The Last Day

Hey guys! So today is my last day of class and I thought I should let you know about the greatest teacher EVER!!! Nell Keyes!! So here's to Nell, thank you for everything these last 2 quarters. It was a blast taking senior with you and I'll miss you when I'm in New York, so come visit!!!

Here's Where It Started

So since you have all seen my latest collection of jewelry, I figured I would let you know how it came into existence.

I was initally inspired by origami and African tribal jewelry. I am interested in the patterns that are created by the beadwork of tribal jewelry and also the geometrical forms of origami. Also just as intriguing to me is the fact that ancient tribal jewelry was created with very basic materials. From beads, to wood, to shells, to roots, the most mundane things could/would be used as materials to create wearable jewelry. Traditional materials as we know them today were not always available then. In my work I often struggle with the question, "what makes a material precious?" and "does the value of a piece stem from the process, the materials or both?".





These artists often explore the use of non-traditional materials in their work.



Marjorie Schick creates large scale necklaces, "wearable sculpture" typically made with wood, paint and paper mache.



Tom Binns creates editorial, costume jewelry and the most amazing statement necklaces.



And Gijs Bakker, who was on the forefront of experimenting with materials and pushing the boundaries of what is considered jewelry.


Artists who use alternative materials in their work


Esther Knobel
Camouflage Necklace
Tin, fabric, paint, ribbon, silk rope


Robert Ebendorf
Necklace
Color core, wodden clothespins, rubber paint


Maria Phillips
Pig gut, steel, thread, beads, silver

Check these guys out! They are all pretty amazing!

With my newfound knowlede I had the creative juices flowing! I knew that I wanted to create a collection of necklaces that explored material choice and the process of creating. When I was working on my collection I frequently responded to what the materials were doing to make my next design choice rather than stick exactly to one design. This way of working was new to me and at the same time very liberating. It was refreshing to work on a piece and make changes to it based on what materials worked together and what solution I could create in the moment, this "process" allowed me to discover new techniques to transform very simple materials, like boating rope, into wearable pieces of jewelry. Through this exploration, I decided that my jewelry would be editorial and catered to fashion rather than more traditional jewelry or metalsmithing.

Thus, I give you my magazine inspiration. I cannot tell you how many magazines I poured over, tearing and ripping out anything and everything that spoke to me in some way.









With these powers combined, I give you "All Things Nice" my spring/summer 2010 collection. I hope that this babble about my "thought process" gives you a better outlook on my jewelry and the forces behind its conception.

New York

Hello lovies! I know that some of you already know but some of you may not....I am moving to New York (Brooklyn) on June 1st! I know, I know, how exciting! I am actually up in the city as we speak doing the dreaded apartment search. For the purpose of this conversation let's just give the dreaded apartment search a name, Voldemort only seems appropriate to me. So, my main squeeze and I got to the city yesterday in a complete downpour and proceeded to take an eventful bus ride into Brooklyn Heights to begin the dreaded apartment search (aka Voldemort). Little did we know that the weather was going to take a turn for the worst! Coming directly from Savannah at 3:30 in the morning I was still in shorts and now completely soaked to the bone. Thankfully, I was able to quickly buy some tights and pathetically put them on and try to retain some of the warmth that I hoped was still left in my body. A few extremely overpriced (let's also mention the crazy broker fee) apartments later my main squeeze and I were standing on the corner still in the pouring rain, appearing to be the epitome of the inexperienced apartment hunter when we actually became even more miserable.

Let's just use this picture as a visual.


Photo courtesy of Metro.co.uk

Ok, ok it wasn't this awful but this is what we felt like. Treading back to Greenpoint, completely defeated, we knew the only thing that would raise our spirits was to dry off, change clothes and of course, have New York pizza. We went to a place called Paulie Gees. I can honestly say that it was the best pizza that I have ever had. From the atmosphere, to the servers, to the pizza, it made a not so great day end on a good note. If you are ever in the Greenpoint area it is definitely worth the trip.

We will be here until Thursday (let me know if anyone knows of apartments for rent!) looking at different places. I'll be manifesting that a good apartment awaits in my future, we just have to find out where it is!

Lookbook Sneak Peak

Well if that kitten video didn't make you guys smile I hope that this super secret sneak peak of my in progress lookbook will do the trick!

Props to my model Nicole and the best friend a girl could ever ask for, Clayton Verdoorn.

kittens inspired by kittens

Good Morning America!!!

Just a little something to make everyone smile!
Hope you love it just as much as I do!