Ethereal Escapism

The world of Sandler’s baubles is soft, yet radical, and intense, while precisely delicate all at the same time. The beauty of Sandler’s world lies in the fact that what precedes these balanced notions is the wearer. Sandler creates the intention, and the wearer truly brings it to life.

Step into Sandler’s world with us, below.

Did you have a strong tie to the jewelry world growing up? What facilitated this journey?

I didn’t. But growing up, I believe I subliminally became aware of jewelry through the amazing women around me. I went to art school with a fine arts degree at OCAD University in Canada to be a textile artist. During my second year, we had a mandatory introduction to jewelry soldering studio course (which I tried to switch out of) but luckily the Dean of my program who later became my thesis advisor — Dorie Millerson — told me to try one class. I'm so grateful she did because I fell madly in love with soldering.

Your pieces mesh beautiful, traditional gemstones with edgy metalwork and sharp shapes. Is this juxtaposition between soft and hardcore intentional?

I love that you picked up on that because I love when things have balance, so I think it was something subconscious because it wasn’t as deliberate as it looks.

Where did you come up with the idea for the iconic earpin?

It was at a time when earcuffs were extremely ubiquitous and I wanted to make my own type of cuff. To be honest, I thought that I invented it, but I tried to find others like it on the Internet and came across some versions on Etsy. This reinforces my belief that everything has been done before but the way you do it to make it your own is what makes it truly unique. That’s why I don’t get upset about people making earpins or lip rings because they can make it their own; which is extremely exciting to see.

Can you tell me a bit more about your stone forging process?

Forging is the opposite of casting which is the easiest way to produce massive numbers of jewelry. Casting is melting metals to their melting point and then pouring the molten metal into a mold which turns it into a solid form. Forging is a process of forming pieces with metals already in their solid form. Forging is actually 37% stronger, which in time, will last longer. That’s why my work takes longer to make but my hand and mind are present as I’m making my pieces. I love slowing things down, especially now. I also set my own stones which take the longest because I need to perfectly file the metal and then polish the whole piece. As tedious as it all sounds, making jewelry, for me, is like a moving meditation.

I’ve seen you post some of your pieces that aren’t necessarily for sale, but more like your inner workings come to life. How many creations do you have sitting on the back burner and why do you choose to keep some to yourself?

I feel as if jewelry is a medium to express myself, presently. I've always had trouble communicating my emotions so I believe that working with my hands is a way of sorting things out. You could say that they are my sculpture work; it's interesting because I’m grappling between commerce and my work. Am I an artist if my medium is viewed as craft, commodity, or even applied arts? In the beginning, I kind of approached my “brand” as a personal and ongoing art piece. This gave me the ability to do anything I wanted without the constraints of having to cater to an algorithm. So to answer this question, I choose to keep these pieces because they inform the smaller pieces I make and keep the soul to my practice.

What has been the most “pinch me” moment you’ve experienced since deciding to start this adventure on your own?

A real “pinch me” moment is seeing numerous people IRL and virtually who I don’t know wearing my pieces.

What is the most ambitious piece you have ever set out to create and what was the result?

Making a tiara to be worn by Grimes. It took me over 350 hours since I had never made something so intricate, but I definitely learned so much and will expand on this in the future.

Your designs seem to be, in many ways, informed by fantasy. What does your ideal fantasy world look like?

I think that I try to escape reality as much as possible. I also want to create things that will help people escape their own reality to become someone they’re not or a heightened version of themselves. Going to the movie theatre once a week is my form of escape, where my mind is a snow globe of fantastical imaginations produced by whatever I’m watching. I think this is why I also want to make films because when I make jewelry, I think of the overall milieu of it. Who would wear it, how would they move in it, and what adventures would they take in the pieces?

If you could be a gemstone, which would you be and why does that stone best characterize your personality?

A polished diamond wouldn’t be, without a bit of friction.

How do you urge those who are not as familiar with jewelry as an accessory, such as males who may be out of their comfort zone, to defy those standards?

I’m trying to understand this myself — what about sparkly gems makes them inherently feminine to us? There are many instances in history where men wore jewelry we wouldn’t deem masculine today. But these standards of gender are constantly changing so it's interesting to see how the jewelry market will play out for male-identifying consumers. I’d say that my customers are 96% female-identifying generation Z’ers, but I’m trying to market my work with all genders in mind. I am obsessed with watching male rappers display their jewelry on YouTube. The more gems and thicker the gold the better.

If eyes are the windows to the soul, then jewelry is....

The drapes to my mind.

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