Anne Sportun began experimenting with jewellery in the basement of her childhood home where her father, a high school shop instructor, had a workshop full of tools. When Anne delivered her first wholesale order in 1981 at the age of sixteen, she had no idea she had just started something that would later become her professional career. By deferring academic studies in archaeology to enroll in a three year Jewellery Arts Program, Anne followed her passion for jewellery making and consciously embarked on a the path that would lead her to where she is today.

In 1987, Anne registered her company Experimetal Jewellery Works, but still held odd jobs to make ends meet. While working part-time at an architect’s office, Anne met Barbara Kelly, then a book-keeper, who fell in love with Anne’s work. The two became fast friends and soon began developing Experimetal together. Barb represented the work at international trade shows while Anne remained busy making her pieces in the studio. Ten years later, Anne and Barb became business partners.

The first retail location opened in Toronto in 1992 and a second store opened 12 years later. With retail success and a growing wholesale clientele, the business grew as did Anne’s reputation for well-designed, finely-made jewellery. Today, the company has a staff of 25 talented members. Each piece of jewellery is hand-crafted, in downtown Toronto by a team of highly-skilled goldsmiths, and Anne oversees every detail. Anne and Barb are as busy as ever appearing at trunk shows, exhibiting at trade shows and consulting with clients at their retail location in Toronto’s fashionable Queen Street West neighborhood.