Who we are

Our Profiles

Lori Cranson began creating gemstone, glass and wire jewellery after looking for an artistic medium for her creative ideas. Lori tried mixed media, ceramics and acrylic painting before discovering jewellery making. Her keen sense of colour and fashion made this a natural. She has attended several seminars, and workshops in Toronto, Tucson and Florida. Lori's creative passion has enabled her to develop a solid reputation for innovation in design. She turns her creative ideas into wearable art.

Steve Cranson grew up in an artisan environment. His father, at one point in his life, was a professional starving artist. Like his father, Steve showed an interest in painting, woodworking and photography. Whether it was painting a mural on his bedroom wall, building an end table for their living room or finishing their basement, Steve demonstrated his ability to work with his hands. His creativity and "a good eye for beauty" can be seen in his many photographs hanging on the walls of their home. He has, also, , attended several seminars, and workshops in Toronto, Tucson and Florida. Steve has a flare for turning wire into Jewellery.

Currently, the Cransons work from their home studio in the West Annex of Toronto, Ontario.

Our Work

Lori started by making Jewellery for her own personal use. Soon her and her daughter, Dayna, were being queried as to where their jewellery came from. After selling several pieces from around their necks, they decided to start Dalo Jewels (Da from Dayna, Lo from Lori).

First they tested the market by joining with other budding artists and had a craft party at their home. It was so successful that they decided to sell their jewellery at juried festivals and shows, home parties, corporate fundraisers and on the Internet. Dayna has enrolled in a full time fashion and jewellery program at George Brown, The Toronto City, College and Lori with Steve's assistance started Dalo Jewels.

Lori and Steve can be reached at info@dalojewels.com.

Our Products

Dalo Jewels offers unique handcrafted jewellery made from semi-precious gemstones and sterling silver. Each piece is inspired through the stones themselves. The semi-precious gemstones "speak" to us and the design is set. We handcraft each piece. Lori is the designer as well as one of the hand-crafters, Steve is the administrator and also creates unique custom designed pieces.

Dalo Jewels uses textile techniques in metal, chain maille, and the art of wire weaving to create sensational one of a kind custom designed handcrafted jewellery. Each piece starts with wire on a spool and is weaved with semi-precious gemstones, or sterling silver wire is formed into rings which are interlocked to create a chain maille piece of jewellery. Other selections from Dalo Jewels have each gemstone individually wrapped with sterling silver and then held together by wire or chain to form a finished piece. The sterling silver findings used on each piece are truly unique. The findings and gemstones are obtained from various sources all over the world.

The Cranson's are constantly updating their skills. They have just recently added jewellery made from precious metal clay to their repertoire. According to the Society of American Silversmiths:

• Precious Metal Clay represents a dramatic development in the handling of precious metals. PMC consists of microscopic particles of silver or gold suspended in an organic binder to create a pliable material with a consistency similar to modeling clay. PMC can be worked with the fingers and simple inexpensive tools to create a vast range of forms and surfaces that would be unattainable or laborious with traditional techniques.
• When heated to a high temperature, the binder burns away and the metal particles fuse to form solid metal that can be sanded, soldered, colored and polished like conventional material.

Our Awards

Dalo Jewels was awarded 1st prize for jewellery at the Huronia Festival of Arts and Crafts, Kempenfest Bay in Barrie, Ontario, which featured over 370 artisans and craftspeople on the July 30th to August 1st, 2005 weekend.

Member of the Ontario Crafts Council, Markham Guild of Village Crafts, Burlington Art Centre, Fine Arts Society of Milton and Visual Arts Ontario. Participants in the Rolling Hills Studio Tour, Fine Arts Society of Milton Studio Tour and the Oakville Artists Home Gallery Tour