House of Cassady is the umbrella name for the art and craft of Robin Cassady-Cain.  Currently this encompasses contemporary art jewellery and quality, traditional handmade Scottish kilts.

A bit about me

One of my earliest craft memories are of sewing clothes for my Barbie doll (in my opinion, the only reason for having one!).  Both my mother and grandmother have passed on their skills and enjoyment of garment sewing, and my earliest sewing machine was a hand-crank Singer machine.  I’ve come along way since then!  I still enjoy dressmaking, but my interests have expanded into custom jewellery making, quilting and most particularly kiltmaking in Toronto.

I started making beaded jewellery when I was about 15, but it wasn’t until my early 30’s that I started learning goldsmithing skills, progressing from a hobbyist who undertook the occasional special commission, to the professional I am today.

My life has taken me around Ontario and across two continents.  I formally trained as a research biologist, earning an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from the University of Waterloo, and going on to do graduate work in Immunology at The University of Guelph (MSc) and University of Cambridge (UK, PhD).  However, I’ve always had a love of craft and making, and I’ve variously been invested in: garment sewing, photography, felting, quilting, and beading, in addition to my kiltmaking and goldsmithing, many of which I’ve been engaged in my whole life, and all of which influence and contribute to my work.

I am a: