A folk tale says that an Inuit hunter was looking for food in northern Labrador when he saw a huge boulder filled with dancing, coloured light. The hunter struck the boulder with his spear, releasing some of the light to the sky, forming the aurora borealis and labradorite gemstones.

Trinity, N.L., jewelry designer and crafter Elizabeth Burry includes that story with every sterling silver and labradorite necklace, bracelet, or set of earrings she sells. She’s been creating jewelry for more than 20 years, originally in her hometown of St. John’s, before moving to Trinity. She operates an open-studio shop four days a week, plus has a thriving website, and wholesale accounts across Canada.

She works with many stones and unique beads, but labradorite is her favourite. “No two are alike,” she says, which allows for plenty of creativity in her original designs. Labradorite is a type of feldspar with natural fractures and cleavages in it, and because of this cannot be tumbled, it must be hand polished. Elizabeth works with both raw and hand-polished gems, but loves the raw, unpolished stones because the shimmering natural blue and green hues, a property known as labradorescence, really show up. Although this necklace is called “Northern Lights,” she usually names pieces after family, friends and inspiring women. “Every piece has a unique personality, so we try to match them to a person,” she says.