Jessica Biel is in town shooting Total Recall, and during her time here, she and former(?) flame Justin Timberlake have been given some admittedly good Toronto tips. They’ve dined at Swan, sampled the baked goods at Ella’s Uncle and they’ve even indulged in our favourite anti-Ford activity: city cycling. But aside from eating and, well, exercising locally, Biel has been sizing up some of our local designers — and, literally, trying on some of their homegrown creations for size.
Brittany Hopkins, the brain (and nimble fingers) behind Anice Jewellery, was a bit surprised when she received a message from a friend informing her that Biel was wearing one of Hopkins’ signature pieces: an opal amulet necklace. The friend was dining at Enoteca Sociale, and Biel and Timberlake were sitting at the table next to him.
“I had given Jessica the necklace a few months ago,” says Hopkins, who’d run into Biel outside of Twist Gallery, where Hopkins had just launched “Free Together,” a photography, jewellery and art show.
“I figured she must get so much stuff given to her,” says the Toronto-based designer. “I didn’t know if she’d wear it or not, so it really was nice to hear she was enjoying the piece.”
Hopkins, who says she’s been making jewellery “forever,” launched Anice Jewellery four years ago. Named in honour of her grandmother, Anice, Hopkins wanted to inspire “fearless expression” and began selling her pieces at local markets while creating custom designs for an ever-expanding roster of clients. Her chance meeting with Biel followed a relaunch of sorts, wherein Hopkins introduced a line of amulet necklaces, using a variety of semi-precious stones — and, of course, doing the silversmithing herself.
“It warms my heart whenever I see anyone wearing one of my pieces,” says Hopkins, who studied jewellery methods at George Brown College. “And I think it’s really cool that Jessica is taking advantage of everything Toronto has to offer.”