Humble beginnings. Born in Hong Kong, Eugenia worked as a registered nurse and midwife until she married, after which she ran a successful antique auto part manufacturing business. Immigrating to Vancouver in 1976, Eugenia developed a pool and spa business and then branched out to a successful career in real estate.
Finally retiring in 2009, Eugenia is now able to pursue her life-long fascination with arts and crafts. Having tried quilting, sewing and water color painting, she didn’t really find anything to satisfy her until she discovered the world of jewelry making.
Wire Work. You could say that Eugenia stumbled upon jewelry making by accident. In 2007, while browsing through her local Chapters store, she picked up a book called "Bead on A Wire" by American wire artist, Sharilyn Miller and was immediately intrigued. The highly ornate and complex level of wire wrapping piqued her interest and stirred her artistic senses. She immediately traveled to California to study with Sharilyn, who is an acknowledged master in this style of wire wrapping.
Appreciating the level of technique she learns from experts in their field, Eugenia has since attended workshops with top designers such as Connie Fox, Janice Berkebile, Ronna Sarvas Weltman, as well as more workshops with Sharilyn Miller.
Eugenia deeply appreciates and acknowledges the inspiration and encouragement that she has received from these gifted and talented artists and teachers. She is especially thrilled to have 2 of her projects featured in Sharilyn’s latest book: Contemporary Copper Jewelry.
Polymer Clay. Always on the lookout for new techniques and ideas, Eugenia recently started working with a new medium, Polymer Clay. Offering a whole new world to explore artistically with color and design, this fusion with polymer clay is taking Eugenia’s wire work to a whole new level.
Sharing her home/studio with her beloved Malti-poo Miss Karlie, Eugenia spends much of her time creating new designs as well as teaching her love of wire work to students of all levels throughout Vancouver’s Lower Mainland. She works closely with two other artists, Judy Mackenzie and Linda Gross under the banner name of VanTrio Creations, the threesome enjoys sharing the many benefits of learning, designing, traveling and generally having great fun with their shared artistic journeys.
You can see many of Eugenia’s creations on this website. To see where she is teaching or selling her jewelry and accessories, visit the VanTrio blog site at www.vantrio.wordpress.com and check out the Classes and Events link.