Susan Watson Ellis has utilized her skills as a jeweller to create this one-of-a-kind, fabulous chainmaille top. That’s right this top is meticulously made from approximately 42,000 hand-crafted sterling silver links that took about 400 hours to create and that’s not counting the time it took to design and assemble them into a functionally wearable garment. The garment weighs in at 2.82 kilograms and is absolutely stunning. It retails for $50,000 and is appropriate for someone of a size 6 or 8. You can see it at the Rails End Gallery, in the village of Haliburton, Ontario,  until June 16th. It is part of the Transitions Exhibition which shows an amazing collection of art created by the artisans who have been associated with the Haliburton County Studio Tour over its 25 years of life. This top was also part of a larger Exhibition put on by the Ontario Crafts Council Gallery in 2010.

Susan has a passion for natural gemstones and examines each one carefully to create a true piece of art with the blending of sterling silver and a variety of gemstones. She works from her lakeside studio in the Haliburton Highlands and is an active member of the local artistic community as is demonstrated through her membership in the Arts Council~Haliburton Highlands, and participation in the Haliburton Highlands Studio Tour. She also teaches others and is a member of the faculty of Fleming College’s Haliburton School of the Arts where she was the Artist of the week in March of this year. The article written about her on this website explains her history, passion and creative spirit.