collects only very select skillfully crafted components, many of which she faux-finishes and alters herself. Some of these metal components are created with antique tools brought over from Europe to North America more than two hundred years ago, and are the heart behind her decadent style. Elaine uses only the highest quality Swiss velvet, glass beads made in the Czech Republic, Swarovski® crystal, and glass cameos imported from West Germany among many other beautiful and unusual things. To her, making jewelry and accessories is not just an occupation, it is an art.

Many of Elaine's designs are one-of-a-kind, or "limited edition", which means a fixed number of pieces are made, and no pieces identical to them will ever be made. These editions are very small, usually 5 or less pieces. Often she will attach a metal tag, hand-engraved with her signature. Not all pieces are signed however; only an exclusive selection of pieces which she is especially proud of will carry her mark (these pieces are likely to be collectable, since she is extremely critical of her own work and signs very few). Since 2008 she has also offered the work of some of her friends; fellow designers with a taste for both the decadent and the refined. Many of these pieces are also limited edition or one-of-a-kind.

Elaine claims to have always been a "crafty" person, and has never been able to settle on only one path. In addition to making art and fashion accessories, she currently sews her own antique-style corsets and designs her own clothing, refinishes furniture for her home, dabbles in web design, and moderates several online communities and forums.

Elaine's Fine Art Portfolio: Personal Website
Elaine on FaceBook: FaceBook Fan Page
Elaine on DeviantArt: Lady Catharsis Gallery

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