Design Profile | Free Series

by Melanie Guilbault

September 13, 2015

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A few weeks ago, we visited the beautiful light-filled studio of Montreal designer Marie-Pier Berrouard - the creator of silver & gold jewelry line Free Series. Just north of the Mile end in Rosemont, Marie-Pier's studio has been officially up and running since July of this summer. Although she's been designing jewelry for years, this first collection of silver and gold rings, earrings & necklaces was just designed this past March. The line is beautiful, simple & delicate- thin lines & geometric shapes are the inspiration and the rings are designed to be stacked. Every piece is handcrafted by Marie-Pier herself from 925 silver & 14k gold.

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Photo courtesy of Free Series.

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Marie-Pier, a self-taught jeweller, says she first learned to solder fine jewelry from her grand-father, a fine jeweller by trade as well. Much of her inspiration comes from childhood memories of hours spent watching her him at work. She remembers wondering how he was able to set a stone onto a ring or connect two pieces together. It's been a learning process, Marie-Pier explains, and lots and lots of practice to refine her skill. Working every day from 7 am to 7pm, you can tell this talented local designer really enjoys what she does- creating pieces that will last forever. When we ask her about the story behind the name Free Series, Marie-Pier tells about a gap year in 2012 spent exploring a range of mediums- graphic design, photography, fine jewelry, knitting & even html. It was a year of freedom for the designer, who, until then, had been working towards applying to a PhD in Psychology. Throwing herself into new projects, Marie-Pier was looking to discover the work that really brought purpose and passion to her life. Free series represents this period of discovery, a decision to leap out into the unknown & the culmination of many hours of hard work.

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Marie-Pier's busy working on her second collection. Her latest pieces are at their prototyping stage- she says she's committed the month to wearing them all at once, to test wearability & durability, before the final designs are available online. For now, have a look at her first collection available at Mikko, both in-store & online!

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