Tag: designer

Missing Pieces

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A colleague of mine recently posed this question to a large and varied industry group: what’s missing from today’s jewelry market?

Deceptively simple, his query struck me rather forcibly because I had just begun to write a blog post (the one you’re reading now) as a brief study in what I felt has been underrepresented or even entirely absent from mainstream jewelry.

My response was internet-appropriately brief, but in this space I thought a little more elaboration was due. We tend to think of jewelry in terms of categories, so what follows is a sort of commentary breakdown, combining some unofficial bird’s-eye-view concepts that borrow heavily from my daily work with a dash or three of personal, yes-I’m-a-Millennial-get-over-it opinions. Ahem.

Engagement/wedding: I know you love it, but the halo in all its possible iterations has been done — and done very well — to death. The style I never see is a band, thin or wide, with beautiful engraving that goes far, far beyond the vintage flowers-ropes-vines trifecta. Little or no gemstones are needed, but instead, well-executed metalwork with designs that speak to clean, bold, or even whimsical patterns are nowhere to be found.

Fashion: give me sleek, modern designs that emphasize amazing color and perhaps clean geometric patterns. Give me dark and light, negative space, comfortable, and hefty. Show off the amazingly diverse rainbow of colored gems we have available, with non-standard cuts set deep into pieces that highlight texture and celebrate something, anything, that reflects personality.

Symbolic: more like a subcategory, but the idea of talismanic jewelry has always been both appealing and relatively scarce. Sure, the average consumer often takes any special gift and turns it into a symbol (that being the point, more often than not, of giving jewelry in the first place), but I don’t often see designers inventing completely new symbols for people to use in honor or celebration of something specific. And so help me if I see one more poorly-rendered Ribbon of Whatever dangling off a charm bracelet…

Looks Custom But Isn’t: okay, I made up this category, but go with it. If more designers did what only a select few have ever done — which is to say, blasted into the stratosphere high above the comfort zone — we’d have so much more clever things to wear. You all know I’m the biggest advocate for full custom jewelry, but often it’s best to let the creative geniuses around us take the lead and make a concept come to life. Sometimes a designer has created something that is so utterly perfect, so fitting for a person, that it looks and feels like it was custom made even when it wasn’t. That’s quite an achievement.

Now, naming names isn’t normally my thing, as I don’t accept payment in any form for this blog and I strongly prefer to stay as neutral as possible. But I’ll make an exception here by listing a few designers whose work I truly admire as being some combination of unique, progressive, and striving to rise above the commonplace. In no particular order, I’ve been very interested in the following**:

— Collette, for beautiful and edgy
— Retrouvai, for bold and graphic
— Temple St. Clair, for whimsical and extravagant
— Marla Aaron, for cool and inventive
— Wendy Brandes, for modern and irreverent

These folks are doing things outside the proverbial box more often than not, and you don’t have to fall in love with every single piece to appreciate the brilliance behind much of their respective works. These designers also have individual pieces or entire lines that are wholly, uniquely their own, which means a knock-off is very easy to spot. Imitation may be a form of flattery, but it’s also horrible and illegal and I’m really sick of the design theft that often occurs when big box stores want a designer’s look without actually paying them for it. (End rant).

For the record, that’s an incredibly incomplete list. Don’t message me with any form of “but HOW could you not mention my favorite designer, XYZ?!” or even “ABC doesn’t deserve to be named!!” All designers are striving and struggling and working and shedding blood/sweat/tears/diamonds in what they do. I have many, many designer friends whose work I find incredibly appealing, but I’m not in this game for the promotional benefits. This is just an informed opinion, folks.

For consumers and industry vets alike, I would really love to know: what do you think is missing from the market? What do you want to see, or wear, or buy, or design? Please chime in here, in this openly democratic forum.

**I won’t even put a link. Check them out, or don’t.

Stack it Up: The #Armparty

On By CayIn Uncategorized1 Comment

It’s been some time since I last wrote a post about my personal collection, and I have some recent acquisitions that deserve a little time in the sun. To be clear, these are pieces I own and wear and adore, and were all created by members of the industry whom I’m proud to call dear friends and colleagues. I link only because I love.

For a long time, bracelets were my least favorite accessory. Not because I didn’t like them — in fact, I love them — but they rarely ever loved me back. Call it #skinnygirlproblems, but stock sized bangles are always too big, chains and links are too long, and cuffs just won’t close up enough to stay put. So for a while, I simply gave up on the idea of a wrist stack, and went on to collect other things.

Enter: the medical ID bracelet. Oh, this hated but necessary piece of stainless steel (ugh, I know) that now accompanies me wherever I go. Once my doctor and family convinced me to wear it, I started to realize that I couldn’t let it just sit there, seated alone in miserably glory. If nothing else, I needed something to distract myself and others from the atrocity.

Fortunately for me, an extremely talented and thoughtful jeweler named Irene was near at hand. I first commissioned a custom rose gold bangle, hammered to a perfect texture and sized just for me. This piece accompanies me almost everywhere, as does its beautiful cousin on my mother’s wrist. Shortly thereafter, I asked my colleague and friend if she would help me create my own hammered argentium silver cuff. Some hilarious mishaps and serious hammering, clanging, swearing, polishing, and finishing later, I gratefully completed the first and only wearable in my collection.

Next in line is a bangle from my travels, purchased in Jackson Hole, WY on an anniversary trip. I spent far longer than necessary chatting with Bri, a young industry newcomer who patiently listened to me drone on about jewelry until I finally decided on a two-tone gold traveling bead Snake River hammered bangle, custom made by a talented goldsmith on site.

And finally, the most recent addition is a pure and shining contrast to my mostly textured stack. My silver slip-on bangle bracelet nestles with the rest as though it were made for stacking — which it definitely is, and makes the most charming chiming sound any time it’s gently kissed by its golden brethren. I’ve had this piece on my wrist since the moment it arrived, and I’m overwhelmingly grateful to designers like Alexis who are so mindful of creating for all shapes and sizes.

As you can see, I’m a dedicated adherent to the MaN club: Metals are Neutrals! Mix them, match them (or don’t), wear them together or feature them singly. They’re a social bunch, those shiny metals, able to play well with others or travel solo as the mood strikes.

It might still be sweater weather here in New England, but I’m daydreaming of warmer temps and shorter sleeves so I can continue to show off (and build on) the glittering group in my #armparty.

 

 

Be Bold

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The ring featured in the header image of this post is one of our most popular styles. It contains an extremely high quality custom-cut garnet and nearly 3/4 of a carat of colorless diamonds, all set in 18K rose gold. Isn’t it just stunning?

I don’t often talk about the jewelry in the pictures I post, mainly because I feel that so many other blogs and websites do a much better job detailing some of the most intricate and beautiful jewels in the world. But this particular ring, designed by a fabulous, talented, and extremely kind woman named Bellarri (yes, that’s her!), represents something just a little beyond my usual more conservative classic taste.

Raised to always be the cool, poised, and diplomatic daughter, I struggle to speak out and stand up for myself. Doing the same for others has never been an issue — a lifelong activist and advocate for equality, I’m no armchair protester — but to raise myself up to a position of power has never felt comfortable. In short, I need to learn to be bold. And this singular piece of jewelry, with its fiery center, brilliantly outlined details, and larger-than-life presence, is nothing if not bold.

It sounds silly, perhaps, to aspire to be more like a ring. But many people attempt to emulate other inanimate objects — the towering oak, the majestic mountain, the smooth ocean come to mind — so why not a gutsy fireball of a ring that practically sings out to everyone who sees it, “look! Look at me, so tastefully bold, so beautiful and bright and impossible to ignore!” You can’t pass her by, you certainly can’t pretend she doesn’t provoke some sort of reaction, and you absolutely must pay her the attention she rightly deserves. No formerly timid, currently work-in-progress leader could fail to appreciate all she represents.

Back to Reality

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Personal PSA: I have not abandoned you! I’ve only just returned from a fabulous vacation (keep your eyes peeled for a few snaps that may pop up in the future). It was tough, but I remained mostly off the grid the entire time, so give me a bit to settle back into daily life before I return to our regularly scheduled program.

So as not to leave you sans eye candy, here’s proof that autumn is — of course — the best:

Meet the Designer: Lecil Henderson

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From time to time, we are fortunate enough to host the designers from some of our favorite lines here in the store. These events are very special for both our customers and for ourselves, because they allow a kind of access and interaction that’s virtually unheard of in most industries (how often did Steve Jobs personally sell an iPad?). Who better to educate us and sell the pieces than the designer himself or herself?

We recently hosted one of my favorite industry people (in general) and favorite jewelry designers (in particular): Lecil Henderson of the Henderson Collection and LUCA by Lecil. This gentleman is a well-known man about town, so to speak, and for every good reason imaginable: unfailingly polite, incredibly knowledgeable, and chock full of stories and anecdotes from his 30-year career in the business.

Lecil travels around the world bringing his designs to store events like ours, many of the largest and best trade shows, and of course he visits his factories in Italy where the pieces themselves are hand-crafted. He has an extremely loyal following, and his work exemplifies thoughtful, painstakingly-detailed design and the best quality Italian craftsmanship.

I feel extremely lucky to spend even a brief time in the presence of this guy — every time we’ve met I have learned something new about his products, design concept & inspiration, or the industry as a whole. I’m not sure I was able to express my appreciation for the time he takes to make every single person he meets feel like his closest friend, but the huge success of his beautiful pieces pretty much speaks for itself.

A few more pictures for your viewing pleasure: