M & J Jewellery

Business profile:

M&J Jewelry opened at the Eglinton location two years ago, but owner Jana Pokorna has been creating custom jewelry for almost 30 years. 

Jana imports gem stones from all over the world, primarily India. She has a drawer full of stones that include emerald, amethyst, turquoise, tourmaline and jasper. The regular customers usually walk in with an outfit, pick the stones to match, and then Jana creates something fabulous. Everything is custom made, on site. 

Custom earrings start as low as $10 and bracelets at $25, but Jana also does engagement rings and heirloom redesigns worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. “Bring me any crazy job, and I will make you something beautiful.” says Jana. 

Many clients bring in older jewelry for Jana to clean or to transform into something new. Old earrings become a new brooch; an old pearl necklace becomes several rings to pass to granddaughters. 

Every piece tells a story. Jana wears a pendant that is a penny that her boyfriend picked up, which happens to have her son’s birthday on it, so she made it into a necklace. Now, she has a collection of pennies with different years on them and many clients ask for “birthday pennies.” 

“I don’t do this for money, as I’m still poor!” Jana laughs. “I do it for the community. I love the neighbourhood and I’m having a blast talking to people and hearing their stories.” And creating jewelry from every story!