30 Essential Vancouver Jewellery Designers: Kelsey Vanderhorst of KV Bijou

Abbotsford, BC-based Kelsey Vanderhorst is a 26-year-old designer and owner of KV Bijou, which specializes in handcrafted sterling silver and semi-precious gemstone jewellery. Darcie Brown, a VancouverMom.ca reader, couldn’t say enough about Kelsey: “I love KV Bijou’s designs! … Her pieces are available locally and she has developed a following internationally with a variety of celebrities and jewellery lovers.” This year’s exclusive jeweller for the Sundance Film Festival Gift Lounge, Kelsey has seen tremendous success after being in business for just one year.

Why did you get into jewellery design?

I’ve been creating jewellery my whole life. It started as a creative outlet and grew into a passion as I began to realize I could never find the type of jewellery that I wanted to wear in stores.

Tell us a bit about your company.

My company is a one-person based company. I design and handcraft the jewellery. My business started on my kitchen table and I now run my business out of my home studio. It was my one-year anniversary this month in January. In the first year, my jewellery was picked up by supermodel Sessilee Lopez and has been seen on Fashion TV, Flare Mag, Allure Mag the NY Post and many others. Dawn Chubai of Breakfast TV also has worn my pieces on air. This past September, I did the Canadian Country Music Awards Gift lounge where I got to meet numerous stars and hand out KV BIJOU to them. One of them was bachelorette Jillian Harris who is now a fan! I was recently asked to be the exclusive jeweller for the Sundance Film Festival Gift Lounge (taking place January 22-23). I’ve designed several necklaces that I will be handing out to the stars in person.

How would you characterize your style?

I specialize in sterling silver and semi-precious gemstones. I like to design bold, classic, vibrant pieces that are extremely unique. I try to cater to all different types of women from simplistic and understated, to complex and eye catching pieces. My designs are primarily nature and ocean inspired.

Who are your clients?

My clients are women who want jewellery as unique as they are. I have amazing clients who have cheered me along my journey of starting my business. They vary in age, location and demographic.

What do you think moms should know about your jewellery?

Sometimes after having a child, there isn’t much time to put into yourself when you’re busy being a mom. As a woman, having a piece of affordable yet quality sterling silver jewellery is something special that we can do for just for ourselves. Not only does it make us feel better and add variety to our outfits, but KV Bijou’s pieces are casual enough to dress up or dress down. I love getting custom orders that add sentimental value and meaning behind the piece. Having a piece of jewellery with empowering words to wear through out pregnancy, or the photo jewellery (see website) that enables a mother or grandmother to keep their loved ones close is so precious!