Kat Wilkinson was born with a fascination for every magical detail of the world around her—especially stones. As she grew up, her artistic nature flourished and eventually led to a photography degree from Sheridan College and work as a photographer, but the love of beautiful stones never went away.
She trained with the Canadian Gemmological Association, graduated with honours, won an award for highest achievement and was invited to be a fellow of the CGA in 2003 (and now has the letters FCGmA after her name). She quickly also became a certified diamond grader with HRD Antwerp and coloured stone and pearl grader through the GIA (Gemological Institute of America).
Kat’s design flair, coupled with her gemmological expertise, are, of course, vital to MLJ’s bespoke jewellery creation, but clients also appreciate her skilful metalsmithing. She learned the skill first at Toronto’s famous applied arts institution George Brown College back in 2003, and honed it through the classic artisanal combination of self-teaching and private tuition.
A complete jeweller, she soon began designing and making her own creations. However, even though she was selling in Toronto galleries, she was still primarily working for others. She may have been fully qualified and employed in jewellery, but Kat was not satisfied.
By 2016, after moving to Hamilton, Ontario, Kat’s desire to fully express herself had reached bursting point. She decided it was time to embrace her destiny and start her own designer jewellery business. In 2017, Modern Love Jewellery was born. MLJ officially moved into the historical Cotton Factory in September that year. By 2019, the time was ripe for a beautiful brick-and-mortar showroom. A new space in nearby Burlington was developed to fully showcase MLJ’s work and create the perfect environment to meet and welcome clients.
Since that time, Kat’s art and innovation have flourished—living up to the Modern Love Jewellery name. Beautiful contemporary and classic designs are created using the latest modern technology in ethically and responsibly sourced materials. MLJ work with clients to realize their dream jewellery, create future heirlooms and celebrate the diversity and joy of love.