About Me

      My great grandparents were Maude and Henry Helin-both chiefs of the T'smsyen nation. I was born November 11, 1987, and was raised on Beautiful B.C. Vancouver Island, Canada. My T'smsyen indigenous ancestry comes from my fathers bloodline. Lax Kw'alaams or Port Simpson is the physical location of my band. People of Lax' Kw'alaams territory are the decendants of the 9 tribes of the T'smsyen. My Grandfather Art Helin passed away when I was very young. He was given an important/high ranking name. "Hyemass". He was highly respected and very well know in our West coast Prince Rupert community. Like many indigenous peoples he provided a life for my family via commercial fishing. Through this way of life he instilled relentless, fishermans work ethic into the fabric of my familys being. My father is renound Artist Bill Helin. Since I can remember I've been surrounded by indigenous art thanks to my father/family and where I currenlty reside here on Vancouver Island you can find the artform and culture thriving. I was along side my father for many big projects. At the age of 8 I was the youngest carver to help work on our section of the Worlds Tallest totem pole for the Commonwealth games. I also took part in the creation of a 40ft long red cedar canoe named "RavenSongCanoe" at the time of its completion a group of us took part in an physically demanding journey to paddle it from French Creek Marina all the way to the souther tip of Victoria to take part in the 1994 Victoria Commonwealth Games. 

All my life I've always enjoyed being a hands on. Or learning by doing. I recall taking interest in the projects my father was creating growing up. I was fortunate to see and learn what it takes to put together many traditional types of indigenous art. Thanks to this I got to help take part in many of his projects and went through many trials and tribulations at a very young age. From learning how to carve wood, create precious metal jewelery, painting and digital illustration. With all the mediums of art I witnessed and experienced in my lifetime I saw jewelery to be the most interesting and fascinating. Therefore I chose to make it my full time job and focus mainly on the production of hand making custom indigenous jewelry. There are many sectors of the jewelery econemy that one person can branch off into and it can keep you more then busy and interested for a lifetime. Handengraving is the sector I chose to be in a it is a rare form of jewelery making you dont see as much this day in age. Its a niche little market that cannot be mass produced so it takes time but is worth the wait. To this day I continue to keep an open mind for learning and refining my techniques of jewelery making. I put 110% effort, all my experince and knoledge into every piece I create, knowing I'm passing along the beauty of my indigenous culture to every client and customer who wishes to own a precious work of wearable jewelery art.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q-1: Do you have a store I can look at your jewelry in person?

A-1: No, I dont have my own personal store or gallery. I work out of a private studio at home and focus mainly on custom orders upon request. You can find many examples of my work via any of my social media or my projects tab. If you're looking for something specific I can also send you photo examples of something similar from my personal photo library.

Q-2: Do you engrave or cast your jewelry?

A-2: Both. Everything I make is hand engraved by me. Depending on the piece, everything I make is hand engraved in flat sheet form, then shaped/sized/finished accordingly. Some custom pieces are casted then hand engraved after the casting phase. 

Q-3: Do you ship your jewelry?

A-3: Yes, I ship my jewelry anywhere in the world via expresspost. Every package I ship comes with standard insurance, signature required and a tracking number. Depending on your location regional shipping takes 2-3 business days, national takes 3-4 business day, and international take 7-10 busniess days. Rural locations are random and would have to be researched for delivery timeframes. A notice card will be left in your mailbox for you to pick up at your nearest postoffice if you're not physically home at the time of delivery.

Q-4: How long does it take for a custom order to be completed?

A-4: I do have a waiting list that constantly fluctuates around 8-12 months. Depending on the time of year, complexity and quantity of the order, once I physically start it can take 1-2-3 weeks to complete. 

Q-5: Is your jewelry plated?

A-5:  No. All of my hand carved jewelery is SOLID Sterling Silver, 14k & 18k Yellow, White, and Rose Gold. If someone has allergies to the alloys in the metals I offer then a rohdium plating can be done for a fee.

Q-6: Do you have a catalog?

A-6: No. Everything I do is custom order upon request. The metal markets are constantly fluctuating so I give on the spot quotes based on the days curret metal prices, engraving labour and any other diamond/gem setting costs.

Q-7: How can I care for my jewelery?

A-7: Designate a small toothbrush for your jewelery cleaning. Just like brushing your teeth every day, I suggest brushing your jewelery clean everytime you go to wear it. Use any type of hand soap, and scrub your jewelery inside and out with soap and hot water. Wrinse all the bubbles away with hot water and dry with soft cloth and you should be good to o. Precous metals magnetize dirt, oils, dead skin cells so be sure to clean your pieces often. Be sure to always store you jewelry in a dark environment like a jewelery box when not wearing. Never leave your jewelery out in the sun. Do not ever wear any of your jewelry when swimming, as this will damage any soldering joins and tarnish the entire piece and would then require a full machine polsih to restore.

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