Awesome Kickstarter for a Bangle from Beacon & Lively

So my fellow Tyler Alumni has been involved with developing a very chic way to wear modern technology.  The company she works for, Beacon & Lively, have been working on a kickstarter for a bangle that lights up when your receive messages, email, phone calls, etc.

                   

 I love the design, it's very futuristic with an exaggerated curvature to accentuate the grooves that light up various colors via LED.  I love the concept of wearable technology, personally I always have my phone in hand so it would be nice to have a fashionable element that alerts me of messages versus carrying around my cellular.

                          

                          

However, I did show this bangle to a couple of my friends to see their reaction to the idea, and the consensus was the same. What else can it do?  That's where I get stuck with my excitement, I got so caught up in design that I didn't really consider functionality.  The every day jewelry wearer isn't going to be provoked into purchasing something that just lights up when their phone does the same thing.  Same goes for the tech nerd, with all the technology in Garmin watches, why would they buy something that just lights up?

                         

For me this kickstarter is about where technology and style can go.  This is the start of something incredibly classy, sophisticated, and tech smart.  I'd love to see this company take on the ever so design savvy Apple, and create a bangle that displays messages, connects to the internet, GPS compatiable, the works.  I can see this concept going places and would love to see people support a small independent company interested in a bright convenient future.

If you feel so inclined to donate to their cause, I have provided their link below.  Graciously they are providing incentives to people that donate, so if your looking to get your hands on one of these bad boys, donate.

Beacon & Lively Kickstarter Information

Images provided by Beacon & Lively

Laser Cut Statement Necklace

In Philadelphia we have a tradition called First Friday in which the galleries downtown turnover to new exhibitions.  This draws in flocks of creative talents and observers to partake in sipping wine while listening to hipsters have a jam session on the crowded sidewalk that is lined with artists, elbow to elbow, hovering over makeshift displays of their works.  A wide variety of work is on display from paintings, prints, ceramics, jewelry; any sort of imaginable aesthetic is available to your service.

This particular month I wandered into a gallery I have never been in before.  I’m not particularly a fan of carpentry but my boyfriend wanted to take a walk through The Center for Art and Wood.  Here we were entranced by the fine craftsmanship on display, the ingenuity of taking and ancient craft, and spinning a modern twist on the art, creating conceptual sculptures relevant to our modern day queries.

However what caught my eye in this wonderland of wood knots and wood grain was of course, a piece of jewelry.  I happened across a stack of laser cut balsa wood necklaces.  Ordinarily this would not catch my interest, but what did spark my inner child was that these pieces were interactive.  Each necklace was a different color scheme and shape, but all were completely comprised of gears riveted together.  When you spun one gear, all of them begin to spin.  It was a delightful work of modern art that is toy-like and playful.  And the burning of the wood from the laser gives the grain a nice shading to invoke a nice steam punk quality to the piece.

Overall this necklace was a delight to find in that it’s a piece of jewelry that is impressive artistically and conceptually but still just plain old fun.  Below I linked the website of the creators of the piece, Green Tree Jewelry. Enjoy!

                                                 http://www.greentreejewelry.com