Non-Fiction: Gemmologist Anna Rasche’s Debut Novel Weaves a Tale of 14th Century Florence.
“The Stone Witch of Florence” is a multifaceted debut novel by gemmologist and historian Anna Rasche that alchemizes history, mystery, and fantasy. Set in Florence during a devastating period of rampant Black Plague, the compelling central character is Ginevra di Gasparo. She is a gifted healer who uses a treasured collection of gemstones to alleviate illness and save the lives of rich and poor alike despite threats of being condemned as a witch. The story transitions seamlessly between multiple timelines: scenes of Ginevra’s childhood and teenage years in the port city of Genoa during the early 1330s; her time at a Florentine convent in the mid 1330s-1340 until being exiled; and her eventual return to Florence in 1348.
The Magical Mentor and the Power of Gemstones
Ginevra’s “invisible golden strings” that signal her inheritance of magical aptitude are recognized in her youth by a local folk healer, Vermilia. This healer teaches her how to apply her gift, urging utmost discretion given the closed-mindedness of their medieval society on the cusp of the Renaissance. Precarious situations that could result from Ginevra’s impetuousness matched with her kind heart are portended. Vermilia sends Ginevra to Florence to learn from her cousin Agnesa, an abbess at a convent. Ginevra is trained by Agnesa and reads ancient classical treatises to intuit and implement the power of specific gemstones for healing and protection.
Gem lovers will delight in the essential role familiar stones—amber, amethyst, bloodstone, heliodor, jasper, selenite—and seemingly unfamiliar ones—hyacinth (sapphire), smaragdus (emerald)—play in the plot. Specific jeweled pieces that Rasche modeled on historic extant examples include a “mano figa,” sweetheart brooch, pomander, and engraved ring.
A City in Crisis: Relics, Plague, and Redemption
The crux of the novel revolves around Ginevra’s recall to Florence in its hour of greatest need. As the city crumbles and citizens fall prey to disease, a thief has been stealing holy church relics. Ginevra is engaged to recover them and, if successful, will be aided in her lifelong dream of attaining official recognition as a physician. Rasche’s research expertise is on full display as she conjures the sights and smells of Trecento Italy, the geography of Florence, and the rituals of relics. Serendipitously, The Metropolitan Museum of Art has currently on view a special exhibition on a rival Tuscan city in the first half of the 14th century that was also decimated by the bubonic plague. “Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300-1350” provides an immersive, complimentary experience to this novel, affording viewers the opportunity to see objects that evoke Rasche’s detailed descriptions of imported textiles, religious art, and reliquaries.
Myth, Magic, and the Timeless Allure of Gems
The primal and poetic connection jewelry lovers have to stones is evoked in passages such as Ginevra’s recounting to her friend Lucia (a character who discovers her own agency later in the novel) about the origin of the exotic and expensive diamante. Ginevra tells the fantastical tale, which was believed at the time, about how diamonds were mined in India by eagles. In addition, protective coral features in pivotal scenes throughout “The Stone Witch of Florence,” and Ginevra is told hauntingly about the origin of the organic gemstone—that it stems from the blood of Medusa’s head. The novel emphasizes the importance of female mentorship and friendship that is strengthened with a delightful and timely cameo by a famous woman scholar in the epilogue set in 1925.
For NYC Jewelry Week 2024, Rasche will be talking about her book on Tuesday, November 19th, at the beloved West Village store Gray & Davis, which specializes in antique and custom jewelry. It is a fitting setting to toast a book that conveys a love of gems and jewelry. Purchase the book here to immerse yourself in the world of The Stone Witch of Florence ahead of the event.
Written by Michelle Plastrik. Michelle is an art advisor and writer living in New York City..
In anticipation of the upcoming Rago|Wright Fall Jewelry Auction on October 26, 2022, we sat down with Dianne Batista, Director of Jewelry and Watches and Sr. Specialist at Rago|Wright. Since joining the department, Dianne has been including studio and contemporary jewelry in the auctions which are typically reserved for fine jewelry. Interested in this new direction for the department, we wanted to learn more and help her spread the word!
Clockwise from left to right: ‘Diminishing Spirals’ copper necklace by Art Smith, Brooch by Bettina Speckner, Ring by Marion Herbst
Q: Tell us about yourself, what is your jewelry story? A: That’s a big question! I have always had a career in jewelry after studying Art History. From the very beginning, what has attracted me to jewelry was the artistry and its miniature nature. When I looked at jewelry as art, I was hooked! My career started with 10 years at Christie’s. As Sr. Specialist, I was fortunate to work with many important collections and handled a tremendous amount of jewelry. My inquisitive nature took me to manage a Madison Avenue boutique, Janet Mavec. It was Janet, who inspired me to look at contemporary artists more closely. Gabriella Kiss and Otto Jakob were two designers she handled back in the 1990s. I was Director of Dior Fine Jewelry in NYC and then at John Hardy for their fine jewelry line, Cinta. I took time away from work with my three young children. When it was time to return, it was natural to begin consulting at Christie’s, this time cataloguing the Elizabeth Taylor online jewelry auction. I also consulted as Director of David Webb archives for several years before joining Rago/Wright auction house.
Left: ‘Diminishing Spirals’ copper necklace by Art Smith, Right: Silver brooch by Iris Eichenberg
Q. What is your vision for the jewelry sales and how is it different from your predecessors? A: My vision for Rago / Wright jewelry auctions is to present a breadth of jewelry focused on quality and design. Each sale is divided into chapters to tell a story and offer fine pieces to all levels of collectors. As a design house, we believe it is important to represent new designers and delve into artist and studio jewelry. Each sale also includes strong examples of silver jewelry.
Q. Why have you decided to include contemporary jewelry or studio jewelry in the sales? There seems to be an interest in artist jewelry at the moment but your focus has been slightly different, can you tell us about this? A: I believe in selling art jewelry alongside what many refer to as “Fine Jewelry and Gems”. In my opinion, separating the two marginalizes artist jewelry and hurts collecting fine jewelry as an art form. There is nothing to say that the collector can’t appreciate both.
Q. What do you think is the biggest challenge for this type of jewelry on the secondary market? A: The biggest challenge for studio art jewelry and contemporary jewelry artists is that they have not established a strong secondary market to determine value. Creating auction records and establishing strong resale values promotes the entire industry.
‘Munster Da Vinci’ brooch by Gijs Bakker
Q. What has been the most interesting piece you have come across while building the sales? A: I fall in love with a few select pieces each auction and love to see them find new owners, who love them as much as I do. In our last auction I connected with Robert Smit’s ‘Letter to Madonna Dolomiti’ brooch. It spoke to me. I loved selling an important Tone Vigeland coral, silver and gold necklace, a Roger Lucas lapis lazuli and gold ring for Cartier, and more recently an Art Smith ‘Modern’ cuff bracelet.
Q. Have you discovered any new names? A: I wouldn’t say discover, but with each auction, I learn about artists and try to educate others about their work. The work of the accomplished artist Zuzana Rudavska is new to me in this auction.
Left: Gold and niello brooch by Giampaolo Babetto, Right: Silver and gold earrings by Margaret De Patta
Q. If we are thinking about buying from an investment POV, over the course of the last year, have you seen any designers/artists really jump in the market? A: I believe in buying jewelry to wear, but when looking at investment, I recommend jewelers who have had a long career in the field, have exhibition history and create jewelry that is distinctly theirs. Currently, there is a lot of interest in Art Smith, and I love it! I also really appreciate that with that interest, the field is expanding and other jewelry artists are having their work sought after and considered.
Q. What would you like to see happen in the market? A: I would like to see more exhibitions of art jewelry and more art galleries handling the category. It’s a very exciting time for the field. For sure, NYC Jewelry Week is doing their share and I love it!
Q. Can you share with us what you have coming up in the next sale that you are particularly excited about? A: In our auction next week, I am really excited to be selling works by master art jewelers, Giampaolo Babetto, Robert Smit, and Gijs Bakker next to jewelry by important female artists Margaret de Patta, Iris Eichenberg and Bettina Speckner.
‘Madonna Dolomiti XI’ necklace by Robert Smit
Learn more about the pieces featured here and all the items in the the upcoming Rago|Wright Fall Jewelry Auction here.
Written by Bella Neyman; Images courtesy of Rago|Wright. Special thank you to Dianne Batista of Rago|Wright.
Today we’re excited to launch a new recurring column: Jewel Box, a series on bejeweled spaces—locations that are jewelry-adjacent, visually rich, playful, and inviting. We aim to expand how we all think of adornment by widening our lens to celebrate adorned interiors of all kinds, from jewelry-industry spaces to shops, arts & cultural institutions and more that we think should be on your radar.
We’re delighted to kick off this new series with a behind-the-scenes tour of The Office of Collecting and Design, a gem of a museum in the Nevada desert. We sat down with the founder and curator of The Office of Collecting and Design, filmmaker Jessica Oreck, to talk about the museum, its unique (and extensive) contents, and the many remarkable stories that accompany it. Grab your magnifying glass and let’s dive in:
Jessica Oreck in the Office of Collecting and Design. Image Credit: Homer Liwag.
FUTURE HEIRLOOM: Tell us a bit about the Office of Collecting & Design: What led you to start the museum?
JESSICA ORECK: My parents say that I started collecting before I started talking. (Likely some snowball mythology there, but who am I to argue?) Though my early collections didn’t make it to adulthood, collecting remains very much at my core. Being a collector feels like one of my defining character traits. It isn’t just objects, but the way I live my life.The way I travel, the ideas I am drawn to, and most especially the way I work, are all built around patterns and series.
When I started making stop-motion animations professionally in 2011, that prompted an entirely new echelon of collecting. Many of the collections in the museum were seeded from props used in short films I made. Now it is a source of mutual motivation – sometimes the animations instigate a collection and sometimes the collections inspire an animation. The museum is thoroughly multi-purpose. During the day it’s a museum (free and open to the public!) But it also functions as a prop library. When I have no appointments, I sneak into my studio at the back and animate.
At night, we host events in the museum: craft nights, readings, tiny concerts, dinner parties. And we also offer the space for rent as a backdrop for photoshoots as well as a BYOB cocktail hour.
Image Credit: Jessica Oreck.
FH: Can you give us some insight into the process of designing the space? How did you decide on the layout and displays in the space? What was most important to you about the design? JO: It has been a very intuitive process. The entire undertaking has been a lesson in trusting my approach, my ability, and myself. It’s hard to explain (even to myself) what is important in the design.
The Reading Room Gallery Wall at the museum. Image Credit: Johnny Espitia.
It feels to be simply a matter of knowing that something is in the right place or it isn’t. Sometimes, when something is out of place, I walk into the space and it feels out of balance – like the whole room is tilted in one direction or another. It sounds sort of mystical and highly impractical (from an outsider’s perspective), but that’s the best explanation I have.
The space and the displays are constantly evolving. As new objects come into the museum, I often have to rearrange great swaths of the exhibit in order to accommodate even the tiniest of pieces. Sometimes I am sad to break up the flow I’ve established to incorporate something new, but I find it tends to end up superior and more compelling in its new iteration.
The objects, to me, sometimes have their own voice, certainly their own personality, and if nothing else, at the very least an ineffable weight that dictates where they belong. It feels ridiculous to say that out loud, but I have.
Top Row, Left to Right: An assortment of Jessica’s estate sale finds; Metal bits and bobs in the museum’s collection. Bottom Row: A collection of Japanese pigments, sourced from an estate sale; this collection belonged to a painter, the wife of a pilot who had worked for Japan Airlines. Backstory via Office of Collecting and Design Instagram. Image Credits: Jessica Oreck.
FH: How have you accumulated the collections in the museum over the years? JO: I have spent many delicious hours over the course of the last 3 decades hunting at flea markets, estate sales, beaches, trash dumps, swap meets, other people’s grandparents’ attics…. I adore the hunt. (One of my rules for the museum is that I won’t buy anything online to add to the museum, I have to find it in person. Though we now accept donations too!)
Top Row: Chinese Reverse-painted glass beads; Bottom Row: an assemblage jewelry box; both were gifted to the museum by friends of Jessica’s. Image Credits: Jessica Oreck.
Folks have called the museum a “time machine,” a “nostalgia machine,” and a “mix between the Hogwarts Castle and their grandparents’ home.”
Jessica Oreck on visitor reactions to the Museum
FH: What feelings/experiences do you hope to evoke in the visitor? JO: Folks have called the museum a “time machine,” a “nostalgia machine,” and a “mix between the Hogwarts Castle and their grandparents’ home.”
The type of people that enjoy the museum aren’t necessarily the type to be drawn to the more mainstream elements of Las Vegas. It’s sort of like a built-in filter to find “my people.” Either you get it or you don’t. But the people that get it really really love it. We’ve had some wonderful reactions. (We once had someone stay for 6 hours and a couple who came back three days in a row!)
Vintage and Antique Cracker Jack charms, organized by color. Image Credit: Jessica Oreck.
I love the enthusiasm of the folks that get it, but I also love the really unexpected ones. For instance, we had a really macho guy here with his girlfriend. He was trying to be polite, but was maybe a bit bored, maybe a bit confused. And then he opened a drawer and pulled out an object. He looked at me in total wonderment, with actual tears in his eyes, and said. “I haven’t thought about this since I was six years old. So many memories just came flooding back to me.” He just took it and sat down with it and was completely absorbed in those lost memories for a long while. It was so rewarding.
FH: What has been most exciting/fun about opening the space for you? JO: I couldn’t possibly pick just one thing. It has been such a source of joy and satisfaction to spend time around these objects. These pieces of trash/treasure that each hold what I call a “residue of attention.” All the things they’ve witnessed, the love and use they’ve been afforded, I get to run my fingers through that on a daily basis. It feels a little like magic sometimes.
Top Row, Left to Right: : A rock collection; A button featuring a bird and its nest; Beads and rocks. Bottom Row, Left to Right: Flat stone cabachons that resemble landscapes; Stone spheres + marbles of various sizes. Image Credits: Jessica Oreck.
“These pieces of trash/treasure that each hold what I call a ‘residue of attention.’ All the things they’ve witnessed, the love and use they’ve been afforded, I get to run my fingers through that on a daily basis. It feels a little like magic sometimes.”
Jessica Oreck on what most excites her about the Museum
But I have also really loved getting to meet all the visitors. I love getting to see what sparks them, hear about their own lives and collections, and in some cases build long-term friendships.
I’ve loved being a part of the Instagram community. There’s so much enthusiasm and appreciation – not to mention knowledge. It’s incredible to be able to post something I know nothing about and within a couple of hours have responses detailing a history I couldn’t have imagined.
Top Row, Left to Right: Milagros (symbolic good luck charms) in a wooden box; Metallic Cracker Jack charms; A flatlay of metal bits. Bottom Row, Left to Right: More Milagros; A stunning Victorian hair choker necklace. Image Credits: Jessica Oreck.
And, of course, I love the donations. I mean, can you imagine anything better than receiving packages in the mail full of strange and wonderful treasure on a weekly basis? It’s like the best subscription service I never signed up for.
An especially unique jewelry piece in the Museum’s collection: a tooth charm on a necklace. The accompanying card reads “Gold-Plated Wisdom from the Head of Your Father, 11/2013”. Image Credits: Jessica Oreck. Details shots from a Victorian Microscope Slide cabinet, currently on loan to the Museum. Image Credits: Johnny Espitia.
FH: Do you have any specific favorites in the collection? JO: One of my favorite objects in the museum something we received as a donation very early on. It came in a box with a couple of other lovely objects, but it is just so darn mysterious. The box had very little information (we now require more info when folks donate.). But the note just said that the donor had had it for a long while and thought it would find a good home at the museum.
It is a tiny wooden box, about an inch square, relatively old, based on age and wear to the wood. The sides and top are wood-burned with little designs and the letters XNYD. The lid pivots to one side to reveal a little pocket lined with dried rose petals and what look to be pieces of eggshell.
The Famous Mystery Fish. Image Credit: Jessica Oreck.
And nestled in the middle is a tiny desiccated fish.
I. Have. So. Many. Questions.
But I love that someone made that. And then someone saved it for many years. And then someone sent it to the museum. I often joke that had anyone else received this strangeness in the mail they may have been concerned, considering who might be sending them a death threat. But to me, it is the perfect object to welcome into the collection. I can’t imagine it could have a better home.
FH: What would you say is the largest collection (or object) in the museum? JO: My longest running (and largest) collection is of “unplayable” dice. (Think Las Vegas standards: the pips might be slightly off, the corners chipped, handmade, poorly balanced, etc.)
FH: How and when did you start your dice collection? JO: The earliest item in the museum was given to me when I was 12 years old. It is a tiny wooden box with two tiny tiny dice in it. The box and contents had belonged to my great grandmother and were given to me by my aunt. That was the initiation of my dice collection – which now numbers at least several hundred strong.
Selections from Jessica’s extensive dice collection. Image Credit: Jessica Oreck.
FH: Do you have a dream project, collection, or collaboration for the museum? JO: Someday, I’d love to move the museum into a shipping container and make it mobile. I’d love to be able to bring it to different places and meet an even wider variety of people. I can’t begin to imagine how I could possibly secure thousands of tiny objects in a way that they would survive a road trip, (or what an inordinate amount of money that would require), but I can still dream!
Since the museum also functions as a prop library for my animation work, I am currently working on several new animated series – short documentary/educational content that is super fun, but I haven’t found the right venue. I’ve made several series for TED, but looking to branch out. My dream is to be part of an educational network – a group of folks making work that is well researched and well curated and somehow makes us money too while not slaving to an algorithm based on ad research. I’m sure there is someone out there who is looking for exactly the content I am making. I hope they’re reading this!
Top Row, Left to Right: A collection of vintage and antique miniature perfume bottles; A flatlay of doll hands; A display of miniature mushrooms. Bottom Row, Left to Right: A stately display of miniature frames; a flatlay of white objects in the museum’s collection. Image Credits: Jessica Oreck.
FH: Any exciting upcoming projects or collaborations for the museum that you’d like to share? JO:We are always looking for commissions and collaborations, so please reach out at officeofcollecting [at] gmail [dot] com or on Instagram/TikTok @office.of.collecting.
FH: Finally, how can readers best support your work and the museum? JO: Of course, we love donations – both monetary and object based. But we do also sell merchandise and seasonal products. The best way to stay up to date on those opportunities is to follow us on Instagram or TikTok (@office.of.collecting). Helping to spread the word about our little museum is always hugely appreciated!
You can learn more about The Office of Collecting and Design on their website, here more from Jessica about the museum on the Atlas Obscura podcast, and follow the museum on Instagram @office.of.collecting.
Our sincere thanks to Jessica Oreck and the Office of Collecting and Design for this feature. Interview responses and images courtesy of Jessica Oreck. Headshot Photography by Homer Liwag; all other Image Credits by Jessica Oreck or Johnny Espitia, as noted. Interview conducted and feature edited, compiled, and formatted by Future Heirloom Editor Jackie Andrews.
Bianca Abreu’s approach to jewelry making is simultaneously that of an engineer, a scientist and an artist. Composed of candy-colored color-shifting glass elements often set in kinetic and engaging architecture, Bianca’s brand, Aur Jewelry, is simply irresistible.
Instinctively curious, Bianca’s exploration of materials, form and function exude a genuine and contagious sense of playfulness. If there ever was a collection of jewelry made for the inner child in us all, this is it. But the work is serious stuff – the process is both research and labor intensive. A graduate from Pratt Institute, with a BFA in Sculpture and a concentration in Installation, her art practice evolved from large scale structures to the wearable works her audience knows today.
The unique story of Aur Jewelry centers around the material. Inspired by optics, light and color play, Bianca uses color-shifting glass in the same manner that many jewelers use gemstones – setting them into hand-fabricated bezels (a traditional “casing” for a stone or other material in jewelry). Due to the inclusion of metals in the glass, the “stones” shift their color display when exposed to fluorescent light, creating a whole new experience when one visually encounters the piece. The color shift is a reaction of By way of lamp working, she shapes and hand-cuts glass rods over a 2000 degree flame. The glass pieces are then annealed, cut, carved and polished into the shapes she desires. Those pieces are set into the other unique brand defying element: hand-crafted silver jewelry settings that, more often than not, consist of movable elements that engage while wearing. The fascination-inducing material and lure of the completed piece’s interaction are what define the brand’s one-of-a-kind appeal.
Today, we welcome Bianca to Future Heirloom in anticipation of the opening of MAD About Jewelry at the Museum of Arts and Design. An annual curated show and sale of one-of-a-kind contemporary jewelry, MAD About Jewelry benefits the museum and features more than 40 US-based jewelry artists who will be on-site to present their collections. More information on the event, opening to the public tomorrow, March 7th, is available here. Read on as NYCJW Co-founder, JB Jones, interviews Bianca Abreu of Aur Jewelry.
JB Jones: Your work reflects a fascination with color and material that extends beyond simply creating beautiful, wearable jewelry, and we know your background is sculpture, so tell us, why jewelry?
Bianca Abreu: To be honest my response to that question has always been pretty fluid! I think the short answer is that I love the process just as much as I love the end result and I love making an object that someone has the deliberate intention of interacting with, on a physical level. Also, I love making things that make people feel good!
JB: And it does! There is an irresistible joy that is derived from seeing the glass you use in your work change color. It’s one of those things that make you stop in your tracks and say, “Wow, this is so cool – I can WEAR this?!” Tell us how working with the color changing glass came to be and why glass is your material of choice?
BA: I started working with color changing glass because I thought it was cool! Before Aur Jewelry I had been making flameworked beads and I would go to a location in Brooklyn to purchase more glass rods so I could see the color in person. I accidentally picked up some glass one day and it changed right in front me! Of course I audibly squealed and asked the attendant how this was possible. I fell in love with the material right there and knew I had to figure out how to incorporate it into my practice. What’s amazing is that I remember that feeling so vividly because it was my first time being excited about making jewelry in years. I was working three jobs at the time and all I wanted to do was find a way to work for myself. I would wake up thinking about what I thought was popular, what I think would sell well, how I could get the most ROI from my one woman production assembly line…. What I didn’t realize was that I was blocking all my “risk taking creativity” which ultimately made me feel disconnected to my work. When I discovered this glass it was like someone turned on a light! I finally began making work I wanted to wear again.
JB: I love that. It’s exciting to hear that the material excited you as the maker as much as it does your audience. Let’s talk a bit more about your obvious passion for what you do – what, beyond material, fuels your desire to create jewelry?
BA: My passion for making jewelry is deeply connected to how my work makes people feel. It’s amazing watching someone as they watch my pieces change color or fall in love with a design. It fuels my drive to make more!
JB: And what about your creative process, what does it entail? Your work is highly complicated, from the colored glass – which you cut yourself for each piece, to the metalsmithing – you often bezel set each glass piece, and then to the mechanics of it all – making the work kinetic!
BA: The actual process of making my work is a bit lengthy but ideas for new designs can come from some unexpected places. It’s great studying simple machines and then testing out new forms when making kinetic work but lately I’ve been getting so much inspiration from food! Looking at people who make gorgeous food makes me want to make jewelry…maybe there’s a connection?
JB: Oh that’s fascinating – I do think there is a connection…in the joy you want people to feel and the joy that many of us get from eating delicious food. That makes perfect sense!
BA: I’ve always felt that if someone feels anything from my work at all, then my work is successful. One thing I don’t want to be is boring!
JB: No worries there, I think we’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who was unimpressed by your work. Certainly though, because of the unique materials you use, you must encounter hurdles that many other jewelers do not?
BA: Yes! The biggest hurdle is at any time the production of the glass rods I use to make my work, can just stop. It’s not easy, but I guess that’s part of what makes my work special.
BA: Yes, this did happen recently. One of the most popular color shifts, Shift III which changes from lavender to pale blue, hasn’t been in production since March. It is a direct result from Covid so there isn’t much I can do about it in the meantime. But I figured I might as well take this opportunity to scout out a new color shift to add to the family! Shift V will officially be available to the public during MAD About Jewelry.
JB: That’s so exciting, I know I can’t wait to see it…I’ve been waiting patiently as an avid Instagram follower of yours to see what the new color shift is. Speaking of the finished pieces, and what we’ll see at MAD this week, do you have any favorite pieces?
BA: One of my favorite pieces from this collection are the Stacked Bi-Color Earrings. It was a personal goal of mine to figure out how to push myself to take the glass beyond just manipulating shapes over a torch. I wanted to find a way to play with more light and color and I think the “bi-color” pieces have started that conversation for me.
JB: What are the “bi-color” pieces? Can you describe them for us?
BA: The Bi-Color earrings consist of two different pieces of color changing glass that have been joined within a single bezel. In other words I have created glass “doublets” so that the audience can view more than one color change while wearing them. They are bold and juicy and I’m so excited that my design came out the way I envisioned! It took some troubleshooting to get the desired effect of the glass pieces being seamlessly joined and I’m pretty happy with the end result.
JB: I love that you referred to the pieces as “juicy.” That’s such a perfect description, but also very much in contrast to the names of your pieces, which are, however, also perfect descriptions but in a more “scientific” way. Like “Orb Shift Ring IV” or “Pendulum Shift Earrings III.” Is it intentional on your part to name them in a way that helps engage your audience in the concept of the work?
BA: Absolutely. I also knew I didn’t want to influence the clients experience of my work by telling them how I felt about the pieces in my description. People see the stars or the ocean or even candy when they see a new collection from me and I love that. I feel like the best way to allow room for interpretation of my work, is to describe it by how it moves, it’s shape or it’s color.
JB: Let’s shift gears to talk about MAD About Jewelry, which only happens once a year and is always a highly anticipated event for the contemporary jewelry community.
BA: MAD About Jewelry is such a beautiful collection of talent across different mediums! This is my first time doing the show and I feel honored to have my pieces alongside such amazing work.
JB: Are there any pieces of note that you are excited to be bringing to the show?
BA: Yes! The kinetic and pendulum shift earrings will be making an appearance along with a few one of a kind pieces. Also, along with Shift V making its debut I have a couple more surprises. I can’t wait!
JB: We can’t wait to see the collection and YOU! Congratulations, Bianca and thanks for taking the time to chat with us.
MAD About Jewelry opens to the public on Tuesday, December 7th and runs through Saturday, December 11th with a Benefit Preview tonight at Museum of Arts and Design. For more information click here.
Our sincere thanks to Bianca Abreu for speaking with us. Interview conducted, edited, and compiled by NYCJW Co-Founder JB Jones. Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) is the Official Museum Partner of NYCJW21. Special thanks to Rebekka Grossman, Director, Special Events at MAD.
The advent of social media and fast fashion has habituated many to view their wardrobe as temporary, ephemeral, eminently replaceable by the next trend. The largest clothing retailers today produce several hundred new designs every week. Globally, nearly 100 million tons of clothing is dumped into landfills each year, and, in the U.S. alone, annual clothing waste has doubled over the last twenty years. The short shelf life and low price of fashion today belies its hidden cost: a staggering amount of waste comprised of synthetic materials that can take over 200 years to decompose.
The jewelry designers featured in this photo series have rejected fast fashion’s dependence on disposability by creating collections with fine materials – high karat gold and precious stones – that are intended to last long past their lifecycle of Instagram likes. There is a price to doing business this way: each design is an investment in craftsmanship and costly materials, and sales come slowly as designers find their customers and build a loyal following. The photos in this series juxtapose plastics and other disposable materials with the designers’ fine jewelry to highlight their commitment to designs that last, and to a culture of fashion that is not turned so easily to waste.
Words and photos throughout by photographer and visionary Alain Simic.
Featured here: NYC Jewelry Week’s most recent photographic collaboration with photographer Alain Simic for NYCJW21. Featuring NYC based jewelers working in fine jewelry materials, we embrace the Power of Jewelry to impact our world and communities and salute those who dedicate their practice to slow jewelry.
Featured jewelers: Lorraine West Jewelry, Chee Lee Designs, Vasili, i seira, Kendra Pariseault, Linda Hoi, Tess Sholom Designs and Prounis.
Intro and photography by Alain Simic. Edited and compiled by JB Jones.
We hope you’re enjoying our favorite week of the year, NYC Jewelry Week! Here on Future Heirloom, we’re celebrating by bringing you special behind-the-scenes content on some of our favorite programs, events, and exhibitions every day this week. Check in each day for a new feature on the happenings at NYC Jewelry Week.
We’re wrapping up our week-long NYC Jewelry Week content with a special feature to celebrate this year’s HERE WE ARE x 1stDibs Marketplace. Featuring incredible fine jewelry, budget-friendly fashion jewelry, and innovative contemporary work, there is truly something for everyone: it’s a perfect place to snag your favorite piece in time for the holidays.
Learn more about the theme for this year’s HERE WE ARE x 1stDibs Marketplace:
“As a champion of extraordinary design and a company dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion, we at 1stDibs are thrilled to partner with NYC JW for a second year to amplify the work of diverse creators in the HERE WE ARE incubator.
In the last year and a half, COVID-19 presented a fresh set of challenges for creating and producing new work – circumstances which disproportionately impacted underrepresented makers. We chose the theme of resilience to underscore the myriad hurdles that BIPOC makers faced in producing their latest designs. With the theme of resilience, we hope to start a conversation on finding inspiration in difficult times and spotlighting the “Power of Jewelry” – the core concept that NYC Jewelry Week celebrates this year.”
Nancy Hood, Chief Marketing Officer at 1stDibs
“The pandemic presented unique challenges last year for creating and producing designs. Creators have the opportunity to discuss resilience designing under unprecedented/difficult circumstances as well as staying inspired. Addressing resilience in a space where BIPOC creators are still underrepresented. With Here We Are, they are given a platform to be amplified. NYCJW’s concept this year is the Power of Jewelry and this concept would compliment that sentiment.”
JB Jones, Co-Founder of NYC Jewelry Week on the HERE WE ARE x 1stDibs Marketplace
To give you a special look at the making of the HERE WE ARE x 1stDibs Marketplace, we invited select new and returning participants of the HERE WE ARE x 1stDibs Marketplace to introduce us to their brands and tell us about what this opportunity means to them. Meet them below:
Sumer Sayan of Harlin Jones:
Harlin Jones was founded by Australian designer, Sumer Sayan. Sumer started his international jewelry internship in Istanbul, Turkey in 1998. There, under the guidance of master jewelers, he was taught the fundamentals of handcrafting jewelry, which in Turkey, are passed down over generations. Over the next 12 months, he worked and studied as a bench jeweler, working with precious metals and gemstones. After completing his internship in Istanbul, Sumer returned to Sydney where he started a four-year jewelry design apprenticeship. It was during this time that his love and passion for design was born.
Five years into his working career as a fully qualified bench jeweler, Sumer’s itch to create lead him to design and making small collections for himself. Receiving high praise and admiration for the uniqueness, originality, and quality craftsmanship of these pieces, Sumer, at the request of friends started creating pieces for others. The creation of these pieces, along with his travels and personal interests as inspiration helped Sumer in shaping and constantly evolving a style of his own.
The creative freedom and satisfaction experienced making these pieces for friends led Sumer to start his own label, Harlin Jones in 2014. In 2019 an opportunity to move to New York presented itself to Sumer. Sumer made the decision to seize the opportunity and move himself and Harlin Jones there, an easy one. Since then, Sumer has run Harlin Jones from New York, constantly working and evolving, pushing his ideas and creativity, constantly moving Harlin Jones forward.
Pieces from the Harlin Jones collection by Sumer Sayan.
“Being a part of the HERE WE ARE x 1stDibs Marketplaceis extremely helpful and exciting for someone like myself. To be showcased by NYCJW as a part of the HERE WE ARE initiative gives it that extra bit of excitement and credibility as an up-and-coming designer trying to find its place in the industry.”
Sumer Sayan, Harlin Jones
Dominique Reneé:
Born and raised in Connecticut, but now based in LA, I grew up in an environment where creativity and individuality were strongly encouraged. At a young age I discovered that I had a love for music and art, and that I wanted to create. After high school I decided to go to college for Graphic Design, but soon after concluded that my heart wasn’t in it. My dreams of being a designer were stifled only by the feeling that I might not have what it took. When my nails started to turn heads everywhere I went, I realized it was time to go for it. What did I have to lose? I started designing my own nails because I couldn’t find salons that were able to do what I wanted done. It is not exactly how I thought I would get started, I just kind of fell into it, but I am passionate about it. Nails, for me, had become my most important accessory when putting an outfit together. We ALL know how important accessories are. With that in mind I decided to acquire my certification in Nail Technology, and to develop my own line of hand painted nails. After premiering my first couple nail collections, I expanded my line to offer other handmade accessories.
Although I have chosen a career in design, music still plays a huge part in my life. I carefully curate a playlist for each collection that helps to set the mood, and to communicate my feelings and the message behind each piece.
Dominique Reneé is a sassy exploration of life, love and loss; that is produced from a playlist of emotions.
Works from Dominique Reneé’s newest collection, Love Jones.
“Being accepted into the HERE WE ARE initiative and participating in the HERE WE ARE x 1stDibs Marketplace has been such a great experience for me! As someone whose story and work is anything but traditional, I can’t even put into words what it means to be recognized in this way.
Selling my pieces via the HERE WE ARE x 1stDibs Marketplace was so cool! I was a bit apprehensive going into it because I wasn’t sure what the average 1stDibs consumer was like, but when all was said and done, I got my jewelry in front of a brand new audience and I ended up being the top seller!”
Dominique Reneé
Aalia Mujtaba of Metaalia Jewelry:
Aalia Mujtaba is the sole designer and metalsmith behind Metaalia Jewelry. She lives and works in Clarkston, GA, where she shares her life and love of art with her husband and son. Aalia is on the board of the Metal Arts Guild of Georgia, is a member of Society of North American Goldsmiths and the American Craft Council. She has taught metalsmithing at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center in Atlanta for 13 years. Metaalia Jewelry hopes to grow enough to one day relieve her husband from his job.
Works from Metaalia Jewelry’s Protractor Collection.
“The HERE WE ARE x 1stDibs Marketplace gave my work exposure to a new and discerning audience. Customer interaction facilitated by NYCJW and 1stDibs made the virtual selling experience more human. Among many things, the HERE WE ARE x 1stDibs Marketplace experience taught me the importance of clear and striking photography in communicating my brand to an online buyer. NYCJW provided great resources to heighten my marketing skills to meet the quality of my work.”
Aalia Mujtaba, Metaalia Jewelry
To explore the HERE WE ARE x 1stDibs Marketplace in full, click here.
Quotes courtesy of Nancy Hood and the 1stDibs PR team; and JB Jones of NYC Jewelry Week. Images, bios, and testimonials courtesy of Sumer Sayan, Dominique Reneé, and Aalia Mujtaba. Feature edited and compiled by Future Heirloom Editor Jackie Andrews.
Welcome to Day 5 of NYC Jewelry Week! Here on Future Heirloom, we’re celebrating by bringing you special behind-the-scenes content on some of our favorite programs, events, and exhibition every day this week. Check in each day for a new feature on the happenings at NYC Jewelry Week.
Today, we’re talking political jewelry with Rebecca Schena and Talia Spielholz, the creators of Lapel Stories: America’s Political Pins, a lecture happening tomorrow. During the lecture, jewelry makers and researchers Talia & Rebecca will discuss the symbolism, utility, and history of political pins and their role in constructing an American political identity. We spoke with Rebecca and Talia their interests in the political power of jewelry, and how their concept for the lecture took shape:
“The idea for Lapel Stories came from the unexpected convergent evolution of our individual research/making practices and, of course, from ✧･ﾟfriendshipﾟ:*. As researchers and makers of body adornment, we are interested in the sartorial presentations of political power and social identity we make each day. We are constantly intrigued and surprised by how subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) acts of adornment can lead to enormous shifts.
In the last few years, political pins have become a topic of increased debate in the United States. Many people, politically inclined or otherwise, use pins to display their opinions on popular and niche issues. With the constant deluge of social media transmissions and the amnesiac churning of the news cycle, political pins and other worn political messages have become increasingly visible. From performative safety pins to pronoun pins to “Black Lives Matter” t-shirts to the assortment of ideological insignias donned on January 6th: what we wear is as political as ever. Yet, coverage of dress and adornment in politics is often discussed in stark, black-and-white terms that consider “style” and “substance” mutually exclusive. As jewelers, who experience style and substance as intimately intertwined, we felt that it may be helpful to speak about how we think about political pins.
As worn objects, pins are a favorite of jewelers because of their ease of wear and their ability to convey billboard-style messaging. However, we thought it was important not to focus solely on art jewelry but to speak to the pin’s utilitarian roots as a readily producible and wearable method of display. From antiquity through the present and in societies worldwide, the desire to share experiences, build communities, and express personal identity through our worn objects has been constant.
We hope that this presentation will reflect the varied purposes of the political pin and its longevity throughout human history. We aim to help jewelry enthusiasts of all stripes place their personal experiences with political pins into their larger historical context.”
Rebecca Schena & Talia Spielholz
Talia Spielholz’s portion of the lecture will contextualize the contemporary political pin in the US within a broader global and historical framework. Using objects, portraits, and cartoons from different eras and cultures as examples, Talia will discuss the American political pin’s evolution from the Civil War era through to the present. She will underline how, through its utilitarian function, ease of wear, and material construction, the pin became an inseparable part of American political dress and democratic identity.
Rebecca Schena will discuss the communicative potential of adornment, with a focus on how political pins encourage discourse, display identity, unify communities, and project a public self-image. Using examples from the political theater, anti-establishment “guerrilla accessorizing” movements, and contemporary jewelry, Rebecca will demonstrate how costuming is used in the political sphere. She will address the role of political pins through the framework of symbolic interactionism and social psychology.
About the Speakers
Rebecca Schena is a Bay Area-based jeweler, writer, and aspiring maximalist. She holds a BFA in jewelry and metalsmithing with a concentration in scientific inquiry from Rhode Island School of Design. Rebecca is interested in jewelry as a method of initiating political discourse and as a way of expressing, manipulating, or distorting social identity. She believes that a healthy dose of humor and blasphemy is necessary to invite us into approaching critical subject matter. In addition to her daily work as a bench jeweler, she is a contributor to Making Progress and Current Obsession Magazine.
Talia Spielholz is a current MA candidate in Costume Studies at NYU Steinhardt. She received her BFA in Jewelry + Metalsmithing from Rhode Island School of Design. Talia’s research focuses on the relationship between dress and power, specifically as it relates to gender. She is interested in how material choices construct identity and mythologies, the overlap between dress and jewelry, and the ability of worn objects to permeate culture, articulate identity, and bridge narratives. She is passionate about educational accessibility and aims to develop approachable jewelry and dress exhibitions.
Lapel Stories: America’s Political Pins with Talia Spielholz & Rebecca Schena will be livestreamed Saturday, November 20, 2021 from 2:30 PM- 3:30 PM. For more information on the virtual talk and to RSVP, click here.
Both Talia Spielholz and Rebecca Schena are members of NYC Jewelry Week’s One For The Future program, dedicated to uplifting recent graduates, self-starters, and emerging professionals who embody passion, dedication, and a commitment to jewelry. Learn more about the One For The Future program here.
Lecture description and quotes attributed to Rebecca Schena & Talia Spielholz. Text, quotes, and images provided by Rebecca Schena. Feature edited and compiled by Future Heirloom Editor Jackie Andrews.
Welcome to Day 5 of NYC Jewelry Week! Here on Future Heirloom, we’re celebrating by bringing you special behind-the-scenes content on some of our favorite programs, events, and exhibitions every day this week. Check in each day for a new feature on the happenings at NYC Jewelry Week.
Today we’re revisiting the recent launch of our first Future Heirloom column: Material Matters, featuring a behind-the-scenes look into some of our favorite contemporary art jeweler’s studios and interviews about their process. We launched Material Matters with a feature on Luci Jockel, a Baltimore-based contemporary jeweler exploring heirloom, memory, and the natural world through her practice. Read the interview with her on Future Heirloom, and see her exhibition Sisterhood: Bodies in Proximity, with her sister Emily Jockel all week long at The Jewelry Library.
Luci Jockel photographed by Lavala Harris.
Luci Jockel is an artist located in Baltimore, MD and holds the position as Metalsmithing and Jewelry Lecturer/Coordinator at Towson University. Luci received her MFA from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 2016. She has been honored with the 2019 American Craft Council Emerging Voices Award. Her work is in the collections of RISD Museum, ArtYard and Galerie Marzee. She has curated exhibitions including All Decked Out at Towson University, and In-School Suspension with JV Collective. Luci is a member of JV Collective and is represented by Gallery Loupe.
Future Heirloom: Concepts of history, memory, memento mori, and heirloom feel like common threads in your work over the years. Have you always been interested in the history and “memory” of material? Where did your interest in material arise from for you? Luci Jockel: Having parents that are antique dealers has had a deep impact on my interest in the memory held within materials and objects. They were and are always on the hunt for treasures, the value of which is determined by its own system. As kids, they would take my siblings and I to auctions and antique shows that to a kid were places of accumulated, stinky, old junk. Little did I realize how much value these objects held beyond monetary, or that my parents’ passion for junk was being instilled in me- they were giving us “the bug”, as they call it. With each object that my parents bought or sold– a chair, quilt, painting, ring, for instance, there was a story of its origins and past life to be told. Conversing with customers at antique shows was less transactional and more like sitting by a bonfire with friends sharing lore. There is power and value in an object that retains a story, even if sometimes it’s fabricated.
“As my parents collected antiques, I began my own collection of found material in our backyard- finding what I saw as treasures, creating a different system of value.”
Luci Jockel
Bee Wing Lace II, 2014. Honey bee wings, rubber cement; (Left) and an in-progress material sample (Right)
FH: What guides your material interests in your work? How have you selected the materials you’ve worked with? LJ: I lean in towards objects and materials that speak quietly of fragility, requiring a soft, empathic touch. Perhaps my mother’s passion and artistic career in textiles influenced that gentle quality. I also choose materials that gain different meaning in relation to another material or within the context of jewelry. For example, the glisten of honey bee wings catch your eye as if they were gold- holding the same preciousness. Ultimately, I choose what makes me pause and wish for others to take a moment with as well.
FH: Your use of material in your work is always so intricate and thoughtful. Can you speak a bit about your process? Is your process carefully planned, more improvisational, or somewhere in between?
LJ: Thank you, that’s so kind! Much of my work is both planned and improvised. When making a piece that has pattern or when carving stone and there is no room for error, it is planned. Depending on the type of stone or material used to make a pattern, however, will determine how I continue to approach that material. It’s a material’s qualities and its past life that guide how to engage and transform.
For instance, I had originally planned to press bee wings into sheet to create a new material, using mixtures of beeswax, glue or honey as binders, which all ended in a complete mess. This then led me to try a more intentional, careful approach to enhance the quality of the wings. I began with small studies of using archival glue and bee wings to create lace.
Luci at work in her studio.
Being open to failure and to change a design while in the process of making is important. My latest bee wing piece and largest one to date, Bee Wing Lace Neckpiece, began as a planned design, stemming from these experiments, but morphed as I continued to expand the scale and wore on the body. There’s an adaptability that I’m constantly learning to embrace when working with found materials.
FH: What does a typical day in the studio look like for you? LJ: Lately, I’ve been starting with small exercises like quick drawings with pen, colored pencil, and highlighters, that have zero pressure or expectation attached. They are in no way connected to any project I have in the works. It’s so freeing and inspires the energy needed for other projects. After the exercises, I move on to problem solving a new piece I’ve started until I’m able to find that delicious meditative, repetitive state of working, put on a podcast and dive in! Afterwards I take a break to do a little yoga or, more likely, relax in front of the windows of my Baltimore apartment- the views of the sky are insane and truly decompressing. If I’m still feeling fresh later in the day, I’ll play with material combinations or even just browse through my collection. I love rediscovering materials whether it’s through pairings or even a shift in light. Many times, I hesitate to intervene with the materials I’ve collected– they are complete as they are.
Some recent material studies.Study for Gold Veil III
FH: Where do you find inspiration for your work? LJ: Everywhere! As of the past few weeks: Historic jewelry: Roman micro mosaic jewelry, morpho jewelry; exhibitions: Life of a Neuron at Artechouse; books: Wild Souls by Emma Marris, Braided Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer; artists: my sister- Emily Jockel, my students, Julia Künnap, Nils Udo, Helen Britton’s milk plastic series, and JV Collective!
FH: What are you currently working on? Do you have any projects in the works that you’re particularly excited about? LJ: There are so many things on the roster right now, and I’m so excited for them all. In preparation for NYCJW, my sister, a ceramist, and I are collaborating on a few pieces for our exhibition, Sisterhood: Bodies in Proximity, that are outside of the bounds we typically work within, like adding color, and considering the interplay and crossover of our mediums.
I recently went on a cross-country trip to Oregon with photographer, Lavala Harris, and we’re preparing a few additional projects based on that trip. I’m working on a piece for the Baltimore Jewelry Center’s (BJC) Community Challenge, inspired by an archer’s ring within the Walter’s Art Museum collection, using the technique of gold kundan- but with honey bee wings.
BJC, Montgomery College and Towson University are working on a collaborative student/artist show together for Spring 2022. Lastly, I’ll be preparing for a solo exhibition at Gallery Loupe in the near future!
FH: What does The Power of Jewelry mean to you? LJ:The Power of Jewelry comes from the memory it carries. It holds the memory not only of its past lives, but of the maker’s energy and care, of the wearer who finds new meaning, and of their kin who inherit the heirloom. Jewelry is a chain linking together generations, continuously given new life.
Works from Sisterhood: Bodies in Proximity, featuring ceramics by Emily Jockel and jewelry by Luci Jockel.
FH: Anything else you’d like to share? LJ: Please join my sister, Emily Jockel, and I during NYCJW from November 15-21 at The Jewelry Library, for our exhibition, Sisterhood: Bodies in Proximity!
You can find more of Luci’s work on her website, and keep up with her latest work on her Instagram @lucijockel. Luci is represented by Gallery Loupe.
Our sincere thanks to Luci for giving us a glimpse into her studio and process. Text and images courtesy of Luci Jockel; headshot photograph by Lavala Harris. Interview conducted, edited, and compiled by Future Heirloom Editor Jackie Andrews.
Welcome to Day 4 of NYC Jewelry Week! Here on Future Heirloom, we’re celebrating by bringing you special behind-the-scenes content on some of our favorite programs, events, and exhibitions every day this week. Check in each day for a new feature on the happenings at NYC Jewelry Week.
Today, we’re going behind-the-scenes of NYCJW Educational Partner Commence Jewelry, with Commence co-founder Ariella Har-Even. We asked Ariella to give us the inside scoop on the features of the Commence platform, the curatorial process, and how Commence got started. Read our interview below, and keep reading to find out how to see this year’s Commence Graduate showcase.
More About Commence Jewelry:
“Jewelry is not solely ornament or accessory, but lives as elements communicating our most intimate selves. This virtual, educational initiative serves to partner with graduating jewelers and metalsmiths to create a unified culture of discourse, empathy, and community.
A hub for graduating students, educators, curators, historians and collectors, this webpage dedicates itself to archiving BFA, MFA, and Collective jewelry and metalwork. Commence Jewelry supports rising jewelers and metalsmiths directly from within our maker community. Our focus is the minimizing of vulnerable reflexes that develop after leaving physical educational spaces. Programming posted on this site draws open the curtains to expand the view of our field, broadening its current scope.
We amplify the work of graduating students and emerging jewelers by organizing virtual and physical exhibitions, promoting the production of independent artist publications, posting articles that support the advancement of metalsmithing processes, and sharing a yearly documentation of talent. Through generating and sharing a diverse range of opportunities online, this platform serves as a compass to establish new points of connection that advocate for this generation’s radical and holistic spirit.”
Commence Jewelry
Future Heirloom: Before we jump into discussing the Commence platform, can you tell us briefly about your background in jewelry?
Ariella Har-Even of Commence Jewelry:Before deciding to pursue art as a career, I worked as a teacher’s aide, working with children with severe disabilities. It was one of the most incredible jobs I’ve ever had, but could also be very physically and emotionally demanding.
After a few years I was looking for something creative to do once a week, even for an hour or two, that would help me regroup and connect with myself. A friend suggested I take some classes with a jeweler, and even though I’ve spent my life immersed in creativity, whether writing or drawing or playing instruments, up until that point I honestly had never really stopped to consider that people actually made jewelry – stepping into a metalsmithing studio for the first time was like stepping into an alien land. I told the instructor I might try it out for a few classes. She gave me a saw, a torch, and some brass, and I fell in love with the process, head over heels. When I eventually decided to pursue a formal education and career in metalsmithing, I got my BFA at the Cleveland Institute of Art, graduating in 2019.
FH: What led you to start Commence? Why did it feel important to create this platform? AHE:When the pandemic began to shut down college programs, cancel thesis shows, and lock students out of their campus studios, I was absolutely heartbroken for seniors. To think about all the blood, sweat, and tears spent during four years to then see your thesis show slip through your fingertips at the finish line, was crushing. As a recent grad myself I wasn’t sure what I could do, but I messaged Bella Neyman and asked what NYC Jewelry Week was planning on doing to support 2020 jewelry graduates and how I could help. She put me in touch with Aaron who had been wanting to make a Yearbook, and then with Betsy who has experience with exhibition programming, and together we’ve built Commence into a platform that really supports emerging jewelers from within the craft community. The Yearbook and annual Jewelry Week exhibition present an uncurated, current snapshot of talent entering the jewelry field. Through our other various programming and opportunities, we support and highlight recent graduates and facilitate further connection between collectors, journalists, and gallerists to artists and work they might not have been exposed to.
FH: Commence is such a robust platform; can you walk us through the features of the site, and the different opportunities and resources you offer? AHE:Of course! We do have a lot, and are continuously thinking of more ways to offer meaningful support to emerging artists in all the different forms that might take. We have our annual NYC Jewelry Week exhibition viewable online, as well as the Yearbook, which is where participating grads each have their own page featuring their statement, bio, and additional images of their thesis works. These are grouped by institution and year, making it easier to browse. We publish interviews with both emerging artists and professionals that have been part of the metals field for a longer time, as well as articles written by artists about topics ranging from technical “how-to”s to life after graduation, or applying to residencies. We have some video content as well, a growing list of recommended reading, and a shop where the Yearbook is available for digital download or physical purchase.
FH: Tell us a bit about the dynamics of your collaborative work on Commence: how did you begin working together? What strengths do each of you bring, and how do you feel your curatorial vision has been strengthened as a team? AHE:Bella Neyman was the Commence team matchmaker, and I am eternally grateful to her because I’ve gained two incredible friends who happen to be amazing coworkers on this project. We each have our own creative practices, our own 9-5 jobs, and are located in different states, but we balance each other out and really try to be there to support not only the featured grads but also each other. It’s sort of like Captain Planet but instead of our powers combining to make a bodybuilder with a green mullet, we make a jewelry focused platform for emerging artists.
FH: What has been the most rewarding part of starting the platform? Has anything about the curatorial process or platform surprised you? AHE:The most rewarding part of Commence has been getting messages from featured grads and artists telling me how excited they are to be included and how much it’s meant to them!
FH: What is your vision for the future of Commence? How do you hope to expand and/or shift the platform in the coming years? AHE:My hope is to continue to connect with artists as they are leaving their colleges and educational institutions, as that is such a vulnerable time in which feeling creatively isolated is so overwhelming. While we do highlight and feature selected artists on social media and our site in various ways, The Yearbook and Jewelry Week exhibitions are a really important balance to that because they are open to all institutions and all graduating students within each class. I really believe that connection over curation is what this field is lacking at the moment, and Commence will always have that at the core of our mission. I’d like to see us continue to partner with other organizations as well, and include even more emerging artists that don’t have a traditional academic background.
FH: How can readers best support Commence? AHE: This only being our second year, we are in an “all support is good support” stage! Following us on social media and sharing our content is a really great way to help us continue to grow, and we are always thrilled to hear from grads, schools, and artists who have ideas of their own on how to be involved or collaborate. We are also currently working with a few organizations on creating some small awards/scholarships for select featured artists, so if anyone reading this is interested in setting something like this up with us, please reach out!
FH: What does The Power of Jewelry mean to you? How do you think Commence represents The Power of Jewelry? AHE:To me, the power of jewelry is its inseparability from the body. Adornment relies on the body to exist, and the body relies on adornment as a tool and aid, a way to bring the inside out. This relationship between our Self, our body, and our connection to others is activated by jewelry in a truly special and powerful way.
“I think Commence is focused above all on the importance of connection – connecting emerging artists with professionals in the field, connecting recent grads with each other, connecting us all to a more holistic view of what the metalsmithing community really is, and connecting ourselves to our own creative endeavors, passions, and curiosities.”
Ariella Har-Even
The 2021 Commence Graduate showcase is on view November 17, 2021 – November 21, 2021 at Industry City, Makers Guild: Industry City, 36th Street, Brooklyn, NY, USA. Learn more about how to visit the show here. You can see more from Commence Jewelry on their website, and follow them on Instagram @commencejewelry. Stay tuned for more from Commence on Future Heirloom in the coming weeks.
Images, quotes and interview courtesy of Ariella Har-Even and Commence Jewelry. Feature edited and compiled by Future Heirloom Editor Jackie Andrews.
Welcome to Day 3 of NYC Jewelry Week! Here on Future Heirloom, we’re celebrating by bringing you special behind-the-scenes content on some of our favorite programs, events, and exhibitions every day this week. Check in each day for a new feature on the happenings at NYC Jewelry Week.
Today, we’re bringing you an exclusive look at a brand new project, I AM MOTHERLAND, from multi-disciplinary artist Kalkidan Hoex, in preparation for an upcoming conversation between Kalkidan Hoex & Sarah Rachel Brown, host of the Perceived Value Podcast. Today, Kalkidan is sharing the story behind I AM MOTHERLAND, stills from the new short film, and more. Keep reading to explore I AM MOTHERLAND and find out more about the upcoming conversation.
Photography by Mitch van Schijndel
I am MOTHERLAND.
“I am MOTHERLAND.
The work I create is strongly linked to how I experience my mixed identity. As I was born in Ethiopia and adopted to the Netherlands. I find myself feeling like I lived in between two worlds. Where these two worlds overlap a third world was created. The objects I make are an expression of how I perceive my third world.
Photography by Mitch van SchijndelPhotography by Mitch van Schijndel
I want to show the realm where the blur of these two worlds exists, as together they create the portal to my third world. My third world creates a surrealistic place that conveys a feeling of culture that does not belong anywhere. Conveying through imagery is how I adapted, conscious and unconscious to both cultures.
I use the in-between world to comprehend my reality and create the illusion that I know where I belong. It serves as my safe space and coping mechanism for the mental fractures endured. I AM MOTHERLAND is about how I ground myself. Motherland is an entity I carry within. Where I find my sense of mother. This world is deeply rooted in representational power and symbolic meaning.”
Kalkidan Hoex on I AM MOTHERLAND
Photography by Mitch van SchijndelPhotography by Mitch van Schijndel
Watch the Trailer for I am Motherland:
I AM MOTHERLAND with Kalkidan Hoex & Sarah Rachel Brown
About the Speakers:
The discussion between Kalkidan Hoex & Sarah Rachel Brown will take place on Sunday, November 21, 2021 from 12:30 PM- 1:30 PM. Learn more about Kalkidan & Sarah below.
Kalkidan Hoex
Kalkidan Hoex was adopted from Ethiopia and brought up in the Netherlands. In her multi-disciplinary work Hoex examines the pervasive feeling of living between two worlds that has followed her for most of her life. The work speaks directly to those she considers a part of her own identity: youth of mixed descent, who were adopted out of their country or origin or had to flee with their families from their birthplace. Despite the differences in backgrounds and upbringing, she feels that they share common interests and viewpoints.
Sarah Rachel Brown is a contemporary jeweler, facilitator, and podcaster. She is the host and producer of Perceived Value, and currently lives in Philadelphia, PA where she holds down a full-time day job and hustles as a contemporary jeweler on her nights and weekends.
Photography by Mitch van SchijndelPhotography by Mitch van Schijndel
To join us for the conversation on Sunday, November 21, 2021 from 12:30 PM- 1:30 PM, RSVP here. The conversation will be live streamed on YouTube, and RSVP is required to access the livestream. Remember to subscribe to NYCJW’s YouTube channel for access to all our content.
Artist statement, film stills and I AM MOTHERLAND trailer courtesy of Kalkidan Hoex. Photography by Mitch van Schijndel. Feature edited and compiled by Future Heirloom Editor Jackie Andrews.
Welcome to Day 2 of NYC Jewelry Week! Here on Future Heirloom, we’re celebrating by bringing you special behind-the-scenes content on some of our favorite programs, events, and exhibitions every day this week. Check in each day for a new feature on the happenings at NYC Jewelry Week.
Today we’re revisiting a special feature on the NYC Jewelry Week 21 exhibition, News From Central Asia, curated by Aida Sulova, on view at The Jewelry Library November 15-21, 2021. The works in the exhibition reflect currents in Politics, the Environment, and Culture of the region. Read about the making of the exhibition and Aida’s perspective on the curatorial process below.
Above: Tiaras by Jol Jol, a young Kazakh jewelry brand whose work is based on roads, repeat the shape of seven rivers in Kazakhstan.
News From Central Asia exhibition brings together Central Asian artists, makers, and designers whose inspirational works reflect political protests, climate change, collective memory restoration, jewelry as reminders of historical events, transformation caused by modernization. For New York City Jewelry Week 2021, curator Aida Sulova asked Central Asian artists and designers to share the news from their home country in the form of a wearable object – a jewelry piece.
For many artists in Central Asia making art is the only way to respond and talk about the events taking place today. Although the concept of this exhibition has a geographical representation, the themes of the news are relevant to what we are witnessing in the world. Examples include “Kinematics of Protests,” “Perestroika,” “Wearable Memory Card,” “Women of Kashgar,” “Cotton as a Curse,” says curator Sulova. Central Asia is a region which stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to China and Mongolia in the east. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are former Soviet Republics that comprise Central Asia today. Since its Independence gained after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Central Asian countries have been undergoing a number of major political, social, cultural transformations.
Excerpted fromAida Sulova’s Press Release for News From Central Asia
Aida Sulova’s Curatorial Field Notes for News From Central Asia
I take a deep breath to read the news from Central Asia. News from the motherland worries the most. Born in Kyrgyzstan, former Soviet Republic in Central Asia, I now live in the US. When I call my mother, who lives in Kyrgyzstan, to ask for news, it is never about a new purse that she bought or my relative’s new born baby or anything of that sort, it is always about the politics in the region.
When I heard that “The Power of Jewelry” was going to be the theme of the New York City Jewelry Week in 2021, I wanted to propose an exhibition that would become a visual and tactile reflection of the news from Central Asia. Through the tapestry of creative visions, artworks, and field notes, I was hoping to portray the complex thinking and challenging statements of makers, designers, and artists from Central Asia.
Above: “Fate as a Burden” by Altynai Osmoeva, Kyrgyzstan: The heaviness of legacy, knowledge, and fate that women wear. Felt, metal (tin), crystals, hand printed silk lining; 2021; Attributions: Jewellery & styling : Altynai Osmoeva; Photography: Zemfira Abasova; Model: Kamila Sarieva; MUA: Bashirova Tokhtykhan; Assistant: Zhypariza Zhumagazieva.
The past year was full of cataclysms that made us turn back while looking forward. Who were we, what have we become, and what have we done? Looking at what I am today, I can see my identity formation through a number of major historical events: being born and brought up in the Soviet Union, experiencing Perestroika, collapse of the old regime, life in the newly independent Muslim state, the Tulip Revolution, the April Revolution, and immigration. Now living and witnessing recent political and social upheavals in the US, I thought I’d developed some sort of immunity to the experiences of that kind. But the news kept coming and my reaction to it proved that one will never develop an emotional stability for today’s atrocities.
After I announced the theme for the “News from Central Asia” show and sent out invitations to selected artists, I packed my stuff and went to Kyrgyzstan. The trip back home in the post-pandemic period was not only about visiting my family, friends, and memories. It was also about connecting with new people, places, and practices. Looking for new codes, symbols, and answers became a central point of the journey.
Above: Tiaras by Jol Jol, a young Kazakh jewelry brand whose work is based on roads, repeat the shape of seven rivers in Kazakhstan.
I met with all participating artists, both in person and online. We talked about contemporary art and how meaningful and empowering it is when it gets to sending a message into the world. How it can be displayed not only on the walls but also on the body. I told them about The Jewelry Library and its collection of books and jewelry and its projects that unify and inspire a community of makers and storytellers. I am glad that having spent time with artists, after our walks and talks, laughs and tears, I ended up with a collection of art pieces that will be presented at the “News from Central Asia” exhibition in New York.
How can one tell a story through a wearable object? It turns out that there are many distinctive ways! A jewelry piece called “Kinematic of Protests” is made by an artistic duo, Galina and Evgeny Boikov, who used the real silhouettes of protesters from the Kyrgyz Revolutions of 2005 and 2010 to show that “dynamics of gestures and poses of individuals in extreme situations are identical for all protests and revolutions around the world.” The Tajik artist Diana Rahmanova made a jewelry piece from the household objects that during the Civil War in Tajikistan served as body protection. Two Almaty-based artists restore a forgotten Uighur material culture through costumes, jewelry, folk dances, and stories. Jol Jol, a young Kazakh jewelry brand whose work is based on roads, proposed tiaras that repeat the shape of seven rivers in Kazakhstan, an area that used to be a concentration of life, trade, and culture, but now is drying up.
Saule Dyussenbina’s series of photos of people’s trash turned into sculptural jewelry was made during the Lazy Art residence at Issyk Kul Lake. Altynai Osmoeva uses a shape of a child’s bib to reinforce the Soviet upbringing style filled with male cult jewelry. Turkmen artist Jennet presented unusual wearable embroidered portraits of Turkmen women.
Above: Saule Dyussenbina’s photo series reinterpets trash as sculptural jewelry.
“But how would you trust Aida?” – one artist shared her story about her friends’ concern when she decided to send her mother’s jewelry for the show. “I trust her because trust is what we talk about and I hear what I’ve waited to hear. I’d like to tell the world about the richness of Uighur culture while everybody is busy with politics.”
“I lost my sleep when I read your concept and after we met in my studio. But that is a good feeling because I feel challenged and inspired,” Jakshylyk Chentemirov, a jeweler from Kyrgyzstan told me.
Left: Work by Jakshylyk Chentemirov
While I was doing my research on Central Asian jewelry art, I met a scholar Ekaterina Ermakova, who shared her article “From Folk Tradition to Original Jewelry Art,” which states: “In Central Asia, designer jewelry emerged in the 1970-1980s. It replaced traditional folk jewelry. The most important characteristics of this jewelry are the amount of information and freedom of choice. Today, three main stylistic directions have been formed. The first is the traditional school, within which the jewelers copy ancient jewelry using traditional materials. The second is ethnic style, the main task of which is not copying old forms, but creating a recognizable image associated with national culture. Third – contemporary artistic style based on individual perception of the national culture. In avant-garde artworks, the artist freely handles new jewelry art materials using wood, leather, felt, bone, silk.”
Above: Wearable frescoes by Almaty-based artist Guzel Zakir and look from Kashgariya Collection by Judy Ai.
Not all Central Asian artists feel safe and free to share their creative visions today. I’ve met artists who printed their artworks on coffee mugs to show them to the world. And while bringing some artworks for the “News from Central Asia” to the US, I had to go through security control and make a presentation about the artwork that the border officers called “weird looking.” The hardest was to find and ship the work of the artist from Turkmenistan. The borders are closed and locally controlled DHL is the only connecting point. Even while shipping the artworks and through dealing with logistics, customs, and state authorities, one can read the news and feel the temperature of the region.
IslBGWork by Shailoo Djekshenbaev.
News From Central Asia is curated by Aida Sulova and presented by The Jewelry Library for NYC Jewelry Week. The exhibition is on view November 15-21, 2021, 11am-7pm at The Jewelry Library, 1239 Broadway, Suite 500.
For more on the exhibition and to RSVP, click here. Follow curator Aida Sulova on Instagram @aidasulova. You can find more from The Jewelry Library on their website and Instagram @thejewelrylibrary.
Thanks to Aida Sulova for sharing insight into News From Central Asia with us. Text excerpted from press release and Curatorial Field Notes, both written by Aida Sulova. Images provided by Aida Sulova; image credits belong to the respective artists represented. Feature edited and compiled by Future Heirloom Editor Jackie Andrews.
Welcome to our favorite week of the year, NYC Jewelry Week! Here on Future Heirloom, we’re celebrating by bringing you special behind-the-scenes content on some of our favorite programs, events, and exhibition every day this week. Check in each day for a new feature on the happenings at NYC Jewelry Week.
To kick off our week-long content, we’re giving you an exclusive glimpse into the making of the exhibition Bonded: Jewelry from the Stay Gold Collective with Liz Kantner, the exhibition’s curator and founder of the collective. Read a bit about the exhibition concept below, and then we’ll chat with Liz about the inspiration for the exhibition and some of her favorite inclusions.
Group shots of the jewelry in Bonded: Jewelry from the Stay Gold Collective
Exhibition Statement for Bonded: Jewelry from the Stay Gold Collective
Jewelry inherently tells a story, and that story is shaped between the maker, the wearer, and our culture. Each element provides influence on how jewelry speaks to us. As 2020 formed its own story of isolation and uncertainty, connection and community became the focus of many artists.
In the past 18 months the way we form connections fundamentally changed. What was once seen as an intrinsic part of the human experience became rare as many were pulled back from society and disconnected from everyday life. The isolation that resulted from social distancing challenged how we formed bonds, and catalyzed moments of precious solidarity as new communities formed. From this unique time the Stay Gold Collective, a group of independent designers founded by Liz Kantner, came together.
Bonded: Jewelry from the Stay Gold Collective seeks to showcase jewelry created during this period, focusing on moments of connection and community. Each tells a story.
Future Heirloom: Can you walk us through your background in jewelry, and tell us a bit about the Stay Gold Collective? Liz Kantner: The Stay Gold Collective is a group I started because I wanted to provide affordable consulting for jewelry designers. My first job in the industry was as Marketing Manager for Todd Reed and I saw how generous he was with his time and support for emerging designers. I later had the opportunity to curate the New Designer Gallery at JA New York and loved helping designers prepare and participate in their first trade shows, I was also so inspired by the community the selected designers created each show. While the jewelry industry is a hard one to break into, I’ve seen so many designers wanting to support each other and I want to help cultivate more of that!
Kelty PelechytikAlison MacleodRings in Bonded: Jewelry from the Stay Gold Collective
FH: What are some of the highlights of the exhibition for you? Could you give us a peek at a favorite piece or story? LK: One of my favorite stories submitted for the exhibition is from Hilary Finck:
“Like most jewelry designers, I work alone in my studio. I generate designs that I like to think are original ⎼ designs that no one else would come up with. Well, we all know that in today’s social media climate, it is nearly impossible to not be influenced by other designers’ creations. In late summer 2020, one of my stone sellers posted some gorgeous rutilated quartz spheres, which immediately sent my creative juices into hyperdrive. Instantly I imagined what is now my Captured Orb Necklace, but I was unsure of whether it would work. I made some sketches, bought the stones, and waited with baited breath for them to arrive.
Jewelry by Hilary Finck
When I got the spheres, I pushed all of my other work aside and created my very first Captured Orb Necklace. In my tiny jewelry world, these necklaces became a hit, I made new ones whenever I could get my hands on more stones, and posted them on Instagram to much fanfare. In spring 2021, while scrolling through Instagram, I saw a very similar orb design by a jeweler with about 30x more followers than myself ⎼ a much more well-known and beloved designer. We followed each other’s work and respected each other. My heart sank. Thoughts went through my head: Did she copy my work? Will people think I copied her work? It’s a jeweler’s worst nightmare. So, I contacted the designer, let her know that I felt she had copied one of my signature designs, and politely asked her to not make anymore of those pieces. It felt terrible to send this message, but I felt that I needed to protect my work.
However, she responded that she had also bought the sphere from the same supplier at the same time in 2020 as I did, and had an idea worked out for how to set it. When she saw my new necklace posted on Instagram, she said that her heart sank because it was similar to what she had designed in her head. Kindly, she agreed to cease making more of those designs, but that no longer felt right to me. Instead I asked if she would be comfortable sharing our story about these two necklaces on our Instagram feeds ⎼ discussing our understanding that two artists can indeed come up with similar designs at the same time, and as long as it’s not nefarious, this coincidence is something that can be celebrated. So, that’s what we did. We were so relieved that honest and open communication led to a positive result. It felt great, and it felt right, and our respective communities were thrilled to know this story and to support two female artists who took the collaborative route for an issue that could have instead been very acrimonious and hurtful.”
Hilary Finck, Stay Gold Collective member
Erica BelloJudith HaasMejia Jewelry
FH: Is there anything else you’d like to share about the exhibition, or your curatorial experience? LK: These past two years especially, I, and many of the designers in the group were so grateful to have a community to lean on. That feeling of support is what inspired the whole exhibition. Every designer within the Collective was invited to submit pieces and it really all came together beautifully. Also, HUGE thanks to Erica Bello, a member of the group who helped with the name / copy.
Group shots of the jewelry in Bonded: Jewelry from the Stay Gold Collective
See the designs and read the stories from members of the Stay Gold Collective on the exhibition website. 20% of the profits from sales will be donated to NoLo Studios’ Residency Program. Find out more about the exhibition and corresponding events here. To hear more about the exhibition, attend the exhibition artist talk, The Power of Community: A Discussion, on Tuesday, November 16, 2021 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM. Register here.
Exhibition description and information gathered from the Stay Gold website. Images, interview responses, and quotes courtesy of Liz Kantner. Feature edited and compiled by Future Heirloom Editor Jackie Andrews.
Laleh Javaheri-Saatchi in Conversation with Dr. Kim Benzel, Curator in Charge of the Ancient Near Eastern Art Department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Laleh Javaheri-Saatchi is a graduate student in Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University studying the arts of ancient West Asia and currently completing a Masters thesis. Her area of interest and research is in ancient forms of bodily ornamentation. Her passion for jewelry is rooted in her family history, Laleh comes from a multi-generational family of jewelers and watch dealers.
In her studies, she repeatedly encounters the theme of layered meanings embedded in ancient jewelry. Ancient jewelry pieces, beyond objects of mere external beauty, carry a multitude of enmeshed meanings: in the materials chosen, the colors, shapes and forms, the iconography displayed, as well as in the techniques of making. In this sense the study of ancient jewelry is akin to an investigation into embedded messages hidden beneath the superficial layers. This is a topic that Dr. Kim Benzel, Curator in Charge of the Ancient Near Eastern Art department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art knows very well. A scholar of ancient West Asia, an expert on ancient jewelry and a goldsmith herself, Dr. Benzel has written extensively on the inherent power and meanings embedded in the materials that make the exceptional jewelry pieces of the ancient world.
Image Above: Dr. Kim Benzel (Left) and Laleh Javaheri-Saatchi (Right)
For a podcast episode produced by Columbia University, Laleh had the opportunity to explore this subject further in conversation with Dr. Benzel. Through an intimate knowledge of materials and techniques, Dr. Benzel shares invaluable information about what it is that made jewelry so meaningful in ancient West Asia. The following are transcribed excerpts from the interview, which is available to listen in its entirety as a podcast episode entitled Ishtar Adorned.
Image Above: This exquisite assemblage of dangling gold leaves with carnelian and lapis lazuli beads made in the 3rd millennium BCE was found at one of the tombs of the Royal Cemetery of Ur and would have been meant to be worn as a headdress. An identical headdress adorned the forehead of Puabi. (Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, image credit www.metmuseum.org)
LALEH JAVAHERI-SAATCHI: Jewelry in ancient Mesopotamia was so much more than mere bodily decoration. We know from textual sources that materials, namely stones and metals such as lapis lazuli, carnelian, gold, or silver, were valued for their special inherent attributes, providing the wearer with protective and healing qualities. In addition, the manipulation of materials allows for yet another level of meaning. Can you speak to us a bit about the importance of the process of making and of meanings in materials?
DR. KIM BENZEL: In my writings what I focus on is not the making in isolation, it is really the chain of activation that starts with the materials. We know from textual sources that all the materials were very important, not only for outward qualities but for inner properties.
Gold for example is charged, not just because it is beautiful, but it is still listed today as among the noble metals because it is so pure and does not tarnish. In the ancient world gold was also given a special status, it was conceived as related to the divine from the very beginning. Its properties of not tarnishing, immutability, purity and shine were all aspects of Mesopotamian aesthetics that were highly valued and that were also equated with the divine. With gold, you have this material that we as humans from antiquity on have perceived as a pure material. There are all these rituals in ancient Mesopotamia that require human manipulation and intervention, gold does not need that. The material is already charged, and only then you add the craftsman or the jeweler. I would argue that in some of the jewelry that was made, especially the jewelry that is made for cult statues and is intimately associated with the divine, the making or manufacturing aspect is in many cases meant to erase the hand of the maker. It goes to this biblical tradition, and this is where it comes from, of a mortal cannot make things that are associated with the divine. There is anecdotal textual evidence that illustrates aspects of that. With the jewelry of Puabi, from The Royal Cemetery at Ur, which I was able to study up-close, what was really evident there was the process of not using solder, which they did have, but using pieces of gold and repeating a very labor-intensive process of heating and hammering, so as not to cut or solder and keep the gold pieces intact and seamless making it hard to perceive that there was a hand behind it. This exceedingly labor-intensive method was another way of activating the divine. It is this ritualized chain of activation from materials to making that in some way removes the hand of the maker. It is very prescribed and rarely does it vary. It just seems to me that the ritual prescription of how to make something was not only to create beauty, but for the expressed purpose of activating the next step, and in my opinion in Ur to activate those dead bodies to become perhaps divine in death or appear divine in death.
Ancient Mesopotamia refers to a region in West Asia that would have occupied modern day Iraq and parts of Iran, Turkey and Syria. The term refers to the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Puabi is the name of a Mesopotamian woman of high status from the 3rd millennium BCE whose rich burial was uncovered at the Royal Cemetery of Ur. The Royal Cemetery at Urrefers to a group of burials excavated at the site of the ancient Mesopotamian city of Ur (modern day Tell al-Muqayyar in Iraq), these burials were particularly rich in their contents thus believed to have belonged to the highest echelon of the elite of the time.
“It is that chain of activation that makes the jewelry particularly agentive; it has agency to do something to its wearer. In its totality once it is on the body, it does something to the body and my argument would be that it creates the semblance of the divine.”
Dr. Kim Benzel, from “Ishtar Adorned”, Ishtar Diaries podcast series.*
Image Above: This set of gold amulets from the early 2nd millennium BCE Mesopotamia was found as part of a hoard of precious objects. The amulets are meant to represent different gods and goddesses and the techniques of making, such as very fine granulation work, attest to the skill of the ancient goldsmiths. Such amulets would have adorned the bodies of those seeking supernatural protection. Refined ornaments would have been made to bedeck not only human bodies but also the bodies of cult statues of gods and goddesses. (Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, image credit www.metmuseum.org)
LALEH JAVAHERI-SAATCHI: On representations on Mesopotamian cylinder seals of the goddess Ishtar, we see the goddess wearing bracelets, necklaces, or the cross halter she is often seen adorned with. And in the textual sources we see her adorning herself with special stones such as lapis lazuli and carnelian before going into battle or before any great transformative event. Dr. Benzel, we understand why humans need this extra layer of protection, but why do gods?
Ishtar is the great Mesopotamian goddess of love and war.
DR. KIM BENZEL: [As mentioned before], the ultimate purpose of this chain of activation from materials to making and then adorning was to do something to the body. In the case of some jewelry produced in ancient Mesopotamia, it was intimately and directly involved with the divine. Much of the jewelry we know from ancient texts was made specifically to adorn cult statues of gods and goddesses, and as such they were the belongings of those gods and goddesses. We do not have many of these cult statues that have survived, presumably because the bodies of the statues were generally made of wood, they were then literally dressed in fine linen and jewelry and cared for like a biological deity. But on that assumption, that jewelry was not just only adorning the divine, it was an essential part of creating that divine image.
“That divine image was likely not divine until it had all its other dressings and adornments.”
Dr. Kim Benzel, from “Ishtar Adorned”, Ishtar Diaries podcast series.*
DR. KIM BENZEL: In terms of Ishtar, I would say that it is not so much why the gods needed the protection, but it is actually an essential part of being divine for Ishtar. There is no more persuasive argument for that than the very famous text that is titled The Descent of Ishtar. In short, Ishtar is going down to retrieve her lover from the underworld where her sister rules, and on her way down in order to enter the underworld she is required to take off one of her pieces of jewelry at each level as she descends. And when she gets to the bottom all her jewelry is off and it is at this point that we presume she is deactivated, she is no longer in possession of her power and no longer a threat to her sister, the queen of the underworld; and when she returns back up, she gets her jewelry back. And it is all those same pieces of jewelry, the bracelets and the anklets, the head jewelry, and the cross halter.
Image Above: A pair of gold earrings from the Royal Cemetery of the Mesopotamian city of Ur (modern day Tell al-Muqayyar in Iraq). These ornaments made in the 3rd millennium BCE were made from two pieces of thinly worked gold sheet shaped by the goldsmith into hallowed crescents. Other examples of these lunate style earrings were found in the Royal Cemetery of Ur and Puabi was found adorned with a similar oversized pair. (Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, image credit www.metmuseum.org)
“What is very clear is that the jewelry is her power in this text. And so why do gods need it because it is part of their power where we humans need it as a layer of protection.“
Dr. Kim Benzel, from “Ishtar Adorned”, Ishtar Diaries podcast series.*
DR. KIM BENZEL: There are also many other examples from Mesopotamia of rituals [involving jewelry]. There is a text from the site of Mari where it is the jewelry of Ishtar that is displayed and worshipped in its own right. If something has been on a body and has been in contact, sort of this idea of contagion, is it imbued with the same power as the biological deity itself?
Mari is an important ancient Mesopotamian city which would have been located in present day Syria.
There are so many ways of manifesting and representing the divine in ancient Mesopotamia. The fact that this jewelry presumably had touched Ishtar, made it a substitute or a surrogate for Ishtar, as powerful and as imbued with this much agency as the goddess herself. There are also from the 3rd millennium BCE to the 1st millennium BCE many curses in burials warning about jewelry being taken off the body. The jewelry is specifically called out. So it is a very charged category of object in the ancient world, much more so than the agency that we assign today to stones or particular metals with healing or protective properties or particular jewelry pieces we are attached to. It’s on a whole other level in the ancient world.
For more on this topic, you can listen to the full conversation from Ishtar Adorned episode of the Ishtar Diaries podcast series here. You can follow Laleh Javaheri-Saatchi on Instagram @the_body_ornamented, and learn more about Dr. Kim Benzel here.
Yesterday, NYCJW Co-founder JB Jones spoke with Jodie Marie Smith, the curator of the current iteration of EXHIBITIONIST, on Instagram Live. Today, we’re sharing a special extended interview with Jodie.
Before we dive in, let’s start with a bit more about Exhibitionist, NYCJW’s online exhibition space. On the Exhibitionist platform, we ask six exceptional jewelers to respond to prompts about their practice and business that relate to their personal history and the ever-changing world around them. For its second iteration, we invited Jodie to curate which jewelers would be involved.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Jodie Marie Smith, she is a San Francisco based writer, trend forecaster and creative consultant specialising in the jewellery and luxury industries. With a background in fine jewellery and having recently emigrated from London, Jodie has written for Current Obsession, The Future Lab, Rapaport, 1st Dibs, Adorn Insight, The Adventurine, Jewelry Connoisseur and The Jewellery Cut, amongst others. Her most recent series of articles explores digital jewellery – including NFTs, the metaverse, blockchain technology, digital fashion and dressing, and gen z consumer identities amongst other future-facing topics.
With that, let’s dive into the interview!
JB Jones: “Non Fungible Tokens (NFT’s) are to the 2020s what IT girls were to the 2000s: ubiquitous and securing online attention wherever their name is attached…” while this doesn’t directly pertain to jewelry, (read Jodie’s article and see how it does on Current Obsession) I wanted to start with this because it’s about your approach. You have a way of taking something that might seem out of reach, and creating an entry point for it for people who didn’t think they cared about NFT’s or in this case, jewelry. It’s within that space, too, that was where EXHIBITIONIST was born – an idea to create a space that is about accessibility and understanding – an entry point into the minds of visionaries in the field and an entry point into their work.
JB Jones for Future Heirloom:Why was it of interest to you to take on this curation? Jodie Marie Smith: It was an absolute joy of a project to be part of! To ask jewelers to curate their own selections for an exhibition according to what specific designs mean to them is a really interesting way of showcasing their relationships to their creations. I feel like this format really gives the creators more control and ‘ownership’ in forming their own narrative. It was a big undertaking from each jeweler to provide us with so much information and to muse on the topics we asked about, so I want to extend my thanks to all of them again for that! Also, any opportunity to showcase the jewelers I love is genuinely exciting, I’m thrilled at the idea of people discovering jewelers they hadn’t encountered before or reading their interviews and giving a new perspective on a jeweler they may already be familiar with.
Theresia KyaloGearry Suen
Future Heirloom: Can you give us a glimpse into your curatorial process? How (if at all) do you feel that your curatorial vision aligns with your interests and background in the jewelry industry? JMS: My professional background is in fine / high jewellery, and I was living in London for most of my career, so any selection of jewellers I made would have to include high jewellers, (VRAM, Ming Lampson and Gearry Suen) and at least a couple of London based jewellers (Ming and Gearry.) Of the three fine jewellers in this exhibition, I have been a long term supporter of them, since the moment I was introduced to each one, I fell in love and have shouted about them as much as possible for a while. My personal background is that I’m from a working class family in Northern England, with absolutely no connection to the jewellery world. I can’t pretend that this won’t have shaped my perspective on the jewellery industry, and particularly some of the outdated attitudes which are associated with traditional fine jewellers. Basically, I don’t think that high value materials necessarily have any bearing on what is or isn’t fine or high jewellery. Not all expensive jewellery is created equal! There are pieces which retail for millions which have had less thought put into them than pieces which retail for $500. Craftsmanship and technique – whether through extraordinary feats of talent, engineering, or simply imagination, are what make me gasp. All of this contributes to why this selection of jewelry had to be so diverse – and we also wanted to reflect and appeal to the spectrum of tastes of New York Jewelry Week’s audience!
Claire WebbGearry Suen
FH: The jewelers you’ve chosen include a range of techniques and materials, and a mixture of fine and art jewelry approaches. Was that combination of approaches important to your curatorial vision? JMS: Of course, as with every initiative NYCJW leads, we wanted to present as diverse a range of six jewellers as we possibly could. Last year, I came to NYCJW with the idea of a global trend panel, as I felt I was sick of hearing the Eurocentric / US market trends dominate every single conversation, as if there were no cultural or geographical nuance to the concept of ‘trends’ at all. Those echo chambers create redundant perspectives for global digital platforms. For Exhibitionist, I wanted to be true to my taste, and that in itself needs to be diverse in the work I do. If I only wrote about / shared / created content which focused on heritage European jewellery houses and ignored everything else going on in this industry, I’d be failing at saying anything new or at all relevant, in my opinion. This diversity doesn’t just mean gender, race, nationality, geography, but in artistic background, style, cultural influences, approaches, markets, taste. Essentially who their consumers are, who their audience is. Curation is another overused term, but I believe it is a talent in itself that has value – when you place something alongside anything else, a monologue becomes a conversation, and each different element re-contextualises the other. I LOVE the idea of someone who is already a Gearry Suen fan finding the similarly colorful, maximalist joy of Claire Webb through this series, or vice versa. Punk influences are interpreted into jewellery by Chris Habana and Ming Lampson in completely different ways. Disciples of minimalism seeing the thread between forms which VRAM and Theresia Kyalo have sculpted.
Theresia KyaloVRAM
FH: What led you to choose these six jewelers?
Jodie Marie Smith on Gearry Suen: Though based in London after studying at Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art, Gearry was born in China, and many elements of his aesthetic, his artistic practices, his philosophy, are intertwined with his heritage and background. I discovered Gearry early on, right as he graduated in 2020 and was lauded with accolades from The Goldsmiths’ Craft and Design Council Competition, the Goldsmiths Company Award and Theo Fennell’s Gilded Youth awards. My first reaction was non-stop talking to my husband about how amazingly talented this designer is and how important he was going to become, I knew everyone who saw the pieces and images I’d seen would be blown away. I think it’s so rare that a question of taste doesn’t come into a jewellers’ success, I find it hard to imagine anyone who’s ever cared about jewellery in any way wouldn’t agree that his jewellery is objectively mind-blowing. The experimental forms, the surreal references, the gemstone architecture – these are jewellery sculptures. There’s a lot of argument about categorisation in certain quarters of the industry – but no one could deny that Gearry Suen makes art jewellery – museum quality, investment pieces with the highest level of artistry and finish. I mean, they could try, but I’d fight them.
Processed with VSCO with c8 presetWorks by Gearry Suen.
Jodie Marie Smith on Claire Webb: Claire Webb’s jewellery is a relatively recent obsession of mine, but when I say obsession, I’m not being hyperbolic. The first time I saw it, I kept telling anyone who would listen that it was the jewellery from my childhood dreams come to life. The mixtures of shapes, cuts and colours of gems and crystals calls to mind cartoon gemstones in all of the 1950s and 1960s classic Disney films I watched hundreds of times as a child. The neon, electric coloured foils in the Yours by Claire Webb line and the substantial coloured gems, the way they’re set perfectly imperfectly in bulbous, organic looking resin. There is an element of charm that comes with this kind of craft. They’re fantastically, unabashedly fun.
Works by Claire Webb.
Jodie Marie Smith on Ming Lampson: I’ve never mentioned this to her, but Ming Lampson was the first designer who I can remember that spoke to me with the same enthusiasm and warmth she had for anyone else in the room. That may seem like that should be expected, but that wasn’t my experience as a relative newcomer in the industry until I was in Ming’s office holding her designs, my eyes bulging out of my head with joy. It really meant something to me to be accepted for my passion and knowledge rather than perceived status. Regardless of her character, Ming’s jewellery is breathtaking. If anyone ever gets to see, and even touch her pieces in person, I implore you to. It will be worth whatever you have to do!
Works by Ming Lampson.
Jodie Marie Smith on VRAM: VRAM! His popularity at this years’ Couture exhibition in Las Vegas says everything. A jewellery journalist and editor favourite, for sure. I think about buying a VRAM piece about once a month, I can’t get these pieces of wearable sculpture out of my head – it’s just a matter of indecision that I haven’t got one yet! To paint a picture of the type of jeweller he is: the man himself is the most stylish man I’ve ever seen – a very successful internet presence could be based on his outfits alone. VRAM’s studio, workshop, atelier, all of it, is in house. He is an artist whose medium is jewellery, primarily the most tactile, ergonomic, just-have-to-touch sinuous yellow gold forms, often left undecorated or with intricate sapphire pavé. VRAM’s singular, distinct vision makes these pieces unmistakeable.
Works by VRAM.
Jodie Marie Smith on Theresia Kyalo: It’s hard to remember exactly when I first encountered Theresia Kyalo’s work, but I believe it was through working with the Global Trend Panel for last year’s NYCJW, when the writer Mazzi Odu showcased a plethora of African jewellers and the trends she was observing in that locality. I love the simple lines of Theresia’s designs, but the confidence and singularity in the headpieces and face jewellery in particular are so striking. It’s really refining jewellery down to its most concise interpretation – metal forms circling and waving around the contours of the face, head and body. There’s not an ounce of superfluousness here, every piece is very pure, often achieved with just one material. While some of Theresia’s designs are more suited to everyday wear and are more accessible, the dramatic headpieces and face jewellery would not look out of place on any fashion week catwalk or high fashion editorial. I love the strength and confidence displayed here by Theresia in creating this type of jewellery and championing her vision and understanding of the material. For me, although technique, style and execution are enormously different, it’s that same confidence that VRAM has in his hand-crafted yellow gold designs without any gemstone embellishment. It brings me back to the joy and beauty of these metals without adornment (don’t get me wrong, I love gems, hard stones, resins, reused plastics, ingenious material embellishment in jewellery) but there is something so deeply soulful and ancient about forefronting the metal without interruption.
Works by Theresia Kyalo.
Jodie Marie Smith on Chris Habana: Selecting Chris Habana to be part of this Exhibitionist series really speaks to my love for more punk inspired, subversive jewellery designs and the way that a new crop of pop culture celebrities are embracing this aesthetic, bleeding this into the mainstream through what are conventionally considered pretty shocking themes. I think there are different performative personas within each of us, and Chris Habana’s jewellery appeals to a sexy, almost agressive and androgynous element of my tatse. The extraordinary pieces which Chris and his team create – particularly for massively popular music videos for people like Doja Cat, Cardi B and Lizzo, stage performances for artists like Lil Nas and Kim Petras, and red carpet moments like The Met Gala for SZA, Saweetie, and Kylie Jenner – are at the forefront of how the public sees body jewellery and jewelled fashion in this moment. I think the term ‘celebrity jeweller’ has come to mean something less cool over time as it’s been used as a marketing speak, and this work doesn’t define his creative output, but even a casual scroll through his instagram proves to me that Chris Habana has been defining where the visual zeitgeist is right now. It’s difficult to estimate how influential he’s been in shaping where jewellery and fashion’s relationship is in 2021, and as we move into 2022.
Works by Chris Habana.
FH: The prompts were chosen by NYCJW last year, and you chose to keep those themes this year. Could speak to why you made that decision? JMS: For me, the looseness of these themes, rather than the conventional formal question structure which is much more leading in interviews, really allowed for a huge breadth of answers from the selection of designers. The more open the questions were, the more we got a true sense of each individual. I feel like NYCJW really gave as close to a blank slate as possible with these themes which each designer spoke to – it’s the interview equivalent of saying tell us about your work, yourself and your recent experience however you see fit. Each individual is fully represented through their answers and their selection of jewellery to showcase each theme – their personalities shine through and I feel that’s often difficult to achieve and showcase in an organised and coherent way for a collective of designers like this.
Gearry SuenClaire WebbChris HabanaMing LampsonFour responses to pivot: Gearry Suen, Claire Webb, Chris Habana, and Ming Lampson.
FH: A central theme in Exhibitionist is reflection on the current moment. Could you speak about how the artists responded to this? JMS: Each artist had such an interesting response to the “pivot” prompt – though there was definitely a familiar thread running through their individual answers. Without repeating their quotes verbatim, everyone seemed to have had quite profound experiences throughout the last 18 months, most spoke about slowing down, redressing balances, prioritizing what’s significant, and focusing on family and their team. For an artist like Gearry, the timing of the pandemic and all of the restrictions surrounding it completely changed the trajectory of his experience as a newly graduated designer: with so many accolades, he would’ve normally been showing his pieces in exhibitions or privately all around the world, and it’s such a funny thing to think that the inability to see the pieces in person for some may have made their desire to even stronger! The first time the public can go to an exhibit to see his pieces in person in Europe or the UK, there’s going to be a stampede! All of this is to say, everyone in this curation found positives within the extraordinary amount of negatives.
FH: Were there any particularly unexpected or surprising responses to your prompts? If so, what were they? JMS: I loved Chris Habana’s explanation of The Barbed Wire Necklace:
“The barbed wire charms are quintessentially punk with sharp-ish points that may prick the wearer if not worn properly. I imagine other jewelry brands worrying that ‘sharp’ points may not be consumer friendly but this is a consummate CHRISHABANA piece and many of our friends and fans actually love it! I try not to create designs that are too ‘easy’ or understandable. I think it’s our duty as designers to always elevate the consumer’s idea of what is wearable – to challenge them so that culture can move forward!”
Chris Habana
To me, this is the mindset of an artist, creating without an eye on trends, or conventions, and just trusting their creativity, allowing those who ‘get’ it to enjoy the pure, unfiltered, undiluted version of this idea. I wondered why I loved this concept and this answer so much, and by accident, I was reminded of this a few days ago, my husband grabbed my hand to direct me towards something in a gallery in excitement. My placeholder engagement ring (until I find on the perfect *the one* which might never happen as I’m too picky) was chosen to not look too much like a conventional ring – it’s a tension set diamond on the most comfortable, rounded, thick gold band I’ve ever worn, and the diamond is constantly sitting with the culet JUST touching my skin. When he grabs my hand, out of love, excitement, or rushing across a street, the culet ever so slightly digs into my skin. It doesn’t hurt, it barely leaves an impression, sometimes the lightest scratch, but it’s this very powerful feeling of the diamond reminding me it’s there, this symbol of our love and marriage being a beautiful thing that is not sitting there passively, it’s engaging with my body.
FH: What feelings or impressions do you hope to evoke in the viewer with this group of jewelers? JMS: Fundamentally, I wanted this to be an exciting and unexpected selection of jewellers, and I wanted people to experience these pieces as richly as possible through a digital exhibition. Without sounding too pretentious, I would love this to feel like a journey. When the reader navigates this digital exhibition, whichever order you read these interviews and take in the stories shared behind these important designs, I really do feel we got to journey around into the mindsets of each designer. We were so fortunate to have everyone be very generous in sharing so much in depth insight into how these jewellers think, work, and see their creative output. Obviously, every reader’s personal taste comes into play, and some have very specific types of jewellery they are interested in engaging with, but I hope there is something which appeals to everyone and something which surprises everyone at the same time.
FH: Finally, please tell us: what does the Power of Jewelry mean to you? JMS: I tried so hard to come up with an answer to this that offered something new, but too many clever people have mused on this before for me to come up with some earth-shattering insights. For me, The Power of Jewelry changes depending on who I am that day, not all of my jewellery looks the same, or have the same purpose. I wear at least 5 pieces of inherited jewellery owned by 5 different women in my family every day, and have done since I was old enough for my Mum to trust me with them. The power of these pieces is pure love, pure femininity, they’re all timeless and span more than 100 years of design. My Mum has worn a minimum of eight gold and gemstone rings everyday for her whole life, nearly all of which have been passed down, and loves big earrings, huge necklaces, she’s ridiculously glamorous, and in wearing these pieces the power of jewellery is about connection to her, and the women of my family. The Power of that jewellery is very different to the power of the bigger, more androgynous and more statement pieces I have bought or chosen for myself. The power of those is in their distinction, their flamboyance, they represent how I see myself, like by wearing them I’m asserting who I am and how I want to be is reflected in the act of putting them on. My attitude to buying jewellery is somewhat contradictory – by nature of analysing trends as closely as I do, and constantly thinking about how the future will look in my work, I think I’m really averse to them. I never want to buy anything I won’t love in 10, 30, 50 years time. That’s also powerful to me, to say that I am not merely an obsessive consumer of this particular art form, I am engaged with it, I curate which pieces I wear everyday as an extension of my inner self and my external performance of ‘me’. I’m in conversation with jewellery every day.
Jewellery – and I definitely don’t just mean big, expensive, diamond pieces here – is an act of self care, in that with fashion, there is an element of necessity, and everyone has to participate in dressing in clothes, whereas for most, jewellery is a choice you make for yourself about how you are seen and how you feel being seen. I believe the power it holds is that it allows you to define yourself further and more clearly to yourself and to the world through every piece you own and wear.
Jodie Marie Smith
Experience Exhibitionist in full here, and watch the live interview on NYC Jewelry Week’s Instagram. See more from Jodie Marie Smith on her website, and follow her on Instagram at @jodiemariesmith.
Special thanks to Jodie Marie Smith for taking the time to share insight into her curatorial process with us. Live interview conducted and introduced by JB Jones; interview responses written by Jodie Marie Smith; print interview compiled and edited by Jackie Andrews. Images provided by the respective artists for Exhibitionist.
One of our primary goals on Future Heirloom is to uplift emerging makers who are transforming the jewelry world and making lasting impacts on our community. Today, we’re kicking off our newest series of interviews with the talented innovators in our One For The Future program: recent graduates, self-starters, and emerging professionals who embody passion, dedication, and a commitment to jewelry. We’re excited to debut this series with Jevon Smith (he/him) and Max Thompson (he/him), the talent behind the New York-based brand CREATEFREEDOM.
But before we jump in to ask Jevon and Max a few questions, here’s a bit more about CREATEFREEDOM:
CREATEFREEDOM serves to explore how freedom exists and how it can be expressed through the individual, the community, and strong interpersonal connections. Each piece that is designed embodies a characteristic of freedom and is constructed to maintain wearability. The debut collection, which was launched on January 9th 2021, covers five broad concepts of freedom: legacy, growth, unity, change, and family. CREATEFREEDOM celebrates the non-conforming wearer while providing an enduring design aesthetic.
Future Heirloom: Tell us, why jewelry? CREATEFREEDOM: Jevon has always created his own accessories since a young age and went on to study accessory design at the Fashion Institute of Technology. What brought us to focus on jewelry specifically is both its aspects of wearability and longevity. People who wear jewelry do so on a daily basis and tend to stick to their core pieces which becomes a part of their identity. It’s important that the jewelry they do wear is something that they can identify with, and our brand’s meaning, which is incorporated in the name of each ring and its design, is something people want to represent.
FH: What does the Power of Jewelry mean to you? CF: In our generation, many of us are now starting to recognize jewelry more for its spiritual and healing properties rather than it being a symbol for wealth and status. Each form of precious metal contains a unique set of metaphysical properties that activate different energies. As we are beginning to value these aspects of jewelry, it has the power to become an extension of ourselves; past, present, and future versions. It serves an extension by reminding us what we are healing from in the past, our values in the present, and what we are working towards developing in the future. Jewelry serves as a personal symbol of what we represent and an affirmation of what we are becoming.
FH: How would you describe your work, in 5 words or less? CF: Minimal, but intentional statement pieces.
FH: What’s something unusual about your practice that you’d like to share with readers? CF: What is unusual from our practice is that both of us do not come from a typical jewelry background. Jevon studied Accessory Design, but specialized in footwear and handbags, while Max studied Mathematics and Finance. In general, our life has been about breaking norms and identifying new ways of approaching things since we both did not grow up grounded in, or attached to, certain traditions or cultures. This has translated into our design process and the overall meaning of our brand. It allows us to provide a fresh perspective to the jewelry industry by redefining a new standard of what is acceptable, and creating unique statement pieces for the non-conformist.
FH: How does community play a role in your work? CF: Community actually plays a big role in our overall process. We have spent a lot of time speaking with the people that have resonated with our brand over social media and in real life. We want to develop a community that recognizes that we are more than a jewelry brand, but a brand that connects with and advocates for them. A lot of our messaging, as well as coming from our own experiences, comes from the conversations we have had within our community. Part of our core values is to provide opportunity to those who have been marginalized and even though we have just started, we have already incorporated it into our process. While we wish to do more going forward, we have already donated some of our proceeds to an organization that assists BIPOC creatives, have talked on panels about Black-owned businesses, and have enrolled in mentorship programs to help creatives.
FH: What stories are you telling in your work? CF: CREATEFREEDOM means to destroy and rebuild the narrative society has constructed about what you are and what you should be. Creating a space where you can exist as you are. We think of our brand as an ongoing thesis on how to dismantle barriers and limitations society has imposed. Our first collection touched on five components: legacy, growth, unity, change, and family. While we began by releasing five rings to serve as a foundation, we branched out to earrings and a necklace which repurposed the philosophy and designs from our initial five rings.
For example, our latest piece, the New World Order Necklace, centers around this idea of change. The idea for our campaign around this new addition was called “VISIONS OF THE NEW WORLD”, and it was focused on reimagining images from both luxury ads and R&B from the late 90s/early 2000s. Hindsight is a powerful tool that we possess because it allows us to revisit the past, learn from it, and make changes in the future that contribute to our growth as a society.
CREATEFREEDOM’s newest campaign, VISIONS OF THE NEW WORLD, launched on September 13th. The campaign reimagines what the new world could look like and draws inspiration from luxury ads and R&B images from the late 90s and early 2000s.
Thanks to Jevon Smith and Max Thompson of CREATEFREEDOM for sharing more about their brand and practice with us. Images provided by CREATEFREEDOM. Interview compiled by Andrea Rosales-Balcarcel and edited by Jackie Andrews.
On Future Heirloom, the Power of Jewelry is central: we want to celebrate jewelry and jewelry stories in all forms—including the infinite, unique ways jewelry is worn, and what that says about the wearer. Today, we’re kicking off a new series on exactly that: How They Wear It. How They Wear It will spotlight people from around the globe, of diverse professions and backgrounds, and talk to them about how they use jewelry to express themselves.
Our debut How They Wear It features Suchi Reddy, an Indian architect and artist based in New York. We talked to Suchi about her jewelry collecting habits, what she looks for in an accessory, what pieces are most special to her, and more. Explore the world of jewelry with us.
Future Heirloom:Who are you? Suchi Reddy: I am Suchi Reddy, I’m an architect /artist originally from Chennai, India, but now a long time New Yorker.
FH:When did you start wearing and collecting jewelry? SR: I am a tale of paradoxes. Growing up in India, where jewelry is not just an obsession, but a heritage, I was not into it at all, except for appreciating it aesthetically. Its position as a status symbol in our culture was not one that I really wanted to engage with. In fact, I did not wear much jewelry until I was in my thirties, and a practicing architect here in New York. I began collecting jewelry, but this time around it was my love of innovative materials that drove me to find and wear unique pieces.
FH:How do you wear your jewelry? SR:I have been told that I dress like an architect and accessorize like a designer! I wear my jewelry usually as the star of the show.
FH:Who is your greatest jewelry or style inspiration? SR:That is a tough question, I have so many… if I had to pick one I would return to my traditional roots: there is a Bollywood film called “Jodhaa Akbar,” about the most famous inter-religious marriage in Indian history, hen Emperor Akbar, a Muslim, married Princess Jodhaa, a Hindu. The jewelry in this film is exquisite!
FH:What are your go-to jewelry brands? SR:Objet-a, a New York City-based brand By Tom Dunn and Olivier Pechou, is one of my go-to’s. I also love Pono.
FH:Do you see any trends that people should be aware of? SR: In recent years, I have been impressed with how many men wear jewelry, especially bracelets. I think this is a huge trend.
FH:What is your favorite piece of jewelry? SR:It is a necklace of black stones that I found in a vintage shop in Wisconsin many years ago.
FH: Any sentimental pieces / most memorable piece of jewelry? SR: Anything my mother gave me has a special place in my heart and life, especially a chain of black and gold beads that she gave me.
Thanks to Suchi Reddy for sharing How She Wears It. Connect with Suchi and her company Reddymade Architecture and Design here.
Text, quotes, and images provided by Suchi Reddy, edited by Jackie Andrews and JB Jones.
Last week, Future Heirloom Editor Jackie Andrews introduced our new platform in our first Letter From The Editor. This week, you’ll get to know Jackie through the lens of their childhood alter-ego, Fifi, and learn about how this colorful childhood character has influenced their fashion sense and penchant for dramatic accessories, their career, and most importantly, who they are today. Get out your feather boas and get ready to play dress-up.
I was born a maximalist. From a very young age, I loved playing dress up, and I always gleefully piled on as many scarves, feather boas, jewelry, tiaras, and sparkly hats as I could—typically several at once. The concept of moderation was completely lost on me. In my toddler years, I would put together these maximal ensembles, and demand to be my older sister’s hairstylist. Over time, this particular persona of mine was dubbed “Fifi” by my mother, and even today is still cited as one of her favorite memories of my childhood self. Fifi is immortalized in a frame in my parents living room, but has spent the better part of the past two decades of my life relegated to a distant memory, dormant in the recesses of my mind.
Fifi was more a part of me than I knew. Echoes of their unapologetic, fabulous flair are a common thread in so many of my fashion phases, large and small. There was one year in elementary school that was defined by a large collection of oversized silk flower brooches and hairclips (think a slightly more restrained clown flower), in every color of the rainbow and a variety of shades that were paired, without fail, with every outfit I wore. In middle school I discovered my mom’s collection of richly patterned silk scarves from her years of working in Manhattan, and I enthusiastically styled them as ascots or belts on a daily basis (admittedly with mixed success). In high school I sewed my old Girl Scout patches all over a pair of jeans, which then spilled over onto a jean jacket; I didn’t hesitate to wear them together, Canadian-tuxedo style, and I even hung the pants in my AP art show senior year. I wore all-over patterns and power-clashed well before it was cool, had a lipstick shade for every occasion, doodled on my face with eyeliner, and used Vaseline to glitter my eyebrows. Fifi watched over every one of these sartorial decisions like a fairy godparent, even when I didn’t recognize them there.
I came out a little over four years ago, and have undergone many evolutions of self in that time; I’m sure many more are to come. But one thing is certain: my quintessential style spoke for me even when I didn’t have the language to describe the way I experienced the world, and that instinct has only gotten stronger in me. On any given day, you can find me wearing “too many” types of floral patterns at once, layering my growing collection of sequined garments together, donning platform sneakers in neons and patterns, and accessorizing with abandon. (Most notably, frequently following my own self-imposed rule of looking in the mirror and then putting on at least two additional pieces of jewelry.) These instincts were paralleled in my studio practice as well: as I progressed through art school, glitter and sequins became an increasingly important material in my work, despite (and indignantly, in spite of) the disdain the art world historically has had for it. That inclination toward glitter-encrusted surfaces was always something that my inner child called out for, and I finally learned how to listen.
As my work and my wardrobe got increasingly bold and outspokenly queer, my list of style icons did as well, including people like Harris Reed, Demi Lovato, Alok Vaid-Menon, Sam Smith, Billy Porter, Iris Apfel, ABBA, and of course—Elton John. In recent years, I’ve also had the honor of being told on more than one occasion that I had the vibe of a “lesbian Elton John,” a high compliment that I will surely wear as a badge of honor for decades to come—it might even make an appearance on my gravestone. But a couple months ago, something within me inexplicably brought Fifi to the forefront of my mind.
It suddenly became very clear to me that while all of these experiences and role models had certainly shaped me, my true queer icon has always been Fifi. Discovering my true self and learning to embrace my identity fully has meant years of slowly returning to that unapologetic, young self. Fifi would certainly admire the person I am today, and I’m lucky that I’m finding my way back to that inner child, one head-to-toe sequin ‘fit at a time.
Written and illustrated by Jackie Andrews. Illustrated using images of Fifi and Jackie Andrews throughout childhood and adolescence, wearing many of the garments and accessories mentioned above.
“Scholarship in the history of jewelry making in the 20th Century has often focused on a very narrow discourse based on primarily white European and American designers, and has often overlooked the creative contributions of other diverse voices, such as the African American community. Many of these designers coming from this community have helped develop contemporary jewelry, providing superb artistic craft to the worlds of fashion, performance, fine art, and art jewelry. Yet these contributions have largely gone unnoticed, as only few Black artists have achieved prominent exhibition and research on their efforts in jewelry making.”
And so we welcome to this space, led by the words above from Sebastian Grant, Legacy: Jewelry making and building African American Communities, preserving heritage, and pushing creativity.
Wedgwood lady brooch by Vaughn Stubbs, c. 1987. Image courtesy of Hedendaagse sieraden
“As America continues to develop a better understanding of its vast and multiplicitous history, continuously incorporating the diverse figures that have previously been forgotten, jewelry scholarship needs to accomplish the same task. Legacy is part of the ongoing effort to capture the many stories of influential black makers of jewelry, and to let their artistic merits be given the credit that has been long due.” – Sebastian Grant.
Grant, a curator, art historian, and professor at Parsons School of Design, released the initial incarnation of his project, Legacy, in the fall of 2020 at NYC Jewelry Week. The virtual program provides an overview of African American contributions to the jewelry field. Some well known, some all but forgotten, the enlightening project sparked investigation into the featured jewelers by individuals and organizations across the country and resulted in a widespread desire for Grant’s continuation of the project. Fueled by this support and his own desire to uncover the history of these incredibly important jewelers, the work on the project continues.
We reached out to Grant to see how it’s going, how he feels about it all and to learn more about the future of Legacy. We welcome you to watch Grant’s initial presentation of Legacyhere as an addendum to this article.
FUTURE HEIRLOOM: Can you tell us a bit more about how the Legacy project started, and why it was important to you to create?
SEBASTIAN GRANT: This project started as part of a collaboration between myself and The Jewelry Library to examine the following questions: 1) Why have so few African American jewelry artists been discussed within the main canon of Art Jewelry discourse?, and 2) Were there any stories in existence which documented the lives and contributions of these artists? After the harrowing events of the death of George Floyd, and the following summer of protest, America had a moment of reckoning surrounding the questions of representation, especially for the African American community. Following this important moment for true conversation, I knew how essential it was to ask these same questions of representation when it comes to Art Jewelry.
Grant offers an overview of what the project includes:
“Legacy covers some of the many contributions of African American jewelers, from the Modernist jewelry practices of the 1940’s to the powerful political statements made in jewelry more recently. We look at the various fields that benefited from black creative talent, looking at scenes from fashion and performance, to arts and design. In addition, we explore not only the creative works themselves, but also the communities that developed around the enthusiastic exchanges of creative thought.
“Faced with the constant threat of racism and oppression that plagues America, communities of color formed artistic circles as a means of survival and a preservation of heritage, passing on techniques and traditions in Mid-20th Century jewelry centers as Greenwich Village, to wider artistic circles in Los Angeles and Chicago. Lastly, we introduce various designers, from widely known names to lesser known contributors, in the hope of increasing wider acknowledgement of these important African American artists, and their great influence and impact on the history of modern jewelry.”
Portrait of designer Patrick Kelly
FH: What do you hope Legacy’s impact will be? SG: As I continue this project, I hope that it will have the sole purpose of starting important conversations in the jewelry community, especially with the goal in mind that we can start finding more names of black individuals in the past who played an important role in the art of metal smithing during the 20th Century, but whose stories have been forgotten in the past.
FH: What are your next steps in expanding the project? SG: The next steps so far have been documenting these stories about the lives of these great black artists into writing, which have been discussed in recent articles for Metalsmith and an upcoming article for Art Jewelry Forum. In addition, I am continuing to look for new names that could be added to a growing list, and I hope to learn more about their stories as I continue exploring my research.
As Grant’s research and development of Legacy continues, we look forward to sharing new insights into the history of Black American jewelers soon. In the meantime, we asked Grant to share some highlights on a selection of the jewelers and artists featured in Legacy. Read on to learn more about the work of Vaughn Stubbs, Patrick Kelly, Carolee Prince, Curtis Tann and Betye Saar.
Vaughn Stubbs
‘Disney Land’ Brooch, by Vaughn Stubbs, c. 1989. In the collection of LACMA, Image courtesy of LACMA.
Working as a legendary multidisciplinary artist of the Philadelphia Community, Vaughn Stubbs explored creative excellence through found objects, mixing sophistication and kitsch to make fine art and jewelry. Born in 1946, Stubbs was interested in art from a young age, but his pursuit in the creative field was delayed when he was drafted to serve in the Vietnam War. He participated in the campaign as a field artist, and left the army in 1970 to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, graduating in 1972.
As an artist, Stubbs participated in many fields, from painting and sculpting, to quilting and jewelry making. His work mainly consisted of utilizing common everyday objects, such as plastic beads, feathers, and children’s toys, and transforming them into stylish works of art which explored erudite subjects such as Greek Mythology, European Art History, and Pop Art aesthetic. Stubbs would often incorporate these features into jewelry, creating brooches that truly exhibit the opulent tastes of the eighties. In addition to creating beautiful pieces, Stubbs served as a figure who always gave back to his city of Philadelphia, teaching art to blind students at the Philadelphia Museum of art until 2000. Although passing away in 2016, his memory has been held in a prominent place by the people of Philadelphia, with a legacy that can never be forgotten.
Portrait of artist and jeweler Vaughn Stubbs
Patrick Kelly
Most famous for his work as a fashion designer in the 1980’s, Patrick Kelly was also well known for creating bold and grandiose pins that were closely linked to his signature overall aesthetic. After rising to fame in Paris, in part due to magazine attention from the likes of Vogue, he was picked up by world famous stores like Bloomingdales and Bergdorf Goodman and garnered many famous clients including Naomi Campbell, Grace Jones, Madonna, Isabella Rossellini, Princess Diana and more.
He used much of the same symbolism in his jewelry that he used in his fashions including oversized buttons, bows and figures which really adopted the 80’s aesthetic of “bold & beautiful,” as shown below.
Earrings by Patrick Kelly (l), Model Sharon Jordan Roach wearing Kelly’s designs (r)
Kelly’s work also explored issues of segregation and racism through historical and ironic references in his jewelry. Using a golliwog image as his logo (shown below), for instance, or blackamoor figures allowed him to subvert the narrative and take power back from negative anti-black imagery – reclaiming the symbols of hate to confront racism in America.
Patrick Kelly’s logo
Carolee Prince
Image by Kwame Brathwaite: Nomsa Brath wearing earrings by Carolee Prince, ca. 1964. Courtesy the artist and Philip Martin Gallery, Los Angeles via @aperturefnd
Carolee Prince was a NYC based jeweler and artist whose work was prominent in the mid 1950’s to late 1960’s. Prince worked in connection with the African Jazz-Art Studio Scene (AJASS) in Harlem which was part of the Black is Beautiful pride movement of the 1960’s. Carolee often collaborated with photographer Kwame Brathwaite, a founding member of AJASS who used his work to promote the Black is Beautiful movement by focusing on and celebrating Black identity without the influence of European based culture. Carolee often contributed her work to Brathwaite for his photos, most prominently string beaded pieces, as shown here, in line with African traditional beadwork.
Image by Kwame Brathwaite: Naturally ’68 Photo Shoot featuring the Grandassa Models, Harlem ca. 1968, Image Courtesy of Philip Martin Gallery and the Kwame Brathwaite Archive
Kwame along with his brother, activist Elombe Brath (the other founding member of AJASS) would gather Black models from across Harlem, the “Grandassa Models” (shown above), a group of models promoting natural hairstyles at a time when natural hairstyles were not well regarded.
Carolee also made many of the headpieces worn by legend Nina Simone in her live concerts, shown below.
Image by Kwame Brathwaite: Nina Simone on stage wearing a headpiece by Carolee Prince, ca. 1973, Image Courtesy of Philip Martin Gallery and the Kwame Brathwaite Archive
Curtis Tann and Betye Saar
More recently known as one of the most influential African American conceptual artists, Betye Saar (née Brown) has a long and flourishing career that had its origins in jewelry making. Originally working as a social worker in the late 1940’s, Saar’s life changed for the better through the special friendship she developed with Curtis Tann. Tann was an enamel artist who recently moved to Pasadena after learning his craft at the black owned art school Karamu House in Cleveland, Ohio. In their meeting, Tann was able to introduce Saar to enamel arts, and through his connections, introduced her to the local art scene in Los Angeles, introducing her to important artists such as Charles White and William Pajaud.
Betye Saar (née Brown) and Curtis Tann in the office space of their decorative arts business Brown and Tann, 1951. Image courtesy of Betye Saar.
By the early 1950’s, the friends formed the company with the tongue-in-cheek name Brown & Tann, and created works of enamel on copper, from ashtrays to bowls, and of course, jewelry. These enamel works gained quite some renown for the team, even leading to a feature in Ebony Magazine, yet the company dissolved as Saar developed new interests in printmaking and eventually assemblage. While Tann continued to develop his enamel jewelry design working for Renoir/Matisse, Saar continued to revisit jewelry through different points in her career, including the Mojo series in the early 1970’s. Yet, their friendship continued to be strong throughout the years, with the pair known to keep in touch up to Tann’s death in 1991.
We invite you to watch Grant’s full presentation of Legacyhere.
Thank you to Sebastian Grant for sharing some of his favorite selections from Legacy with us.
Research by Sebastian Grant. Select images provided by Sebastian Grant. Introduced by JB Jones and edited by JB Jones and Jackie Andrews.
In From The Desk Of we’ll get the inside scoop on what’s inspiring some of our favorite jewelry personalities, influencers, historians, and experts. We’re kicking things off with Caroline Ervin, gemologist, consultant, educator, and jewelry media personality extraordinaire. With a foundation in Art History and a background in the auction industry, Caroline’s expertise and perspective on jewelry and business is multifaceted to say the least. Today, we’ll talk with Caroline about a little something that’s on her jewelry wishlist.
But first, here’s a bit more about Caroline:
Growing up in New England, Caroline Ervin formed an early appreciation for art and antiques, while attending local auctions with her grandparents. After studying Art History Colorado College, Caroline worked at various auction houses, always fascinated by the excitement and intensity of this transparent form of selling. She realized that jewelry was the specialty area where she belonged after witnessing the historic auction of Elizabeth Taylor’s jewelry while working in a support department at Christie’s. Caroline then began working toward her Graduate Gemologist degree at the GIA, and landed a job in the renowned Christie’s Jewelry Department. Rising the ranks from a cataloguer to a Specialist and Associate Vice President at Christie’s, Caroline also became an auctioneer for the company, selling everything from multi-million dollar contemporary paintings to space memorabilia, and presiding over such landmark auctions as The Collection of Lee Bouvier Radziwill and The David Gilmour Guitar Auction. Caroline left Christie’s in June 2021 to focus on developing her own business. She is a jewelry media personality, gemologist, consultant, and educator and shares her favorite jewels, from the antique to the contemporary, via her Instagram page.
And now from Caroline’s Desk:
Want to know one thing on my jewelry collection wishlist?! A ‘Ludo’ jewel by Van Cleef & Arpels!
Van Cleef & Arpels first introduced their signature ‘Ludo’ bracelet in 1934, under the supervision of Renee Puissant, Alfred Van Cleef’s daughter. Artistic director of the company from 1926 – 1942, she collaborated closely with the talented designer René-Sim Lacaze, and together this team was to exercise a great influence over the style of creations made between the two World Wars. Successful since its inception, the ‘Ludo’ model went on to become one of the quintessential hallmarks of post-war production. The best-known and iconic version consisted of a mosaic arrangement of articulated hexagons in polished metal, referred to as the ‘à ruche’ or ‘beehive’ pattern, with a precious stone at the center of each plaque in a ‘serti etoile’ or ‘star’ setting.
Shown above: retro sapphire and diamond “Ludo Hexagone” bracelet. Circa 1936, it features old and calibré-cut sapphires, old and single-cut diamonds.
This sweet Van Cleef & Arpels ‘Ludo’ jewel, a clip-brooch, shown above and below, features over 90 diamonds, approximately 4 carats, set in 18k yellow gold. Circa 1935.
Thanks to Caroline Ervin for sharing items from her jewelry wishlist with us. Want more? Join our mailing list to be alerted when new content drops and find Caroline on the daily @thecarolineervin.
Text by Caroline Ervin. Photos and image details courtesy of Christie’s. Video courtesy of Caroline Ervin. Introduced and edited by Jackie Andrews.
We’re excited to share an incredible behind-the-scenes look at the ceremonies, traditions, and jewelry of an Indian-Catholic Wedding, with Tania Kottoor. Tania gave us insight into the designing and planning process of her own wedding in Antigua, Guatemala. This feature includes a combination of Tania’s own writing and her responses to some of our interview questions, diving deeper into some of her choices, paired with stunning images from the ceremonies. We hope you enjoy Tania’s story.
Mylanchi Day
Mylanchi Day, also know as Henna Night, is about the Beautification of the Bride.
The Bride’s first Mylanchi outfit features Moti jewelry with clusters of tiny ivory pearls riveted in plated gold. The staple Kerala jhumkas, maang-tika, bracelets, nose ring and anklets were hand-selected to complete the regal look.
All of the pieces for this look are from Mahira Jewels, except for the bangles, which were sourced from markets throughout Delhi.
Future Heirloom: Why is jewelry such a significant part of the wedding ceremonies?
Tania Kottoor: The jewelry that you buy your daughter for her wedding day goes to her and her future household. They’re investment pieces that turn into treasured family heirlooms.
Outfit 2 for Mylanchi Day shown above. Each gold-washed metal ear cuff has five dangling strings adorned with semi precious sapphire stones, as well as crystals at the end of each string. This was a custom piece by Mahira Jewels, detail shots are below.
FH: Could you give us some insight into your personal feelings about the jewelry? Why was it important to you to select what you did?
TK: For the first Mylanchi outfit, the clustering of the pearls was a very specific design from South India and it was very difficult to source in North India. It took me days and days to find exactly what I wanted, but I wanted to make sure my entire outfit evoked my South-Indian heritage. For the second Mylanchi outfit, it was more of a contemporary design to reflect my personal style. I like to play with feminine and androgynous silhouettes. The second outfit along with the ear cuffs reflected that juxtaposition.
For the Knanaya Catholic Ceremony, the Bride wore natural Colombian emeralds in the form of drop earrings and a ring. Both were custom-designed in Brooklyn, NY at Emerald Gem Exchange with owner Siva Muthiah. The creation of these pieces took about six months. The Bride selected the stones from various sourced emeralds and approved the final mold before the ring was created.
For the ring, a 4.36 carat natural Colombian emerald cut emerald was set into a sculptural platinum band that curves around the emerald center stone, surrounded by VS diamond melee. The drop earrings worn by the Bride are natural emerald cut Colombian emeralds, 2.69 carat fused with 18K white gold and surrounded by VS diamonds.
FH: In South Asian culture, do brides typically seek out custom jewelry for the wedding, or were you looking to create more unique looks?
TK: Normally brides go to a jewelry store to try on jewelry and see what best suits them and their overall look. Since it’s such a huge expense, jewelry shopping is typically a family affair. At times, jewelry is gifted by the in-laws. Customization is an extension of someone’s personality and I wanted that to be shown through every aspect of the wedding. I took time to conceptualize and design mood boards and sketches of 75 outfits and 6 jewelry pieces. I truly believe bespoke services are the future.
Emerald is known as “The Royal Gem,” to the Maharajas (Kings) and Maharanis (Queens) of India, where jewels are an important part of the nation’s history. The Mughal Emperors who ruled India, meticulously carved Emerald stones for settings into rings, turban ornaments, heavy bib necklaces, and encrusted the handle of daggers. The Vedic scriptures of India associate the emerald with marriage and hope. Emerald is also the symbol of love and fidelity, as well as a powerful emotive symbol of status and power.
During the Knanaya Catholic Ceremony, Tania’s husband ties a Thaali, a pendant with a cross, a symbol of Christianity, on a gold medallion shaped like a heart, shown above and below.
TK: The cross on the Thaali is made with 21 minute buds. My mother-in-law bought it during her trip to Kerala, India. I requested white gold pendant with 21 diamonds. After the wedding, I added the Thaali to a very thin platinum chain for everyday wear.
The number 21 is the result of 3X7 = the trinity (the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit) + seven sacraments. The threads to tie the Thaali around my neck are taken from the “Manthrakodi (silk sari).” Seven pieces of threads are taken and they are folded into three. This signifies three persons of the trinity and seven sacraments. The husband ties the thaali on the neck of the bride. This kind of knot is known as male knot (Aankettu) symbolizing the stability of marriage. The Thaali is considered to be the most prestigious token of love offered to her by her husband during the ceremony.
For the Reception, the Bride wore 22 karat yellow gold from ear to wrist. A carved “Rose” set which included a choker necklace, ear studs, and a bracelet. The set, seen below, was hand-crafted in Raipur, India by local artisans. These pieces took about three months to create, due to its intricacy.
FH: We know you followed the custom of “Something borrowed, something blue…” when selecting your jeweler. Tell us more!
TK: I followed the emerald route for my “Something New,” which consisted of emerald drop earrings plus a gold choker, studs and a bracelet. The “Something Blue,” would be the sapphire beaded ear cuffs. My “Something Borrowed” was my grandma’s marquise ruby ring, which was partnered with my mother’s wedding sari that I had repurposed into a strapless gown. This was so important to me, because it connected 3 generations of women in one look.
Shown below: “something borrowed,” a marquise ruby ring from the Bride’s grandmother.
