20 YEARS OF BIKO
Twenty years of sketches, samples, strange materials, new ideas and making things by hand in Toronto.
What started as a small idea became BIKO. Twenty years later, we're still here, still making, still experimenting, and still curious about what comes next.
It's impossible to put into a few words all that goes into making BIKO tick. There have been so many pieces, places, people and ideas along the way. So, in celebration of 20 years, we're taking a little time to look back.
20 years of following our curiosity.
A lot of BIKO starts with simply noticing.
A shape. A texture. An old object. A piece of architecture. Something found while travelling. An interesting material that makes us wonder what it might become.
From there, things usually get a little messy.
There are sketches, drafts, moulds, samples and plenty of versions that never make it past the studio. We make something, look at it, change it, make it again, and keep going until it starts to feel right.
We've always been drawn to the process of figuring things out. Some of our favourite pieces have come from unexpected materials, happy accidents and ideas that took a few wrong turns before becoming something we wanted to keep.
Twenty years later, that curiosity is still one of the things that keeps us going.
20 years of creative campaigns.
We've always believed that the world around a piece of jewelry matters.
Over the years, we've had the chance to dream up campaigns that have taken BIKO in all kinds of directions. Different people, locations, moods and ideas, all helping us see the jewelry in a new way.
Some were carefully planned. Some came together in slightly more chaotic ways. All of them gave us an opportunity to build a world around the pieces and explore what BIKO could look and feel like beyond the jewelry itself.
Looking back through the archives, it's also amazing to see how much has evolved. The photography, the styling, the locations, the overall vibe.
But the impulse behind it has stayed pretty consistent: create something thoughtful, and make it feel like BIKO.
20 years of pieces that found their people.
Over the years, we've watched pieces find their way into people's lives in ways we never could have predicted. A necklace worn every day. A pair of earrings bought to mark something special, like a wedding or a new job. A piece passed along, layered with another, dressed up or worn with an old favourite.
Some pieces become signatures. Some become part of a uniform. Some disappear into someone's jewelry box and reappear years later.
And we've been lucky enough to see BIKO worn by so many different people, in so many different places.
That's one of the most meaningful parts of making things: you can spend months thinking about a piece, but once it belongs to someone else, they give it a life of its own.
20 years of making it work.
There is the BIKO that people see, and then there is everything that happens behind it.
The production schedules. The spreadsheets. The emails. The orders. The packing. The shipping. The samples that don't quite work. The things that need to be figured out five minutes before they're needed.
We've learned to adapt, change course, start over and make do. We've learned that running an independent business rarely goes exactly according to plan.
And while there have certainly been difficult days, there has also been something incredibly rewarding about building BIKO this way: staying small enough to be involved, close enough to the process, and curious enough to keep trying new things.
Twenty years of making it work has taught us a lot.
Mostly, that there is almost always a way forward.
20 years of shared moments.
There is no way to tell the story of BIKO without talking about the people.
The collaborators, sales reps, staff, interns, stylists, photographers, friends, retailers and countless others who have helped shape the brand along the way.
Some people were part of BIKO for years. Some crossed paths with us for a season. Some became lifelong friends.
There have been trade shows, studio days, dinners, road trips, celebrations, stressful deadlines, ridiculous moments and a lot of laughter along the way.
When we look back at 20 years, these are some of the photographs we love most. Not necessarily the polished ones, but the moments in between.
Because businesses are built by people. And BIKO has been lucky to have so many good ones around it.
20 years of BIKO.
A lot has changed. A lot has stayed the same.
We're still making things by hand in Toronto. Still following our curiosity. Still experimenting. Still making, remaking and figuring it out.
There have been so many pieces, places, people and ideas along the way, and we're incredibly grateful for all of them.
Twenty years in, we're still curious about what comes next.
And somehow, we're just getting started.
Thank you for being part of it all. 🖤
With love & gratitude,
Corrine + the BIKO team