In a world of derivatives, it is a rare designer who looks not to others but to other ways of doing. This, first and foremost, is what I strive for.

My ability and passion for detailed drawings in both art and design are captured in the naming of Disegno.

In the Italian artistic tradition disegno carries a more complex meaning than just 'design'; it involves both the ability to render the drawing and to imagine the design.

Within that lies the commitment to find fresh ideas in unlikely sources, far from the realm of jewellery: vertebrae, motorcycle hand-grips, the span of a girder, a range of mountains, a hyperbolic paraboloid.

Nature and industrial design writ small.

But jewellery is more than just a visual pleasure; it is a tactile pleasure as well.

My creations are known for exacting attention to detail and the quality of finish.

They are also enjoyed for the substantial quantities of precious metals I include, even in this era of skyrocketing precious metal prices.

 No hollowing out. If it looks bold, it weighs bold.

I studied Jewelry Design at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in Santa Monica California (1991).

I am an Accredited Jewelry Professional from GIA and am currently completing my gemmology degrees from both GIA and from the Canadian Gemmological Association.

Disegno was launched in 1992 and since that time has been sold in public and private galleries, museums, exclusive cruise ships from the Arctic to the Antarctic and various boutiques in Canada, the United States, and Europe.

The Canadian Governor General's residence, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, and numerous private collectors from as far afield as Africa, have commissioned me to create custom pieces.

In 2007, I opened Disegno's first boutique in Ottawa, Canada and in 2010 moved to a stylish new boutique in Ottawa's historic Byward Market area. 

In 2011, Disegno began Toronto Bespoke, a custom design event held regularly in the Windsor Arms Hotel in Toronto's ultra-fashionable Yorkville district. 

The Windsor Arms was consecutively voted Toronto's number one hotel by Condé Nast Magazine.

I previously enjoyed careers as an International Development Consultant, working for Unicef in Africa among other assignments and as a Freelance Writer, reporting primarily for national Canadian press and tracking down stories in remote areas of the world (see Dispatches, below).

I filed stories floating on ice floes in the Arctic Ocean, trekked some of the world's highest mountain ranges, took notes on bear behavior in rain forest downpours — and made publishing deadlines every time.