Bringing hope to the city
A new jewellery collaboration between Howard Fine Jewellers, True Bijoux and Cornerstone Housing for Women raises money for Ottawa’s vulnerable
Stephanie and Lindsay Appotive, also known as The Jewellery Sisters, are honoured to announce their collaboration with Boutique Cornerstone to support Cornerstone Housing for Women.
As owners of Howard Fine Jewellers and True Bijoux, we are excited to join hands with Boutique Cornerstone to raise funds for such a worthy cause through the A Pearl of
Hope Bracelet Fundraiser. It is with sincere gratitude and a deep sense of humility that we embark on this meaningful endeavour to make a positive impact in the lives of women in need.
As local female entrepreneurs born and raised in Ottawa we recognize the growing demand that Cornerstone is facing to meet the needs of supportive housing and services for the more than 200 women and gender diverse people they serve everyday. Collaborating with Cornerstone allows us to connect with our community to support the healing and recovery of women. As women and sisters we connect deeply with the Cornerstone values that all women deserve the chance to heal in peace and live with dignity.
This spring, our stores Howard and
True Bijoux, in collaboration with Boutique Cornerstone, are launching a limited edition collection of single pearl bracelets. The bracelet called A Pearl of Hope, will see
100 percent of the proceeds donated to Cornerstone. Our collective mission is to sell 1,000 bracelets, each one symbolizing a stark reality: 1,000 women left destitute, homeless and vulnerable on the streets of Ottawa every year.
Our belief that if we work together, we can help to make meaningful local change.
As custom jewellery designers each project we collaborate on starts with listening in order to gain a deeper understanding of the design goals. We are passionate about jewellery collaborations, and working everyday in our businesses makes this second nature for both of us.
For the A Pearl of Hope bracelet our team comprised of master goldsmiths and gemologists had the good fortune of working with the team from Boutique Cornerstone, Andrea Laurin, Katie Faught and Anna
Rumin who wanted to design a recognizable and distinct bracelet at an accessible price range for as many community members as possible.
“I met Stephanie and told her about Boutique Cornerstone, and how it exists because of the generosity of women in the community who donate their fashion-forward and designer gently used clothing and accessories,” Anna says.
She explained volunteers operate the store and its online presence, Thyme&Again donates space for the pop-up store, and Encore Fashion takes care of anything that isn’t sold and donates the profits back to Cornerstone. “It’s an amazing circle of women supporting women,” Anna says. “I woke up the next morning, literally eight hours later, to an email from Stephanie and Lindsay proposing A Pearl of Hope — the circle just keeps getting bigger!”
The bracelet is unisex in design, fits all wrist sizes, and the different elements of the design each have meaning. The purple represents hope and is the signature colour of Cornerstone. The pearl represents power and femininity. In nature, the pearl takes years to form, the result of a response from the oyster to protect itself from an unexpected element by coating it. Over many years the result is a pearl.
“We connected with the idea that with time and the right resources a treasure can be born. It is a reminder that with time and resources supporting women and their needs can result in renewed hope and opportunity.”
The pearl is hugged by two sterling silver beads, as silver is believed to be a mirror to the soul, helping to see ourselves as others see us. Heart and thought was given to the bracelet to further connect the wearer with the community it helps support.
We hope you will join us in helping to support Cornerstone with a purchase of the
A Pearl of Hope bracelet at its launch on May 5 and 6 at Thyme&Again on Wellington, the site for Boutique Cornerstone’s third pop-up of gently used, fashion-forward clothing and accessories, where 100 percent of proceeds go to Cornerstone Housing for Women. We hope that you wear it proudly and like us, believe that together we can help to make a difference.