Biography
Kimberly de Montbrun's (b.1972) passion for the creative started as a small child. Self described as a quirky child, she was mesmerized by gemstones and all things earthy and whimsical from a very early age. This passion has followed her throughout her life, leading her to complete an Honours degree from Concordia University in Creative Writing and English Literature in 1994.
Kimberly had always wanted to be a writer and an artist when she grew up, but was told by everyone she knew that that was all fine and good, but not very sensible. She chose to not be sensible, and now works full time as a jewelry artist and poet living on the East Coast of Canada, in a moss green farmhouse on the edge of the sea.
As a jewelry artist, Kimberly is mostly self taught. She has also studied under Charlottetown Goldsmith/Silversmith Jeanette Walker.
Kimberly's pieces are worn by over 16,000 clients around the globe. Recent accomplishments of note have been custom work commissioned by the Humane Society of the United States to represent their Kindred Spirits national fund raising program, as well as commissioned pieces for the graduating class of the University of California's School of Midwifery.
Kimberly's work has appeared in magazines, and graced the wrists and necks of celebrities. Due to the sensitive nature of many of our custom pieces, we do not divulge the names of our famous clientele or seek to profit from their custom.
Jewelry as a healing modality - the power of symbols and touch
Kimberly seeks to include significance and symbolism in her designs to create a piece that holds personal meaning for the wearer. She believes that symbols are a powerful healer, reminding us to look deeper into ourselves to find the answers we need to be whole. Over her years of working with healing gems, creating healing jewelry, and training workshops in Hakomi (body centered psychotherapy) she has learned the importance of touch, and the body, in the healing of the whole person. Combining symbols, both universal and personal, with the powerful sense of a tangible item to wear and touch during the day, she believes can be a powerful tool to help us to heal; by drawing our attention back to what is happening in our body, our mind, our soul at that exact moment - and to what needs our focused energy and compassion to heal.
Certified as a level 2 Reiki practitioner in traditional Usui Reiki (trained with Reiki Master and energy healer Roland Berard in Montreal), much of her current work holds a focus on emotional healing, with a desire to reach out to those in need of comfort and strength, with empathy and compassion for their current experience. She strives to create jewelry that will inspire her clients on their journey.
Kimberly is passionate about working closely with her clientele to create a piece that is exactly what they need to help them through their current experience; to recognize their inherant strength, to lend compassion, and to illuminate hope for the future.
About our Miscarriage and Infant Loss Jewelry - the artist's experience with loss
Our miscarriage and infant loss jewelry is a line that has a special home carved out in Kimberly's heart...
After the loss of her second baby during pregnancy, the grief hit Kimberly like a tidal wave. It knocked her down and pulled her under, and she felt like she would never again see the surface, or feel the sunshine that life had to offer. The world seemed a cold damp place full of despair, tears, and a suffocating pain in her chest. What made the pain of losing her baby even worse was the fact that the rest of the world did not acknowledge the loss as real. The fact that loved ones and friends were baffled by her suffering placed her in a place of isolation, doubt and shame. Why was she feeling the way that she was? Why did it hurt so badly? Was something wrong with her that the grief was so acute? She remembers the months after her loss as the darkest in her life.
Kimberly was blessed however, to have received compassionate care from midwives who truly understood the gravity of her loss. The kindest thing that Kimberly remembers from her loss was when her midwife told her to hold and look at her tiny baby and to see it as the miracle that it was. The midwife described her baby as beautiful, unique and perfect as she was - even though she was not yet fully formed.
What a wonderful gift and comfort those words were in the days and months to follow. When the rest of the world saw her baby as expendable and unimportant, that simple gift of acknowledgement set Kimberly towards healing. By acknowledging the need to grieve, the feelings could be worked through, and her soul could be tended.
Kimberly saved a piece of the beautiful blue and silver scarf that she had buried her tiny baby in, and wove it into a bracelet. The bracelet never left her wrist for well over a year, remaining there even through a subsequent pregnancy. To be able to have a tangible piece on her person that was tied to the memory of her baby gave her strength and comfort. In times of overwhelming emotions (such as seeing a baby who was born when hers had been due, a sad song playing in the store while she was shopping...) she would touch the bracelet and feel that connection to her baby. The knowledge that they would always have that soul connection, and having a tangible reminder, gave her the strength and comfort to get through.
It is Kimberly's fondest wish that every woman will be supported through her loss, that every mother's grief will be acknowledged. Through that desire she has created the Miscarriage and Infant Loss line of healing jewelry - the first line of jewelry to ever be created for healing the grief of baby loss. She hopes that her work with both her jewelry and with her personal volunteer endeavors in miscarriage and stillbirth grief support will work to make that dream come true. No mother need ever hide her grief or grieve alone. She hopes to pass on the gift of compassion and acknowledgement that she had been so blessed to have received.
Kimberly puts her heart and soul behind every piece that she creates for grieving mothers and fathers. She makes sure to take time to reflect on the beauty of each baby that the piece she is working on represents, and to send a healing wish to the wearer. She considers it a daily honour to be able to create these pieces for so many babies, mothers, fathers and family members - and feels blessed to be able to make this part of her life's work.
~in memory of Morgan Rune October 19, 1996~
the soul remembers what I can no longer hold
"I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams."
-- Williiam Butlet Yeats
