Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 16/00) - Yellowknife jeweller and sculptor Francois Thibault (T-BO) has settled into some new digs at the Polar Bowl building.

It is his seventh move to a new location in Yk, but T-BO says he finally has the space to do what he wants with his art.

"My first studio was in a tiny little house behind the Bay," he said, adding that he's also had two locations in Yk Centre Mall, one in the Panda II Mall and two in the Centre Square Mall.

"It feels 8,000 per cent bigger," he says about his new place. "I haven't had a store where I could put all my equipment out since 1985."

He's spent the past two years educating himself on the art of jewelry making and has been experimenting with a forge and casting equipment. T-BO is crafting his jewelry with Yellowknife gold and Northern-certified diamonds.

"Last spring I got some diamond chips from the Deton'cho Diamonds and this week, I finally got my round brilliants from them," he said.

He said he's happy to be working with the Dene diamond producer because he's working with local materials and keeping the money in the community.

All the diamonds will carry the polar bear trademark and can also be personalized with an individual message or markings, he said.

"They are all laser marked and certified by Mr. Stephen Kakfwi," he said.

Room to grow

He has room for expansion in the new location and hopes to able hire some help if business picks up.

"I plan to keep expanding designing my own line, creating jewelry with a Northern theme as well as creating contemporary works," he said.

T-BO has sculpted the past 15 years, using a wide variety of natural materials like walrus ivory, petrified mammoth tusk and all types of stone. His jewelry line is something people have really taken to.

"You're only going to get one of these in your lifetime, why would you want buy it from a catalogue," T-BO said. "If you're going to ask somebody to marry you, why would you want to be non-original about it."

"When people buy something out of a catalogue and there's 10,000 copies of it, it doesn't contain any value whatsoever and if you don't believe that, just try and sell your old gold," he said. "When you get something from a limited edition, the value of your gold goes up as the artist's popularity increases."

He says he knows his customers and most know him. But do the tourists like his work?

"There are no tourists here," he laughed and added, "I've never made a living off tourism. I've always made a living off Yellowknifers and Northerners. It's the local people who want to support the arts that are important to me."

The new location has room for all the toys of his trade, complete with forge and casting operation, stone cutting and shaping equipment.

"After 15 years, I'm finally getting the tools that would make any artist jealous," he smiled. "And I worked hard for them."

He's been working hard to get his new studio ready for his grand opening tomorrow (Thursday), and to celebrate, he's offering a draw for a free Northern diamond.