To celebrate Pride Month this year, local artisan, Michaela Gagne, is curating a collection of earrings to help support and bring awareness to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. We had the opportunity to chat with her about her involvement as an ally and why she chose The Bridge’s Etcetera Youth Group to donate proceeds to…

Q: What sparked your interest in crafting handmade jewelry?

I was working as an Education Assistant in a school when the pandemic hit and I got laid off. So I started dabbling in making clay jewelry and began practicing the craft more and more. I quickly realized my passion for it and started Luxe & Love Creations. I love spending my time at my crafting table creating beautiful pieces for customers!

Q: What made you decide to curate a Pride Collection?

One of my sibling’s is in the LGBT community and I wanted more people to know it’s OKAY to be who they are. It’s really important to create awareness and it should be all the time, but I’m still glad there’s Pride month where efforts are more focused. It’s not about the money from the collection, I just wanted to make jewelry the LGBT community would enjoy and hope my pieces help to bring more awareness to resources and services available for support.

Q: How did you decide on donating to the Etcetera Youth Group?

I put a post up on my Instagram stories asking if anyone knew of any local support groups and had someone share about Etcetera. Not only do I want to help create awareness about the program, but I’m learning a lot from this process myself. I hope people come up to my booth or reach out to me and know it’s a safe space - I’m an ally.

Q: How can people support your Pride Collection?

You can shop from my website or Instagram! I’ll also be at the East Kelowna Market almost every Sunday this summer and will have pieces from the collection there. 50% of proceeds from June sales of the Pride Collection will be donated to Etcetera Youth Group. It also helps to spread the word by sharing my posts or the collection, and information about Etcetera. At the end of the day it’s about Etcetera and supporting them.

Make sure to check out Michaela’s incredible creations and help support local businesses and organizations. You can find out more about Luxe & Love Creations by heading to www.luxe-love-creations.square.site or following along on Instagram @luxeandlovecreations.

Looking to support The Bridge and our programs? Reach out to our Director of Community Engagement, Kelly Paley, at kelly.paley@thebridgeservices.ca. We love to collaborate and are happy to share your initiatives with our community!