Toronto-based jewelry studio ATTIC is celebrating 10 years in business, offering a distinct take on jewelry retail with a showroom and workspace that brings customers into the heart of the design and manufacturing process.
“We’ve been in our current location in Toronto for eight years now just east of downtown at Sherbourne and Adelaide,” says Melissa Gobeil, Co-founder of ATTIC. “We just have the one spot. It’s a studio and showroom.
ATTIC first launched in Guelph, Ontario, in what Gobeil describes as a more informal beginning.
“Our very first showroom and studio actually opened in Guelph, strangely enough — which is actually where I currently still live. It wasn’t an official store at that point, more of a rough studio space in an old industrial building in Guelph, kind of a mixed-use setup.”
Once they proved the concept, a move to Toronto was the logical next step.
“We knew we would need to move it to Toronto,” she says. “So we started looking for a place, and we’ve now been in our current Toronto location for eight years.”
The studio reflects ATTIC’s collaborative and transparent approach. “Now the studio is by appointment. That was always the dream — to have a studio space where we could collaborate directly with clients on custom jewelry.”
Founded by Gobeil and Susan Shaw, her long-time business partner, ATTIC was built on a shared vision. “We met actually at goldsmithing school, me and my business partner Susan, many, many years ago,” says Gobeil. “We knew we were wanting to make those kind of classic everyday pieces that people were having a hard time finding at the time.”
“We were best buds as of day one of school.”
Today, the studio/showroom offers a unique experience where clients meet one-on-one with designers who are also trained goldsmiths. “It’s both a showroom and a workspace. Clients can come in, and they get a behind-the-scenes look at the process,” says Gobeil. “We do a lot of manufacturing on-site, and also work with other craftspeople in the area.”
“It’s a very different experience compared to a typical retail jewelry environment. You can hear the tools in the background, see into the workshop. It’s immersive.”
In 2024, ATTIC redesigned its space to reflect its growth and evolving needs. “It used to be completely open, with clients sitting right in the middle of the activity,” she explains. “But as the team grew, we needed more separation. So we worked with a Toronto designer to completely redesign the space.”
“The result was a beautiful showroom with windows into the work area, so clients can still peek in and see what’s going on. We collaborated with local makers and craftspeople for custom lighting, stools, and other elements. It was an amazing experience, especially as designers ourselves, to go through that design process.”
All of ATTIC’s staff, including Gobeil and Susan, trained at George Brown College, a school known for its goldsmithing program. “There are a lot of graduates from that program, especially in Ontario. Our two staff members are also George Brown grads, so everyone on our team is a trained goldsmith,” she says. “When clients sit down with us for a custom piece, whether it’s with me or someone on our team, they’re working directly with a goldsmith. That’s a different experience for most people.”
While ATTIC primarily operates on a direct-to-consumer model, it does have one retail partnership. “We have one retail partner, Souvenir Studios on College Street in Toronto,” says Gobeil. “That’s our only retail partnership.”
Gobeil notes that industry shifts, including the rise of lab-grown diamonds, have changed the landscape, but not ATTIC’s philosophy. “The last little while has seen a real shift in the industry because lab diamonds kind of came into the market a handful of years ago,” she says. “We work strictly with natural materials so we’re kind of an outlier.”
“There are lots and lots of clients who are shopping for lab diamonds. That’s a new offering. It’s a technology, though, right? So the price of that material, for a retailer to sell or to purchase, has really come down exponentially. That’s changed the climate.”
ATTIC instead focuses on unique natural diamonds with personality. “What we have clients coming to us for are those pieces that are a little bit different and unique,” says Gobeil. “We work with diamonds that might have a bit of colour in them, some imperfection, or some big chunks of uncrystallized carbon. There’s kind of a couple of camps: people shopping for lab diamonds, and people looking for more unique, natural pieces.”
She adds that rising gold prices have added to the pressure. “The price of gold has gone up. That’s a change. It’s just going up and up and up always.”
But ATTIC’s local production and small supplier network have helped insulate it from many of the supply chain challenges facing the broader industry. “We’ve been less impacted by the changes overall because we do all of our own manufacturing right in Toronto,” says Gobeil. “We only work with a very, very small selection of suppliers for our gemstones, who are Canadian suppliers. Thankfully, we haven’t been too impacted when it comes to U.S. markets.”
Gobeil points to a recent example when they pivoted entirely on a design due to importation concerns. “We were considering importing Italian chains from a U.S. company, but when everything happened, we decided to put a pin in it. We regrouped and decided to make the chain by hand, which isn’t very common.”
“We sourced our own recycled gold from our refinery here in Ontario, and then hand-fabricated all the links in our studio, right in downtown Toronto. Then we sourced a local closure and added a little bead set with Canadian origin diamonds.”
“Because we have the capacity to do a lot of manufacturing ourselves,” she adds, “we were able to pivot completely around that design concept.”
With eight years behind them in Toronto, Gobeil is proud of what ATTIC has built and excited for what’s next.
“In our 10 years, we’ve never strayed from our ethos of quiet, responsible luxury,” adds Gobeil. “As a boutique brand, this milestone feels especially meaningful. It’s a testament to ATTIC’s values and an opportunity to reaffirm our creative vision.”
In October, ATTIC will debut a limited edition anniversary collection in collaboration with Misfit Diamonds, featuring all Canadian, mine-to-market stones.
Gobeil and Shaw personally selected the rough diamonds to be custom cut and set into ATTIC’s signature silhouettes. The light champagne stones will take shape in antique-inspired cuts, heart, moval, pear, with modern settings designed to accentuate the essence of each unique stone.
“We’ve always collaborated with Misfit and incorporated Canadian diamonds into our work, but this is the first time we’ve been part of the custom diamond-cutting process,” says Shaw. “We’ve selected classic yet uncommon shapes to evoke a soft, vintage feel, each one uniquely suited to our signature ATTIC aesthetic.”
All ATTIC pieces are hand-made in Toronto from solid gold, using 100% recycled gold whenever possible, and conflict-free stones.
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