Designer: Solange Guaida
Location: Montreal, Quebec
Makes: Handmade silver jewellery.

Solange, an architect for more than ten years, was drawn to jewellery due to a craving to express herself and create more freely in her work. She had always been intrigued with metalworking and in 2000 began to study silversmithing at the workshop of Adriana Lieberman in Mexico City (where she is from originally). A few years later after moving to Montreal she decided to train more formally and enrolled in the Ecole de Joaillerie where she has been studying two years and continues to learn new techniques.

Her architectural training has had an impact on her work; many of her pieces have simple shapes where the geometry and proportions are inspired by architectural forms. However, these minimalist shapes are balanced by designs that are more whimsical, and more directly inspired by nature or common objects. She enjoys making miniatures and metal reproductions of common objects, as well as playing with texture and colour with materials such as wool felt, wood, glass and semi-precious stones.

Some Mynta pieces are hand carved in wax, then cast in sterling silver and hand finished. The casting is done by a specialist, and Solange does the carving and finishing using a multi-step process of filing, sanding and buffing. Other pieces are fabricated using silver sheet or wire that is shaped and soldered using a torch.

Mynta means mint, in Swedish.