A Decade in Metal: BLACK SØLV’s Origins & Namesake
It’s been a decade since I started my metalwork journey. Its feel’s surreal to say that, with the state of the world currently, and the constant struggle for Artists. I feel immensely privileged to experience this milestone.
It has not always been easy, and as I continue to grow, change and evolve as person and artist BLACK SØLV also changes with me. It all started in 2014 when I took a leap of faith and applied to jewellery school. I had spent my previous years studying Anthropology and Sociology. Although I loved this area of study, I felt that something was missing, I longed for something more creative and immersive. I have always been a tactile person, who loved learning through hands on means.
Growing up I spent a great deal of time in my grandfather’s workshop watching him do woodwork and tend to his large rainwater fed garden on Vancouver Island. His garden was an Eden for me, a safe space which I believe was when I fell in love with plants, flowers and the Earth. I was extremely close to my grandfather, a relationship that I will always cherish that has molded me into so much of who I am today. BLACK SØLV is named for him, and our family lineage.
My grandfather Herman Oskar Ekeli is of Norwegian descent, from the Lofoten Islands. My most cherished possession is rocks he collected from every stop he made when he went back to view our family history. These rocks are the spark behind BLACK SØLV’s name, meaning ‘black silver’ in Norwegian, also a play on words as a great deal of my work is created in oxidized sterling silver. My Grandfather picked up rocks from each historical site and wrote their longitude and latitude and a brief story on their connection to our familial roots and presented them to me on my birthday when he returned to Canada.
He taught me from an early age to appreciate the time it takes to make something, and the commitment to loving the Earth for not only what it could provide us, but what we can do for it as well. Born under the star sign Gemini, (which is also my moon sign) he was a quick-witted man with an eye for details who often was telling a joke or playing a prank on someone (often me). I love him so much, and I miss him every day. However, through my journey into the world of jewellery, I felt connected to him and his lessons. Every day I sit at my bench, I think about how he would have loved to see what I have accomplished, but I know every time I raise a hammer or sit in contemplation of my next project he is with me guiding me, and he knows.
BLACK SØLV is my business, but it’s also my connection to the community around me. Art is political, and art is absolutely about who we are at our core at the end of the day. Fast forward to 2026 and 10 years full of lessons later, I have built a beautiful community and continue to grow my patron base through meeting other artists and like-minded individuals. BLACK SØLV is a love letter to the artists who came before me, after me, and who stand beside me.
I have included some of the images of my grandfather, my first market table in 2016, and a picture of me in jewellery school.
Thank you for coming along with me on this journey, it's amazing to see how we've grown.
All my love.
E
