Metal art

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“I wanted to challenge myself and to be able to think outside of the blinders of motherhood, which is wonderful, but I needed something else”

Made from the heart

Ainsley Mathieson is a busy Airdrie mother of two young children. She’s also the owner of Wildfire Rose, a home-based business that specializes in custom-made personalized jewelry using the ancient practice of metal stamping.

Her journey to becoming a jewelry maker began when she was on maternity leave with her newborn and toddler.

“You dedicate every waking, sleeping moment to them. Honestly, doing this was for my sanity,” she says, laughing.

Mathieson says if she sees something she wants to buy, she’ll first wonder if she can just make it herself. This has led her to dabble in wood shelving, signage, resin boards and other DIY projects.

“That’s exactly what happened with this,” she explains, “I was looking around for something personalized with my children’s names on it.”

She says she looked online but found that quality items were too pricey, and shipping was expensive. “I’ve always been creative, so, I was like, ‘No, I can do this myself.’”

Mathieson, who has a background in jewelry, studying through the Gemological Institute of America, began doing research and gathering the materials necessary to do the metal stamping.

The method, which is recognized as the earliest-known form of imprinting an image on coins, uses small discs of metal, often made from gold or silver, and a hammer, a stamping block and stamps with letters, numbers, icons and shapes on them.

Metal stamping doesn’t require a lot of space, she adds. “My kids take up 99 per cent of my house. My dining room table is my workspace.”

But this became more than just a way to create something special for her children; it also became something Mathieson needed to do for herself.

“I wanted to challenge myself and to be able to think outside of the blinders of motherhood, which is wonderful, but I needed something else.”

As she taught herself the process and gathered quality materials and tools, she began making pieces for friends and family, calling it her “side hustle.”

She then decided to turn it into a business, launching it on social media in March of 2020, just as the pandemic hit.

“That created its own set of hurdles,” she noted, “but I was blown away by the local support.”

Today, most of her sales come from Airdrie and Calgary, she says.

Her pieces, usually three discs attached to a gold or sterling silver chain, are elegant and delicate. She stamps people’s names or initials, and images such as hearts and textures, on the face of the discs. She prefers using sterling silver, gold-filled or rose-gold-filled discs, which she sells with the chain necklaces.

Each piece is unique, because each one is based on the personal requests of her customers. She’s also branched out into stamped bracelet cuffs, freshwater pearl studs and customized maps.

Her work caught the attention of the owner of airdrielife, which sponsors the Amazing Airdrie Women’s Awards, a yearly event that recognizes Airdrie women in categories such as advocacy, courage and mentorship. Mathieson was commissioned to create nine personalized stamped pieces with the winner’s initials and category for the 2021 awards.

“I immediately jumped on it,” she says. “Who wouldn’t want to be involved in this?”

Where does she hope her creative “side hustle” will take her? For now, Mathieson is focused on her young children and is happy with the creative outlet jewelry gives her.

“I really love doing this. I can look at this and say, ‘Made by me, and from the heart.’” life