Cynosure gives new meaning to jewelry
Cynosure: “an object that serves as a focal point of attention or admiration.”
The curious term, which sounds like it might only be spoken when pulled from the depths of dictionary, came to Kitchener’s maker scene through exactly that process. Cynosure Jewelry Design Studio found their name when Juan Bohorquez, who co-owns the company with Shannon Kennedy, flipped through the pages of the old Merriam-Webster.
“Juan, my partner, was new to Canada and decided to go through the dictionary looking for a name for his business when he came upon ‘cynosure,’” says Kennedy. “We love the definition, we feel it represents our work perfectly.”
She’s right. The adornments handcrafted and designed by Bohorquez and Kennedy are nothing short of admirable. Each piece of contemporary jewelry – created through a range of materials from wax casting to precious metal, to clay – looks different than the last. And while the duo specializes in new engagement and wedding bands, their portfolio boasts renewed pieces, forged from existing jewelry that hold sentimental value, too.
Much like the second life of the jewelry they make, Bohorquez and Kennedy found renewal for their business in Kitchener’s Globe Studios.
“Having moved from Toronto, it was refreshing to be the big fish in a small city rather than the small fish in a big city,” says Kennedy. “I was amazed to find such an affordable and thriving artist community at Globe Studios.”
That community has proven to be just as amazed with Cynosure’s presence. In recent years, they’ve been nominated for a Kitchener Arts Award and have shown at the Homer Watson Gallery, the Rotunda Gallery and the now-closed Harbinger Gallery.
Their exhibition-worthy jewelry is only half of Cynosure’s contribution to Kitchener; they also offer workshops and classes for aspiring makers.
There’s a second description for “cynosure” in the dictionary: “anything to which attention is strongly turned, a centre of attraction.” Bohorquez and Kennedy’s above-and-beyond approach to jewelry make their business the third.
