Love and Lead: jewellery for the outdoors lover

Love and Lead: jewellery for the outdoors lover

By Irene van der Kloet

Angela Budd was raised in rural Alberta and has always been a country and wildlife lover. One day, she told her husband she was starting a business, so his question was: “What are we doing?”. Her answer was: “Bullet and antler jewellery!” She explains how this came about: “We always go foraging in the bush, hiking a lot, we find our antler sheds, we forage for berries and pick saskatoons and raspberries. I do my landscape and wildlife photography in the bush as well. We came across a party spot where everyone was shooting their guns, and we started picking up shells and bullets to clean them up. I always try to find a reuse for everything, so I tried making jewellery out of these shells. So, I started asking my friends if they would be interested, and they were. The next step was that I was going to markets. The more I did that, the more people asked. This is more my style, redneck, western, outdoorsy items. I want stuff people can wear daily, and if it gets wrecked, that’s ok.” Angela comes from a crafty family, and as soon as she started this business, she knew it was her thing. She is now shipping her items across Canada. And she has a wide selection of necklaces, rings and bracelets, as can be found on her website. During Covid, she was working off her website, but now she is going to markets again. She also tries new items: “One day, my husband and I were going for a drive. I found these bullets, so I turned them into a necklace. Next, people are asking me about it”. She had a guy bringing an elk tooth with the bullet casing that the elk was killed with by his great grandfather. She put them together into a nice piece of jewellery. Angela gets her bullet casings from hunters or a rifle range and only uses recycled shells that she gets from others. It is a family enterprise: her husband cuts the antlers, and her sons help. Angela and her family live north of Waskatenau. As for a reason for the name, Angela explains:” Love and Lead: Everything I Love with a little bit of Lead.” She has a Facebook page, an Instagram page and a website (www.loveandleadab.com). Angela Budd can be reached at 587-783-3141.