About Ila of Ila’s Ideas
www.ilasideas.com
ILA, born in Midland, Ontario Canada had an early fascination for jewellery, shells and stones from the get go. Making shell jewelry from the age of 8 and selling it on consignment in small neighborhood stores, to friends and to relatives was just the beginning! She was selling these creations in a nook of her family’s business. At sixteen by pure accide
nt another enterprise began. An ad in Seventeen Magazine asking teenagers to send in their hobbies inspired her to make a letter sealer out of soapstone, as she knew that that stone retained heat. Her artist father had ample stone for her to experiment with, so she sent her first soapstone letter sealer along with a stick of sealing wax to Seventeen Magazine. To her amazement the first prize was hers - an ad in Seventeen Magazine for the hobby that was sent in to be sold. From Midland to as far afield as New Zealand she received orders requesting letter sealers with the buyers’ initials carved in the bottom. Over 2500 custom letter sealers were ordered, carved with initials to make personal impressions and sent out around the world. ILA later went on to become a registered nurse, but after a few years, wanderlust and an immense sense of adventure overcame her and she took off to The Bahamas. While indulging her passion of diving in the clear turquoise waters of The Bahamas (much warmer than Georgian Bay) she became enthralled with the Conch Shell, She thought, “If I could carve that shell and then polish the carving back to the luster of the original shell, I would have a thing of beauty”. So she did, entering her jewelry designs of Conch shell in The Commonwealth Fair in Nassau and won. Atlantis Manufacturing was born. It was the first company ever to manufacture jewellery from the Conch Shell and in its beginnings it was devoted solely to the manufacturing of Conch Shell Jewellery. Interestingly Swarovski Crystal Company of Austria agreed with ILA’s insight into the beauty of jewelry made from the Conch Shell. They commissioned thousands of precise cubes from Atlantis Manufacturing with the intention of carving small pieces to be incorporated in their work. When alas they were not able to duplicate the sheen of ILA’s work, they gave up on the concept. Fast Forward ………….. Ila Shulman the founder of ILA’s Ideas has returned to Canada full of ideas after thirty-five years of travelling abroad. She has decided to present to you, the products that she has discovered on her journey. First she is introducing a line of products that are close to her heart, that of the Collection of fine handmade jewellery from the designer, Charles Albert. She discovered Charles Albert some fifteen years ago as a result of their shared passion for sea shells and all things natural. She was fascinated by his use of sea shells, fossils, natural stones and sea glass as well as other media that he used to create museum quality works of art in his jewellery. Today, Charles’ designs can be seen in numerous magazines adorning models and celebrities alike. His inspirational and unique pieces were showcased in ILA’s stores in the Crystal Palace Casino hotel in Nassau, Bahamas. His work became a mainstay in her stores Tropique Tropique and Tropique International. Her current thought is, If Charles Albert’s creations were a hit in an exotic location such as Nassau and internationally seen in fashion magazines, why not make them available to the people of Canada, right here in Canada. After all a majority of her customers in The Bahamas were Canadian and she believes that Canadians truly appreciate the use of natural elements in art, fashion and fine craftsmanship....and so the birth of ILA’s Ideas! ILA will be launching other discoveries soon, but for now she is proudly presenting Charles Albert’s creations.
