Folk + l'or.

Folk for my grandmother. L'or for the gold she taught me to love.

She is the reason jewelry became personal to me. Before her, jewelry was ceremonial, the kind of thing you got for an anniversary or wore down the aisle. She brought folklore into it: the story of where each piece came from, what relative had owned it, what was happening in the world the year it was made. A pop of colour where you didn't expect one, the ring she always wore that meant something to her, hours spent fingering through her jewelry box, finding bits and bobbles that felt otherworldly and ethereal.

I started Folklor on a whim. I had taken a job at Shopify in 2017, and the heartbeat of that company is entrepreneurship: build something, ship it, put an idea into the world. So in 2018, I did. I had no idea what I was doing, but I loved hunting through thrift shops, consignment stores, and second-hand reseller communities. Finding a diamond in the rough turned out to be a superpower of mine, and there is nothing more exhilarating than bringing home a piece that will be connected with a new keeper. I chose jewelry specifically because it is universal. There is something for everyone, regardless of age, size, or style, and that felt like the right way in for the inclusive community I wanted to build. So I started, and I kept going, and seven years later here we are.

Nothing about my path has been linear, and the best things I have done have come from the detours. I have always been most inspired by the unexpected, and whatever made my heart vibrate at the moment, I gave myself the freedom to chase, even when it looked nothing like the last thing I had been doing. Folklor came out of that instinct. The community made it real. When the pieces I curated started their next chapters with you, I began hearing the stories: the ring someone was proposed with, the pendant chosen to mark a new addition to the family, the earrings worn to honour someone no longer here, the piece chosen to mark coming out the other side of an illness. That is when I realized this was about more than jewelry. These pieces are conduits, for storytelling, for community, for human connection.

Today, Folklor is a collection of the most beloved pieces I have discovered along the way. Every piece passes through my hands before it reaches yours. I look for the things that stop me, and I only bring home the ones that do. What I have come to believe, after seven years of this, is that the most beautiful things already exist. The work is in finding them, and in giving them a second life with someone who will treasure them the way the last person did.

In honour of Folklor, take the detour. Do the unexpected. Chase what makes your heart vibrate, and add your story to the folklore. Thank you so much for being here. One of my greatest gifts is the beautiful community that has flourished from Folklor.

xx Megan