location: 619 College Street
phone number: 416.533.8127
hours: Mon-Sat 12pm-6pm/Sun 12-5pm
payment methods:cash, interac, Visa, MasterCard
directions: Closest major intersection is College and Bathurst.

In the spring of 2002 Toronto’s Little Italy welcomed the addition of Organic Metal Gallery. This space is a store cum workshop where ideas for custom made and one of a kind jewelry are cooked-up and created. The original premise behind Organic Metal Gallery was to promote young jewelry designers, but it quickly turned into helping others find their passion for metal art through beginner’s workshops and lectures as well.
Robin Gray, founder and owner, used the term organic in the name to describe how she doesn’t work with straight lines, but more fluid shapes. Although, organic can also refer to Robin’s concern for the environment. At every opportunity she recycles and reuses, as well as holding firm to a belief in fair trade, sourcing either Canadian made or traceable stones.
When you first walk into the store it’s an open white space with necklaces, bracelets, and rings held in glass casings. But, it immediately becomes clear that these are not your ‘run of the mill’ accessories, circa Le Chateau or Claire’s. Each piece has been carefully designed and crafted to ensure it won’t be thrown in the jewelry box cemetery, forgotten a week later. Robin says that if Organic Metal Gallery had a motto it would be to make jewelry that’s personal and timeless. At the back of the store is an army green curtain - behind there is where the magic happens. A studio with eight benches offers young artists (and those who want to learn) an environment where creativity runs rampant all in the name of wearable art.
Melissa Brazier