Desiree Girlato, diminutive jewellery designer-cum-entrepreneur, has been gathering momentum all summer. She has expanded her line ARMED, to five new stores in Toronto alone and is looking to expand to NYC markets by the end of the year. A year ago she started up her own storefront (1024 Dundas St. West). She makes five new pieces a week just to keep stocked up.
Not bad for a 23-year old still in school full-time.
Her original designs are vaguely menacing, with a steam-punk edge. She seamlessly melds together a barrage of influences – ancient Minoan/Greco-Roman styling, Medieval materials and constrained Victorian touches. She never makes more than five of the same piece. Most are one of a kind. “I want to keep the enjoyment in making jewellery, and being a machine is not why I got into doing this.”
She wanted to study fashion for years. She would sit at the sewing machine and toil joylessly. “I would literally turn into the worst person ever. It was so unbelievably frustrating. And I just did it because this is what I told myself I was going to do.” She hit a wall when she didn’t get into Ryerson’s Fashion Design program. Later, by chance, her mother was throwing out some old jewellery and she stopped her, saying “Don’t throw them out. I’ll figure something out with them.”
“Something that I thought was a really negative situation because I didn’t get in, turned out to be something really great. I found I had a passion for jewellery that was far greater than for fashion.”
The Thornhill native enrolled in Humber’s Fashion Management 4-year degree program. She moved downtown and worked in retail and restaurants, saving up her money. “I’ve always wanted to open a store but I never thought it would be possible because rent is insane. So when I saw this opportunity (on Dundas St. West across from Trinity Bellwoods Park), it was like, “Here! Life is presenting it to you!” I like the direction that Dundas is going. I feel for people on Queen St. because rent must be just hell.”
Running her own business certainly trumps working for the man. “I have a pretty strong creative direction and a strong direction in general. I’ve only lasted about 3 months at any other job . I get bored really easily and I need to do my own thing. Having your own store you can do your own thing all the time, you can do it your way.”
Business is steady. She’s constantly flying in and out, sourcing her chains from New York and her stones and semi-precious from Arizona. The business end of things isn’t really her forte – she’s had to pick it up along the way thanks to mentors (other retailers in the area), online resources and learning from her mistakes. Ironically, school has not proved to be helpful at all. “To be honest, there’s been a huge lack of support. Fashion is really fast-paced and it’s not current enough. We’re learning things out of a textbook from 1995- so the software systems and methods of doing things in the industry weren’t around then and it’s not really applicable now.” Keeping up with customer demand and finishing her assignments has been daunting, but she’s sticking with it to earn that very expensive piece of paper.
ARMED reflects the merger of apparel and accessory. She likes the idea of jewellery as something more wearable – as clothing. She’s heavily influenced by Henry Bendel and Danijo. “ARMED is culturally refined – a cultivated sosphistication. Each piece has its own story and vibe. I try to mix the worlds of vintage and new together. It’s on-trend but not trendy. I want a piece that someone can wear over and over again and it’s not too dated.” She wants to eventually move into selling wholesale to larger department stores.
“Everything about this whole journey – life has just presented itself and I just kind of jumped on it. If it’s there, it’s there. Don’t force something if it’s not coming. I think you need to have a strong passion for what you do. I love to make jewellery, and the fact that people buy my stuff and I’m able to continue doing what I do is pretty awesome. I just love what I do.”
ARMED is located at1024 Dundas St. West. For more information visit ARMED.
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Tiffy Thompson is a writer and illustrator for the Toronto Standard. Follow her on Twitter at @tiffyjthompson.
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