Meet the artist
Hello! My name is Chelsea Phoenix Leigh (she/her) I am the artist and curator behind Phoenix Leigh Boutique. I’m based in “New Westminster, BC” on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish Peoples, and unsurrendered land of the Halkomelem speaking people. Where I have lived for 32 of my 34 years.
My passion for jewelry and crystals has always been strong. Ever since I was a child, I often become obsessed with books and movies that involve a magical piece of jewelry or a powerful stone.
I often hunted through my mother and grandmother’s jewelry boxes and combed through thrift stores and jewelry counters any chance I could, always searching for something resembling the magical pieces that I’d conjured in my daydreams.
I discovered a love of wire wrapping in 2012, while attending BCIT for Interior Design. On a tight student budget, I decided to make gifts for my friends. I found a tutorial for a wire wrapped tree ornament and scaled it down to create a smaller version to wear as a pendant. I loved the result and this began an insatiable hunger to experiment and see what I could do with my own two hands. When I finished my certificate, I continued to create jewelry in my spare time, building my skills through trial and error, working intuitively with crystals and gemstones to create a unique design for each piece.
I began selling my handmade jewelry at artisan pop-ups and craft markets in 2015 and in 2019 decided to take it full time.
In 2020, I began to curate a collection of fine vintage and unique estate costume jewelry which I started selling alongside my handmade work. This became an essential addition to my business after I suffered a spinal injury that left me unable to craft anything new and intricate for over 6 months. After a year of recovery, I felt well enough to start booking markets again and have been so grateful to be able to meet my customers face to face and share our love of jewelry and unique treasures.
I still live with multiple disabilities and was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, spinal stenosis & degenerative disk disease as well as inattentive ADHD but keeping busy as an artist/entrepreneur has allowed me to focus my strengths and live well despite these hurdles.
In my spare time, you can find me strolling around with my partner Ollie and our Collie/Labrastaff Chloe, attending farmers markets, exploring the parks and woodlands of Greater Vancouver or recharging at home, watching historical dramas or playing video games (when I have time!) and having one-sided conversations with my parents calico, Lee-lou.
The Team
