jewelery

Check out these teeth gnashingly good pieces of zipper costume jewellery made by Kate Cusack:

I do like – they remind me of corals and sea anemones! However what really stands out is the use of zips as an object of beauty in their own right, rather than for pure function.

“In art school,” Kate explained, “I realized that once you allow yourself to use materials in unconventional ways, then, just about anything is possible. It’s ironic that most fashion designers try to hide or disguise zippers in their creations. However, I love zippers’ shiny metal teeth and I want to show off, not hide, their sparkle and their sinuous flexibility.”

Ah yes, those little dangerous teeth. Also, not being the sewing type, Kate’s work alerted me to the fact zips come in different colours… something I never really thought about before.

Marc Jacobs is also feeling the zipped aesthetic, with these hair barrettes:

I really like both manifestations of ze zipper – a rock and roll hard edged look made wearable. A touch of punk!

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These are three designers that have taken my fancy recently, all linked by a common, golden thread. They are all women of the world, transcending both location and form to build something beautiful.

1. Nora Kogan creates her St. Kilda Jewelery line out of Brooklyn, NYC, rather than from its namesake seaside village. Her pieces are the thoughtful reflections of a globetrotter who has both pondered wallpaper in Paris and apprenticed in Israel.

"Bird on a Branch" crescent & "Maleeka" ring

2. Pamela Love of NYC makes works that speak of nature and glorious decay. She takes bird bones to a whole new level and has her range stocked all across the world. According to this interview, she is heavily inspired by folk jewelery and indigenous cultures.

3. Daphna Simon has made tiny statue like renditions of wolves, bears and leopards that perch gracefully on your fingers. All in 18k gold, no less. She also has made some winsome log rings, celebrating the beauty of the forest.

I see jewelery as portable art, tokens of insight and beauty to draw on when you need a little bit of the shiny, bright stuff.  These pieces would certainly feed me inspiration; however I am keen to know to who out there creates the adornments that you crave?

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