Poitras works with metal, concrete and leather to create jewelry that’s totally bad-ass yet inherently feminine. In other words, exactly what her tagline describes. As Poitras explains, the tagline describes “the different sides of my style. It can be pretty and soft. It can be edgy and rocker. It can be sophisticated and chic. My brand is really an extension of who I am.”
As a Toronto native, Colleen also has a handful of pieces that feature familiar scenes from “The Six.” I have a soft spot for this pendant featuring the ubiquitous TTC streetcar and text that pretty much sums up 85% of my time spent in the city, ha.
A few months ago, I had the chance to interview Colleen about her collection and try some of her top pieces. The Interchangeable Necklace II, a show-stopping statement piece and two sets of earrings – the Cobalt Leather Earrings & a custom variation on The Silver Leather Earrings.
Although she uses lots of different materials, the pieces I received were all made of a mix of leather and metal – which, suits me just fine. Like I mentioned above, this lady loves leather. So, I was really happy when the pieces arrived and I discovered that the leather used for the necklace and earrings is super soft and luxurious to the touch.
Let’s start by talking about the custom Leather Earrings. I’m going to be honest here – I rarely wear dangly earrings anymore, preferring instead to wear understated studs. With that said, the Leather Earrings ended up being my surprise favourite.
Although they’re only available in silver on the site, they can be customized to be whatever colour leather you want. I love that Colleen chose black leather for mine!
Featuring chain and a metal hoop suspended from a leather strip, I thought these earrings would look really “heavy” on me, but they’re strangely subtle. They’re lightweight and delicate with just a hint of a bondage/rocker vibe. I could totally see myself wearing these with a sleek black cocktail dress, heels and not much else.
Want something softer and a bit less dramatic? These Cobalt Leather Earrings are a great option. Once again, you have the same rich leather with a minimal stainless steel hoop dangling below.
Of all the pieces, the The Interchangeable Necklace II was the one I was most looking forward to wearing….and it’s easy to why. It’s a stunner.
Made of three different kinds of chain (silver and pewter tone) that are suspended from a velvety soft leather strap, the The Interchangeable Necklace II is sure to make a statement. It’s a very dramatic piece but still versatile. You can wear it with a cocktail dress, to dress up your favourite well-worn t-shirt & jeans combo or even with fetish-wear in the bedroom (I recently paired it with a black leather bustier. Photos forthcoming.)
I chose to wear the necklace with a simple black top and my beloved leather jacket. I have to say, I felt like a total badass biker-babe.
If the ability to channel your inner Lisbeth Salander wasn’t already enough of a selling point, The Interchangeable Necklace II also comes with an alternate interchangeable strap in the colour of your choice. Colleen was kind of enough to send me both leopard print and cobalt blue. As you can see, if you change the strap, it totally changes the look of the necklace.
Three necklaces in one? I’ll take it.
Overall, I was really impressed with Colleen Poitras jewelry. It’s Canadian, it’s handmade and is great for any of us who want to add a bit of rocker edge to our everyday look.
Thank you to Colleen Poitras for providing these lovely pieces. All opinions are my own, because that’s how I roll.
