I’m an artist, so I can make exotic predictions.
There’s a lot of political and media analysis in this episode, but if that’s not your thing, you can skip straight to the last 7 minutes.
I’m horribly sick with the flu, and I talk about how sick I am of Canada’s Prime Minister and his pandering to the US President. There is something seriously wrong with a Canadian Prime Minister who won’t wear a Canadian flag on his lapel, yet will proudly wear a special tie for Donald. Yuck.
I’m exhausted by politics, but I talk about it anyway. I don’t understand how the same government that brought us to this place over the last decade can suddenly save us now.
I also unveil several predictions for 2026, including an AI bubble burst and a broader market collapse, likely by the summer.
I talk about how the rich are already moving into non-traditional assets — like large diamonds sold at auction — to hedge against the crash. They’re realizing that massive pools of money will evaporate when the bubble bursts, so they’re scrambling into alternative asset classes. I predict auction houses will be selling trunk-loads of expensive objects as the wealthy freak out.
I predict America will continue its aggression toward Canada to soften us up. They may even target our state-controlled and publicly funded news media in 2026 — and perhaps, as collateral damage, Canada might get a free and fair media landscape again.
I also talk about what Americans aren’t seeing yet: corruption at the top always flows downward, and it will ultimately destroy the economy. Systemic corruption is being baked directly into the system right now.
And yet, despite all of this, there has never been a better time to make art.
So that’s what I’ll be doing next year.
TRIBE – Custom Made Sterling Silver Trophy Belt Buckles and Jewelry – Product of Canada
Send an email to alexd@cannabisgoldsmith.com to get on our mailing list or to order custom jewelry products from TRIBE.
The Cannabis Goldsmith is an Art & Design podcast produced by TRIBE COMMUNICATIONS INC. in Ontario, Upper Canada.
© and ℗ 2025 Alex Dordevic
TRIBE is a registered trademark
What are photojournalists and why are they important? What do photojournalists seek to accomplish with their art? I give three examples of different approaches to photojournalism, from the political to the cultural, and encourage you to listen to two interviews with photojournalists Simon Townsley on Battle Lines and Chris Anderson on IMPOLITIC at the links below.
On the second part of the show I outline the challenges facing Burgundy as they try to market diamonds from Canada's recently tax funded Ekati diamond mine in Canada's North West Territories. Traditional marketing is not going to work anymore to sell diamonds, and I explain what I would do if I was in their situation.
Photojournalist Simon Townsley on photographing war and disease on Battle Lines:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/photographing-war-disease-and-nuclear-accidents-with/id1712903296?i=1000742557596
Photojournalist Chris Anderson on the IMPOLITIC podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/chris-anderson-karoline-leavitt-isnt-rosalia-and/id1529346075?i=1000742288256
TRIBE – Custom Made Sterling Silver Trophy Belt Buckles and Jewelry – Product of Canada
https://tribe.ca
Send an email to alexd@cannabisgoldsmith.com to get on our mailing list or to order custom jewelry products from TRIBE.
The Cannabis Goldsmith is an Art & Design podcast produced by TRIBE COMMUNICATIONS INC. in Ontario, Upper Canada.
© and ℗ 2025 Alex Dordevic
TRIBE is a registered trademark
I'm going to document my experience seeking funding for a book of photography and for a documentary film. I am hoping it will help others who are seeking to fund art. It will be journalism, but also provide the steps I will take to secure or fail to secure funding for my projects. This first part of the series is about getting your thinking clear and straight about what you want to fund and why, before you even think about how much money you will need for your projects.
It turns out the USA states bordering Canada have suffered a 40% drop in Canadian visitors. Canadian senior citizens now get fingerprinted daily by US border patrol agents at entry points, and visitors will be required to provide the US government 5 years of social media history to enter the country. Over 200 Canadians have been arrested, including children, and some sent to American internment camps.
Canadians now realize we don't need to visit America for anything at all, and especially if we get treated like scum for trying to spend our money there.
TRIBE – Custom Made Sterling Silver Trophy Belt Buckles and Jewelry – Product of Canada
https://tribe.ca
Send an email to alexd@cannabisgoldsmith.com to get on our mailing list or to order custom jewelry products from TRIBE.
The Cannabis Goldsmith is an Art & Design podcast produced by TRIBE COMMUNICATIONS INC. in Ontario, Upper Canada.
© and ℗ 2025 Alex Dordevic
TRIBE is a registered trademark
So you've swallowed a Faberge Egg and figure you've committed a perfect crime, but you are no match for an intern with a stick and a bucket, or Drugloo, the space age contraband recovery toilet manufactured in Texas.
I speculate why many of the podcast listeners are in Australia and Germany...
(Cannabis Goldsmith Listener Stats: 1. Australia 2. Canada 3. USA 4. Germany)
Drugloo - Ranger contraband recovery toilet
https://www.drugloo-international.com/copy-of-our-units-1
TRIBE – Custom Made Sterling Silver Trophy Belt Buckles and Jewelry – Product of Canada
Send an email to alexd@cannabisgoldsmith.com to get on our mailing list or to order custom jewelry products from TRIBE.
The Cannabis Goldsmith is an Art & Design podcast produced by TRIBE COMMUNICATIONS INC. in Ontario, Upper Canada.
© and ℗ 2025 Alex Dordevic
TRIBE is a registered trademark
Is it a restoration? An art project? The Maitland Tower is an incredible historical riverfront property being developed into community art and event spaces by Philip Ling. I went upriver to have a look, and learned how this project combines the modern and the old in new ways that will grow art in South Eastern Ontario.
I also talk about why it's important to license creative work from artists instead of stealing it for commercial purposes.
The Maitland Tower Website
TRIBE – Custom Made Sterling Silver Trophy Belt Buckles and Jewelry – Product of Canada
Send an email to alexd@cannabisgoldsmith.com to get on our mailing list or to order custom jewelry products from TRIBE.
The Cannabis Goldsmith is an Art & Design podcast produced by TRIBE COMMUNICATIONS INC. in Ontario, Upper Canada.
© and ℗ 2025 Alex Dordevic
TRIBE is a registered trademark
As podcasts I once trusted for news, journalism, and truth become chat shows or mouthpieces for a handful of US tech companies trying to justify their extreme valuations, I take a step back and consider if I really need their advertorial content or banter. I am cutting them out of my life becausethey are spreading slop now too.
It’s time to focus on truth, art, and the real.
I talk about how emotionally trying it can be for an artist to look at work they produced when young. There are a lot of reasons why artists can’t look back and I explain some of them.
We have started looking for sponsors for the show. Send me an email for our rate card, if you want to connect deeply with artists and creatives around the world, the Cannabis Goldsmith is the place to do it. Only one sponsor perepisode. Money earned through advertising or sponsorship of this show will go directly to the TRIBE MAGAZINE photographic archive digitization project.
TRIBE – Custom Made Sterling Silver Trophy Belt Buckles and Jewelry – Product of Canada
https://tribe.ca
Send an email to alexd@cannabisgoldsmith.com to get on our mailing list or to order custom jewelry products from TRIBE.
The Cannabis Goldsmith is an Art & Design podcast produced by TRIBE COMMUNICATIONS INC. in Ontario, Upper Canada.
© and ℗ 2025 Alex Dordevic
TRIBE is a registered trademark
One of the greatest human experiences you can have is when you resonate with an artist's work, or it resonates with you on some almost unconscious level.
Petr Válek's synthesizers are hand-built from found materials and embellished with designs coming from a very deep place in a rural area in the Czech Republic. They are also fun and comical. How can an art object contain such multitudes? How can I buy one of these for my own studio?
In the second half of the show I talk about all the big diamonds turning up at auction houses as the rich try to unload and go liquid to face an impending market crash.
My thought is that the Mellon Blue auction price signified the peak of diamond auction prices. I explore why certain diamonds sell for more than others and also speculate as to the the value of Taylor Swift's engagement ring diamond in a hundred years.
Not only does Petr Válek look like a paint covered artist, but his art is amazing. Check it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDG-zQF0kvI
TRIBE – Custom Made Sterling Silver Trophy Belt Buckles and Jewelry – Product of Canada
Send an email to alexd@cannabisgoldsmith.com to get on our mailing list or to order custom jewelry products from TRIBE.
The Cannabis Goldsmith is an Art & Design podcast produced by TRIBE COMMUNICATIONS INC. in Ontario, Upper Canada.
© and ℗ 2025 Alex Dordevic
TRIBE is a registered trademark
Media Literacy 101. The American media pundits are coming into Canada to sell books and influence our politics. They are appearing on our state funded current affairs shows as "news” but this is not news, it is US marketing funded by Canadian tax dollars.
The first part of this episode describes the hypocrisy of American media pundits who use marketing, disinformation or polarization to sell more books and podcast subscriptions to Canadians and Europeans, while capitalizing on their own country’s demise.
Perhaps they should go back to where they came from and fix their own country before telling Canadians or Europeans how to live and what to do. Frankly, they should be paying to appear on Canadian media, not the other way around. Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway from Vox media in Canada shilling for a Canadian political party IS interference in our domestic politics and they must stop doing this now.
I am so tired of Americans and their nonsense. Aren’t you?
Then, I talk about two Sterling Silver belt buckle designs on the bench: one highly political, and the other highly personal. I talk about the progress putting together the PRESERVE T HE BEAT book and documentary film which will describe the birth of electronic music and DJ culture in Canada.
TRIBE – Custom Made Sterling Silver Trophy Belt Buckles and Jewelry – Product of Canada
https://tribe.ca
Send an email to alexd@cannabisgoldsmith.com to get on our mailing list or to order custom jewelry products from TRIBE.
The Cannabis Goldsmith is an Art & Design podcast produced by TRIBE COMMUNICATIONS INC. in Ontario, Upper Canada.
© and ℗ 2025 Alex Dordevic
TRIBE is a registered trademark
I describe the difference between the news media space in Canada and the United States, and why I believe most Canadian journalism is now state funded government propaganda. I describe how I get my news from a variety of non-Canadian sources to kludge together a view of what is going on in my own country.
I talk about an incredible brooch from the house of Boivin that was designed in the 1950’s, auctioned in 2013, and then completely vanished into a private collection. Perhaps whoever bought it can show it off again?
Finally, in heist news, the French police seem to be flailing in their crown jewels theft investigation.
Christies Site Rene Boivin Tiger Brooch Description as a pdf:
Christies Page with top view of the Rene Boivin Tiger Brooch:
https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5738826
TRIBE – Custom Made Sterling Silver Trophy Belt Buckles and Jewelry – Product of Canada
Send an email to alexd@cannabisgoldsmith.com to get on our mailing list or to order custom jewelry products from TRIBE.
The Cannabis Goldsmith is an Art & Design podcast produced by TRIBE COMMUNICATIONS INC. in Ontario, Upper Canada.
© and ℗ 2025 Alex Dordevic
TRIBE is a registered trademark
My Mom taught me how to write a decent letter of complaint, so I wrote one to our Prime Minister, Mark Carney, who seems to have moved on from the impressive date-specific unaccomplished achievements he promised to Canadians just a few short months ago, in order to get elected.
I gave him some suggestions and told him Canada needs a sales and marketing focus to increase foreign exports, not political speeches. We can already sell into non-US markets so why aren’t we doing that?
I don’t expect a reply, and I think we should cut Carney loose before he wastes more of our time. He seems to be running out the clock on the free trade agreement... Then what? Let's try someone else, now, before it's too late.
I talk about how the belligerent, foul-mouthed US Ambassador to Canada’s attempt to out goof the Ontario premier at the National Gallery the other day is not a good look for anyone, and perhaps we should send him packing (which is our privilege).
I ‘m designing the most patriotic Canadian jewelry piece ever – a big Canada themed Sterling Silver trophy belt buckle rich with Canadian symbolism, nature and natural resources for next year’s Calgary Stampede. I’m calling it the SWEET CANADA buckle, and It‘s a fusion of art, politics, and national pride that will be truly magnificent.
TRIBE – Custom Made Sterling Silver Trophy Belt Buckles and Jewelry – Product of Canada
https://tribe.ca
Send an email to alexd@cannabisgoldsmith.com to get on our mailing list or to order custom jewelry products from TRIBE.
The Cannabis Goldsmith is an Art & Design podcast produced by TRIBE COMMUNICATIONS INC. in Ontario, Upper Canada.
© and ℗ 2025 Alex Dordevic
TRIBE is a registered trademark
Let's speculate about who stole Marie-Louise's emerald necklace and why.
If you have information on the Louvre jewel heist, please contact the French police or Interpol:
French Police: https://www.police-nationale.interieur.gouv.fr/Contacts
INTERPOL stolen art unit: https://www.interpol.int/en/News-and-Events/News/2025/Louvre-Museum-theft-Stolen-jewels-added-to-INTERPOL-s-Stolen-Works-of-Art-database
TRIBE – Custom Made Sterling Silver Trophy Belt Buckles and Jewelry – Product of Canada
Send an email to alexd@cannabisgoldsmith.com to get on our mailing list or to order custom jewelry products from TRIBE.
The Cannabis Goldsmith is an Art & Design podcast produced by TRIBE COMMUNICATIONS INC. in Ontario, Upper Canada.
© and ℗ 2025 Alex Dordevic
TRIBE is a registered trademark
Geoffrey Hinton has to stop doing these interviews where he is warning us about the dangers of his own invention. Or, hosts should ask him how much money Hinton made from the development of this technology which he now says can take our life savings or destroy the world. He must man up and take responsibility for his horror.
I am hunkering down for a winter of design, and it will be fabulous!
Douglas Rushkoff on billionaires:
https://rushkoff.com/books/survival-of-the-richest-escape-fantasies-of-the-tech-billionaires/
TRIBE – Custom Made Sterling Silver Trophy Belt Buckles and Jewelry – Product of Canada
Send an email to alexd@cannabisgoldsmith.com to get on our mailing list or to order custom jewelry products from TRIBE.
The Cannabis Goldsmith is an Art & Design podcast produced by TRIBE COMMUNICATIONS INC. in Ontario, Upper Canada.
© and ℗ 2025 Alex Dordevic
TRIBE is a registered trademark
I’m already designing a Canadian themed Sterling Silver trophy belt buckle for the 2026 Calgary Stampede, based around a Sugar Maple leaf from my own tree in the front yard. This silver masterwork will be packed with cultural and national symbolism. Who will wear it to the Stampede next year?
It is just too sad to watch the USA spiraling toward civil war or becoming a failed state. It‘s not doing me any good listening to US pundits because they have no answers, and I will try to focus on my own land and culture instead.
TRIBE – Custom Made Sterling Silver Trophy Belt Buckles and Jewelry – Product of Canada
https://tribe.ca
Send an email to alexd@cannabisgoldsmith.com to get on our mailing list or to order custom jewelry products from TRIBE.
The Cannabis Goldsmith is an Art & Design podcast produced by TRIBE COMMUNICATIONS INC. in Ontario, Upper Canada.
© and ℗ 2025 Alex Dordevic
TRIBE is a registered trademark
Heads Up: There's a Suzanne Belperron Auction in December!
My favorite designer has a few pieces coming up for auction in December. I talk about her work and how she became head of a major French jewelry Maison at the age of 24, and how her designs transcend the materials they are constructed from and sometimes appear to have been designed in the future or by aliens.
My treasure hunting hobby paid off nicely this week.
Suzanne Belperron December Auction Chalcedony Bracelet
TRIBE - The World's Luxury Cannabis Jeweler
Send an email to alexd@cannabisgoldsmith.com to get on our mailing list or to order custom jewelry products from TRIBE.
The Cannabis Goldsmith is an Art & Design podcast produced by TRIBE COMMUNICATIONS INC. in Ontario, Upper Canada.
©2025 TRIBE
TRIBE is a registered trademark
The animals know the score. Winter is coming fast and it's not only about the seasons, it is about the closing of trade routes and markets. We can learn from the critters as they prepare for a brutal winter ahead.
Custom Corporate Commissions by TRIBE
A custom commissioned sterling silver belt buckle by TRIBE is more than a prize or gift- it's a story, an experience, and a lasting legacy. Whether for fundraising auctions, charity events, or corporate recognition, these pieces show commitment to excellence in a way that no off-the-shelf award ever could.
Our custom sterling silver belt buckles make exceptional auction prizes that drive competitive bidding, memorable retirement gifts for executives, top shelf raffle prizes and prestigious corporate awards that recipients treasure for generations.
https://tribe.ca/custom-sterling-silver-awards-fundraising-prizes-corporate-gifts-tribe-ca/
Send an email to alexd@cannabisgoldsmith.com to get on our mailing list or to commission custom jewelry products from TRIBE.
The Cannabis Goldsmith is an Art & Design podcast produced by TRIBE COMMUNICATIONS INC. in Ontario, Upper Canada.
©2025 TRIBE
TRIBE is a registered trademark
Artists can be prickly, but we are brave. In this episode, I artsplain why the National Gallery of Canada and its new director, Jean-François Bélisle, need to get out of their offices and into Canadian communities to connect with artists on the ground. If only our national arts institutions would support Canadian artists instead of generating bold yet meaningless policy rhetoric.
I marvel at how the recent National Gallery Annual Public Meeting, held on September 8th in Fredericton, has absolutely zero mention of any kind online. These show notes are the very first mention of the annual meeting online. Do you know how incredibly rare and unusual that is?
Why, in this day and age of smartphones, where there are at least 10 pictures or social media posts about everything, is there nothing online about this annual meeting? No social media posts, no news stories (local or national), no photos, no reviews, no transcripts, no video on the National Gallery’s site. Nothing. Not a single mention anywhere. We looked hard.
What that means is the National Gallery’s Annual Public Meeting had zero organic reach. Zero. Nobody was interested enough to post a single photograph or comment about it. That is telling.
These institutions serve what purpose exactly?
Did you know we create custom precious metal fine jewelry pieces for corporate awards, trophies, and fundraising prizes?
Send an email to alexd@cannabisgoldsmith.com to get on our mailing list or to commission custom jewelry products from TRIBE.
The Cannabis Goldsmith is an Art & Design podcast produced by TRIBE COMMUNICATIONS INC. in Ontario, Upper Canada.
©2025 TRIBE
TRIBE is a registered trademark
The USA has shot itself in the face. I have never seen brand destruction like this before. They are doing absolutely everything they can to drive away their friends and customers.
We in Canada are buying Canadian and non-USA products. Customers around the world will soon avoid purchasing USA made products on principal alone, and this presents business opportunities for us outside America, if we can figure out how to trade with each other.
TRIBE - Custom precious metal jewelry pieces for corporate awards, trophies, and fundraising prizes.
https://tribe.ca
Send an email to alexd@cannabisgoldsmith.com to get on our mailing list or to commission custom jewelry products from TRIBE.
The Cannabis Goldsmith is an Art & Design podcast produced by TRIBE COMMUNICATIONS INC. in Ontario, Upper Canada.
©2025 TRIBE
TRIBE is a registered trademark
There are ridiculous estimates of the value of Taylor Swift's engagement ring out there on the mainstream media. Here's what it is really worth. We reverse engineer the construction of the ring to find we can make you an exact replica with a lab grown diamond for $50K, delivered.
I explore where the real value lies in the engagement ring, and how the football player boyfriend did OK with his ring choice (if it was his decision) . I explore how he could have sought out a named stone to take the ring to a higher level.
TRIBE - Custom precious metal jewelry pieces for awards, trophies, and fundraising prizes.
Send an email to alexd@cannabisgoldsmith.com to get on our mailing list or to commission custom jewelry products from TRIBE.
The Cannabis Goldsmith is an Art & Design podcast produced by TRIBE COMMUNICATIONS INC. in Ontario, Upper Canada.
©2025 TRIBE
TRIBE is a registered trademark
Diamond prices drop further, and Botswana, a country where 20% of their effective GDP comes from mining natural diamonds, is in deep trouble.
Over 25 international post offices are refusing to ship packages to the United States and this will cause problems for artists trying to reach US customers. It's time to say goodbye to America and look for domestic and new international markets. I explain how I am thinking about this for TRIBE and our products.
TRIBE - Bringing Sterling Silver Trophy Belt Buckles Into The Modern World
Send an email to alexd@cannabisgoldsmith.com to get on our mailing list or to commission custom jewelry products from TRIBE.
The Cannabis Goldsmith is an Art & Design podcast produced by TRIBE COMMUNICATIONS INC. in Ontario, Upper Canada.
©2025 TRIBE
TRIBE is a registered trademark
Middlemen suck, especially for artists. Here's why.
TRIBE - Bringing Sterling Silver Trophy Belt Buckles Into The Modern World
Send an email to alexd@cannabisgoldsmith.com to get on our mailing list or to commission custom jewelry products from TRIBE.
The Cannabis Goldsmith is an Art & Design podcast produced by TRIBE COMMUNICATIONS INC. in Ontario, Upper Canada.
©2025 TRIBE
TRIBE is a registered trademark