About Us♥
Coastal-Inspired Jewellery Designed to elevate your style and your vibe
For those who wander, and are not lost… the adventurous, and the wild at heart…
You find refuge in the forest, beauty in the mountains, and calm by the sea. You know that nature is medicine, time is wealth, and meaningful connections nourish your soul.
At Joie Designs, we create elegant keepsakes with style that tell the stories of the places you love most. Our jewellery is inspired by the Pacific Northwest landscape and designed to elevate the ordinary. Because to us, you’re more than a customer. You’re a kindred spirit.
Take your happy place with you.
Our mission is to be a constant source of “joie” (“joy” in French). We want people to focus on good times and feel good. We want women to feel happy. Life's better when we feel good♥
Through the centering power of nature, we aim to help you express and stay in touch with your sense of self… whether you’re a busy mom looking for a quick outfit pick-me-up, or an independent professional in search of a temporary escape from your cubicle.
When you carry a subtle reminder of your happy place wherever you go, you always feel good. And when you feel good, you look good. That’s why all our original designs are created to be simple “go-to” pieces that boost your confidence quickly and level up any ensemble effortlessly.
How we got our roots…
“I make jewellery that’s inspired by what makes me happy.” - Rosie
Born from a passion for art, minimalism, West Coast style, and the great outdoors, Joie Designs was started by a busy mom who wanted to capture the spirit of living in the Pacific Northwest. This is the story of our founder, Rosie Harris…
The ocean has always been my happy place. I grew up on the west coast of British Columbia, spending my summers in the gulf island. On sunny days, my best friend and I would bring our sketchbooks down to the shore. And we’d sketch for hours! As a kid, I can’t even remember a time when I wasn’t drawing or creating…
Then, in my early 20s, I took a ring-making workshop and instantly fell in love! I knew I wanted more. I went on to complete a 3-year diploma in Jewellery Art and Design at Vancouver Community College. My final grad project, which was based on the different states of water, won a best-design award. And I haven’t stopped designing water-inspired jewellery ever since!
From that moment on, I set out to create mindful pieces of jewellery that reflect the joyous and uplifting essence of nature. But after registering my business in 2007, inner doubts began to surface. The worry of ending up a “starving artist” soon got the better of me. So my business turned into a side hustle, and I got another diploma–this time, in Mineral Exploration and Mining Technology.
My career became geotechnical engineering (which I loved!) and eventually, municipal engineering (which I… didn’t love). It wasn’t until I found myself on mat leave with my second child that I decided, “That’s it! I’m going to build my business, and I am never going back!”
In August 2021, with the support and encouragement of my amazing customers, I re-launched Joie Designs as my full-time occupation. I now combine my fine arts background with my professional experience, working as an engineering technologist, to create unique jewellery that’s high-quality, versatile, and meaningful.
Today, Joie Designs is a small company based on Vancouver Island. We ship throughout North America. And when you purchase online, your order arrives beautifully packaged inside a chamois jewellery bag, complete with a jewellery care guide. Our products can also be found in 22 stores across the continent. (See our Locations page for more info.)
We love seeing kindred spirits, like you, styling your Joie Designs pieces! We also love hearing your feedback. It helps us grow and inspires many of our design choices, too.
So thanks for being a part of our story! Now, here’s why you should let our jewellery tell yours…
The Seeds We Sow - Our Core Values
Connection - At Joie Designs, we believe in empowering people and building genuine relationships. Here, everyone is a kindred spirit, from our customers to our contractors to our own families. We prioritize human connection, strive for synergy, and always welcome opportunities to work with other creatives. Wanna collaborate? Visit our Contact page, and reach out!
Inclusivity - Joie Designs proudly celebrates diversity and offers inclusive sizing. Beauty comes in many forms, and you’ll find an assortment of available sizes (16” to 22”) for our necklace chains. Because we’re committed to providing you with the right fit. Need help? See our necklace sizing guide or contact us to assist you.
Community - We wouldn’t be where we are today without the generous support of our local community. That’s why Joie Designs actively seeks out ways of giving back. So far, we’ve partnered with Free the Ocean and One Tree Planted to donate a portion of all sales toward restoring our earthly home. If you’re a non-profit organization interested in partnering with us, we’d love to hear from you!
Service - Helping you experience “wow”-worthy customer service is one of our top priorities. We 100% love it when you wear Joie Designs jewellery! So we go the extra mile to make sure you’re 100% satisfied. Lose an earring? Our Lost Earring Promise guarantees that we’ll either replace your missing one or convert your solo earring into a pendant necklace. We do our best to respond to all inquiries within 24 hours.
Quality - Above all, Joie Designs aims for excellence in every aspect of our business. To ensure that each piece of jewellery meets the highest standards, all our creations are nickel-free. And we commit to full transparency regarding the metal content of our alloys. (With that said, there’s no changing the fact that not all skin types react the same to certain metals–no matter how superior the quality!) Read more about our materials and crafting processes below…
Materials and Processes
“Feels like just yesterday I was in my home studio hand-cutting and constructing every piece of jewellery with my own two hands.” - Rosie
Thanks to our valued customers, Joie Designs has grown quite a bit since first starting in Rosie’s home studio. We now use molds, CAD technology, and lost wax casting techniques for reproduction. Still, every modern minimalist piece is designed with careful attention to detail and finished in Courtenay, BC. They continue to be made by hand in small batches.
Of course, as our business has grown, so has our need for more hands to produce our handmade products. By subcontracting several talented artisans (including a husband-and-wife team in Jaipur, an entrepreneur in Thailand, and a local casting house in Vancouver), we’re able to keep up with supply and demand much more efficiently. Living wages, working conditions, and quality of life are all important factors when we source our contractors. We also pay generously… because we know that makes all the difference!
The caliber of our metals makes a difference, too. That’s why our jewellery is always nickel-free. And every piece is real 925 sterling silver. It’s then typically plated in fine silver, rhodium, 18k rose gold or 18k yellow gold. Join Designs only uses high-quality fine metals, so you’ll never worry about base metals being next to your skin, even if the plating may wear off. We regularly send our jewellery to third-party independent laboratories for testing as well–just to be extra certain!
Finally, to reduce waste whenever possible, all our scraps and bench sweeps get taken to a Canadian refinery for recycling. Plus, our jewellery cards are made from 70% post-consumer recycled paper, and our packaging is recyclable, too. And that’s just the beginning of our vision to make a positive impact in the world…
Where do we grow from here?
While Joie Designs is dedicated to always helping you feel good, look good, and stay connected to your favourite places, our mission to be a constant source of “joie” means so much more than that. Right now, the “joie” we’re talking about mostly comes from that little spark of confidence you get when you carry the delight of nature wherever you go.
But we believe that someday soon, “joie” may also come from…
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…partnering with additional non-profits to serve our local communities and help restore our planet.
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…continuing to showcase our collections on diverse bodies and work with models of all ages, ethnicities, and sizes.
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…offering special discounts for grad students or individuals experiencing financial hardship.
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…starting a blog that features uplifting stories from our customers and other kindred spirits.
- …building a massively empowering place of employment that offers flexible working hours, above-average pay, and stock options.
So if that sounds like “joie” to you, then we encourage you to support our mission by ordering from Joie Designs today. Click below to see our most popular pieces!