A well-known jewelry brand hailing from the west coast of Canada has chosen Toronto to open their first experience-centred boutique. Melanie Auld Jewelry is opening at 54 Ossington Ave. on Dec. 4, and the boutique will be offering on-the-spot piercing, permanent bracelet welding and engraving along with a wide selection from their jewelry collections.
Melanie Auld Jewelry was founded in 2013 as a one woman show in Vancouver, B.C., inspired by travels across Canada and around the globe. Known for their initial-based “Adorned” collection, the brand opened their flagship storefront in Vancouver in 2019.
Today, the Melanie Auld team includes over 30 women dedicated to crafting rings, necklaces, pendants and more. There are also specialty items like jewelry travel cases, ceramics, as well as lip and eye masks to add on for travellers and people on the go.
Founder Melanie Auld says that when she started the company at first, she had major success selling to bigger retailers, including Nordstrom and Anthropologie. And while it may seem like a no-brainer to stick with wholesale, Auld realized that a more personalized relationship with customers made more sense for the brand, and she couldn’t achieve that through retailers.
“We made a very difficult decision to actually pull out of all our retailers and sell directly to our consumer ourselves,” Auld says. “I think it was the best decision we made for our brand.”
The idea for MA Studio, the name for the experiential side of the Ossington store (an experience-centred boutique will be opening in Vancouver soon as well), was partially inspired by the disconnect of the pandemic. “It just feels like connection is so important; people being able to get out together and do something is important,” she says.
The studio offers pieces for piercings, custom welded items, and custom engraving to ensure that each piece perfectly captures the spirit of the wearer. Upon entering the shop, you’ll be greeted by cases of the jewelry collections, and the back of the shop houses a piercing room, engraving desk and welding desk.
The new Ossington location is joining an array of trendy apparel stores like AREA +001, Lost & Found, Annie Aime and more.
As the Queen West area continues to transform into a trendy outpost for clothing, food and other cultural landmarks, Melanie Auld comes to the neighbourhood right as it’s showing post-lockdown signs of life.
“We just love the energy of Ossington; some of the retailers who have opened in this area and the restaurants are great,” Auld says of the location choice for the new boutique. “It just kind of had an energy all its own.”