Workshop and Lectures with Daniela Malev

Craft Ontario and George Brown present a workshop and lectures led by visiting German artist, Daniela Malev. The series of events begins with the free lecture, History of the Brooch, followed by a 4-day hands-on workshop on Pin Mechanisms and Brooch Back Design, then another free lecture, Connections...a Cosmos of Phenomenons and Possibilities. Each event has its own registration and we engourage jewellers and goldsmiths especially to sign up for them all! This is a unique opportunity to focus on the functionality and aesthetics of pin mechanisms and contemplate connections that are material and metaphysical. 

The History of the Brooch lecture will take the audience on a condensed journey through the history and the development of the brooch: from its early Bronze Age forms as a fibula, through the era of medieval breast pins and the baroque Sévigné-brooches to the political and social statements of buttons and badges and finally to the brooch as one category of contemporary jewellery.

Lecture Details:
Monday, October 20, 2025
7:00 pm

Location: 
George Brown College School of Fashion & Jewellery
Casa Loma Campus
160 Kendal Ave., Room C511
Toronto, ON

lecture REGISTRATION

The 4-day workshop will initiate and encourage a conscious approach to the design of the brooch back and its mechanisms. The participants are introduced to a variety of pin mechanisms and learn how to realize them technically. They will be guided through exercises on different needle techniques and ways of thinking about what a needle can be and how it can be solved. Participants can also bring work from their ongoing projects and apply and discuss new insights and future steps for their own creative practice. All results will be discussed in group and individual consultations.

Workshop Details:
October 21-24, 2025
9:00 am - 4:00 pm each day / 24 hours total

Location: 
George Brown College School of Fashion & Jewellery
Casa Loma Campus
160 Kendal Ave., Room C511
Toronto, ON

WORKSHOP REGISTRATION

In the Connections...a Cosmos of Phenomenons and Possibilities lecture, Daniela will present inquiries on the purpose of making two or more separate details become a part of a bigger union. Connections can be mechanical, chemical, biological, social, philosophical, or metaphysical. As well as drawing lines between the types of connections in jewellery making and by techniques of other crafts like weaving, smithing, or wood crafting, or from drawings, paintings, sculptures and architecture.

Lecture Details:
Thursday, October 23, 2025
7:00 pm

Location: 
George Brown College School of Fashion & Jewellery
Casa Loma Campus
160 Kendal Ave., Room C511
Toronto, ON

lecture REGISTRATION

Daniela Malev is a jeweller and teacher. Trained as a goldsmith in her hometown of Dresden, Germany, she also holds a Master Craftsman Certificate for Gold and Silversmithing and studied Jewellery Design at Staatliche Zeichenakademie Hanau. She concluded her formal studies with a BA and MFA degree in Gemstone and Jewellery Design at the University of Applied Sciences Trier/Idar-Oberstein, Germany. She has lectured and taught workshops throughout Europe, North America, and Asia. One of her special fields of interest is brooch backs and pin mechanisms with her research resulting in the publishing of her first book “To The Point”. She is currently investigating the subject of “connections” in jewellery design and will soon publish a second book about this topic.