ESTY
BIRKS SIGNATURE DESIGNER

An Award-winning Contemporary Canadian Jeweler

ESTY transforms gold and silver into moving, wearable objects of art. An irresistible force draws her like a magnet to precious metal through which she creates innovative, unique designs influenced by her international background and an all-embracing love of nature and the sea.

Born in Malaga, Spain, ESTY Grossman has lived, studied and worked in France, Spain, as well as Canada. She began her career in the art of jewellery-making at the Ecole de Joaillerie et de Métaux d'art de Montréal in 1989 where she was finally able to explore her passion for metalsmithing. Her interest in this form of expression led her to a subsequent series of internships and intensive workshops throughout Canada.

It was at the Escola Massana in Barcelona that she was encouraged and challenged to fulfil her desire to create contemporary jewellery. During her three-year program at this renowned international design school, she also learned the essentials of stone-setting and metal-alloying by working for a gemologist to finance her studies. In the fall of 1993 she moved to Paris, where she worked for a year in Haute Couture, creating prototypes, bodices and accessories for fashion designers, including Thierry Mugler and Philippe de Saint Mart Guilet.

In October 1994 ESTY was awarded the Young Designer for Contemporary Jewellery prize by the town of Cagnes-sur-mer on the French Riviera, which has become her home. Her gallery/workshop in the medieval village of the Haut-de-Cagnes is where ESTY works and plays year round although her work continues to be shown extensively at major galleries throughout the world. Fascinated by patterns in nature, ESTY studies organic movement and interprets it through her work. Her microsculpture, a vision of nature, is inspired by ocean floors, marine life, seeds and dried flowers.

ESTY has designed three exclusive collections for Birks: Starfish - a collection in sterling silver inspired by the enigmatic sea creature itself; Birks Swirl - a mini-collection based on the pattern of a wave and the movement of water; and Needlefish - enchanting sterling silver creations - a stylized version of this slender marine species.