Victoria Buckley literally taught herself the craft of metal and jewelry work by cracking open books and going at it with a saw. It's hard to believe when you see the level of her jewelry making skill now that she started with so little.

From the designer: "I was smitten with the tiny scale, the rich colour, the boundless potential for crafting treasured talimans. I read goldsmithing books for 14 hours a day. I bought a jewelry saw. I bought $10 of silver. I worked for two weeks making ten deer talismans, taken from the shadowy images on the walls of ancient caves. Someone at a market stall bought one for $15. I was on my way!

Here I am now, and it's my 10th year in the Strand Arcade, and we are about to open a larger shop on the same floor. I have dreams of selling in the United States..."

Myths, legends, fairy secrets play out in her metal jewelry ala story telling techniques. The rose gold, not often seen these days even still, adds a sense of whimsy to her work which also includes engraved words and gemstones.