'Like holding a pencil in my hand'

In a small studio-shop on Billy Brown Road in Fort Langley, the rings do the talking: thin stacking bands, hammered gold, and spinner rings with fine rings floating over a bold silver band.

They're all made by one person. Anita, the artist behind Juliet925, shapes sterling silver, recycled 10k gold and gold-filled metal into jewellery. Her website says buying from her means “supporting a small one woman shop.” (A 2019 West Coast Curated profile names her as Anita Bisset; her site calls her Anita Juliet.)

Juliet925 exists because a painter needed a living and found she could draw with wire instead. “To me, to take a piece of sterling silver wire, it's like holding a pencil in my hand,” she told West Coast Curated.

A cousin who made art pay

Anita grew up in Vancouver with proof that art could pay. “I had a cousin, about fifteen years older than me, who was earning a very good living as a graphic designer in Toronto,” she said. “So in my family, when I wanted to be an artist, I was always encouraged, even praised from a young age.”

She went to art school at Kwantlen College, worked in galleries, started painting and eventually ran the Hunter-Bisset Gallery in International Village with fellow artist Cheryl Hunter.

Commuting from Yaletown, she kept passing Vancouver Community College, where she spotted a part-time jewellery program. “I thought, I'm not making a living selling my paintings, but I love to create things, so I'm gonna try this,” she said.

'Other noisy people that use fire'

She took to silversmithing right away, spending a year challenging herself to see what she could solder together from one kind of sterling silver wire. Her work was soon in stores, and her site says she created Juliet925 in 2012.

Next came a larger studio in East Vancouver, where she sublet corners to other jewellers. “It can be hard for jewellers to find space because we make noise and we work with fire,” she explained. Her tenants were “other noisy people that use fire.”

Living above the shop

Visiting friends in Fort Langley a few years before that 2019 profile, she noticed live/work spaces where artists keep a small shop and live upstairs. “It appealed to me because I wanted my own shop, but after the gallery, I didn't want to be tied to retail hours anymore,” she said.

Back then the shop was called the Fort Finery and also carried other artists' work. She and her neighbour, Paul Wood, started Art Fort Langley and its Art Walk and Wine Tasting. “Art in public spaces just enhances the quality of life. It's part of what makes a community interesting,” she said. We haven't confirmed when the Fort Finery name was retired; today the shop goes by Juliet925.

Her materials stay close to home. The site says she uses only North American silver, cast pieces are made from hand-carved waxes cast locally in Vancouver, and most stones come from her own collections, gathered at rock and gem shows around the Pacific Northwest.

One of a kind, on purpose

“Juliet925 is not a line of products. Each piece is an expression of the moment in which it was created,” her site says. In other words, if you love it, don't wait.

Couples come to her for wedding bands. “Anita helped us create our wedding bands,” one wrote on Google. Another called her work “so unique, intricate, and truly one-of-a-kind.”

Text ahead to book a visit, or browse juliet925.com. Most silver pieces are ready within a day or so, and recycled gold can take two to three weeks. And ask about the paintings. “I want to get back to painting,” she said in 2019. “I miss it!”

Photos: Juliet925.