Pyle on the Jewels

Fresh off the heels of New York Fashion Week a hunger was stoked for new fall style and it can be satiated by the independent artists featured at The Pool Trade Show this weekend taking place at the Jacob Javits Center in NYC.

One jewelry artist, Amy C Pyles, has an edgier collection perfect to invigorate anyone’s wardrobe that is really looking to bolden their style.

There is a strong energy in her jewelry that is brought to life with a repeating line motif found intermittent with leather and gem elements to create a striking visual palette.

Contemporary in foundation, Pyles incorporates non-traditional items like found vintage objects as a focal points and elevates their purpose by integrating them with various types of chain, her specialty.

I always love coming across work like Pyles’ because you can invest in one piece and it will serve you all season.  With this much versatility, you can easily style a new necklace or bracelet into your current outfit favorites to freshen them for fall.

If you’re in the NYC area this weekend be sure to check it out:

http://www.amycpyles.com/

http://www.pooltradeshowbrandbook.com/

A Lesson in Rough Diamonds

A friend of mine recently approached me about procuring a rough diamond; uncut, untreated, raw from the earth.  I was pretty excited at the prospect of handling a new, fresh idea versus the literal hundreds of halo engagement rings I have had the pleasure to build over and over again throughout my career.  As much as I love diamonds, and always will, I must say I am getting pretty jaded to the current design market.  Commercial jewelry stores filled with trays upon trays of the same idea.

So obviously when my friend came to me with a nontraditional idea, I jumped at the opportunity to lend a hand.   She initially started sending me Etsy links, which I wholeheartedly admit I cringed.  Etsy can be a wonderful place for design, it brings the internet to the ordinary craftsman and broadens choices for consumers, but it also can be dangerous in the sense you do not know what you are buying.  There is no safety net, and I could tell from some of the pictures I was seeing, the stones depicted and being called diamonds were most likely Herkimers. 

“Herkimer Diamonds are quartz that have grown non-traditionally in that typically their hexagonal shape terminates to a point only at one end of the stone, but in Herkimers, the hexagonal point is echoed also on its opposing side.  This growth causes the quartz to have two points on either end due to the fact the mineral did not grow in close contact with a host rock (http://geology.com/articles/herkimer-diamonds.shtml)”.

So after telling my friend that we should try to find a stone in person, I began educating myself on raw diamond characteristics.

 I know that diamonds naturally can grow in a cube, octahedron (8 sided), or a dodecahedron (12 sided) because of how neat its crystalline structure is atomically composed from Carbon. My DCA background then took me right to the 4 C’s and also has taught me that a third of a diamond’s price is the way it’s cut.  We already know we are taking the cut out of the equation which will dramatically cut the price.  So what we have left is color, carat, and clarity.

Carat is the weight of the stone, to which my friend had not particular preference, so that was not a hindrance. “So I looked into color and clarity, from my research I found that raw diamonds are typically not very white/clear, they are usually tinted gray or yellowish colors since the gem quality diamonds are usually cut for retail product.  That helped knowing that I am not looking for a crystal clear stone. Also I could look for how the surface was formed, like fingerprints.  It could be grooved with growth lines, a frosted or waterworn surface due to water erosion (like sea glass), or it could be Mirrored or glass-like. This knowledge helped but I truly needed to know the difference that would make telling diamonds apart from another stone much easier. That characteristic is a Trigon, tiny triangles that can be thought of as a diamond’s stretch mark (https://www.cigem.ca/ross/rough.html).” 

Armed with new found diamond knowledge, I embarked to the New York/New Jersey Gem and Mineral Show in hopes to find an acceptable diamond specimen.  We found a plethora of Herkimer stones but the search was seemingly growing bleaker by the hour when it seemed no diamonds were in attendance this year, until finally we found a booth that knew of a California based company that specifically sold precious gemstones.  There we fortunately found a few rough diamonds to excitedly choose from and had to decide what was more important; size, shape, or color.  We ended up finding a beautifully perfectly shaped octahedron that was very white in color with visible Trigons.

Sources:

Diamond Photos/Information source: https://www.cigem.ca/ross/rough.html

Herkimer Photo/Information source: http://geology.com/articles/herkimer-diamonds.shtml

Nane Adams' Flex Rings

Contemporary jewelry artist Nane Adam’s typical work is the combination of differing metals to create swirls reminiscent to that of a fingerprint.  A staple trend that most have seen at any craft show they have attended in the last few years.

It is her work from 2004 that has really caught my curiosity, a plain silver band with colored nylon stretched within the ring’s inner circumference.  The simple design creates an exciting display of line as well as playing upon the stark contrast between cold hard metal and the colorful flexible give of nylon.  That contrast is driven further as the artist has scuffed the silver edge of the band to invoke it’s hard nature as in the same perspective you see the smooth surface of the nylon taut with tension.  Two opposing materials coming together in design triumph of aesthetics and functionality.

The nylon strands create give within the interior of the band, allowing for a custom fit unique to the wearer.  Often we are bound to a size scale of quarter sizes, and most of us cannot find a perfect fit because of the unforgivable nature of precious metals.  German designer, Nane Adam, has discovered the perfect remedy to the classic craft show dilemma of sizing, no one likes having to leave their newly purchased jewelry behind to be re-sized.  In this case the consumer can just walk away with a perfect fit as well as an exciting piece of art the echoes the architectural feats of Santiago Calatrava Valls whose bridges served as her muse. 

Sources:

Nane Adams website: http://www.naneadam.de/kollektionen/flexible.html

Images of Flex Rings: http://en.dawanda.com/product/2454893-flexible-rings

Santiago Calatrava's bridge in Dallas images: http://www.evolo.us/architecture/santiago-calatravas-new-bridge-in-dallas/

Lamina Production Show and Metals Exhibition

Headed out to Tyler School of Art tonight to purchase some jewelry from the Lamina Production Show held by the Metals department of the school.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that they extended their hours this evening so that their show coincided with the MFA Thesis Show.

I have done this show in the past back in my Tyler days, but I must say this group was very well put together and prepared to professionally display their work.  One of the most difficult things about jewelry is the display.  At craft shows I often see veteran artists make the mistake of cluttered or unflattering displays that take away from their work, but here, these students used see through acrylic.  It was crisp, clean, easy to see, and I was not distracted by the display at all. It actually fell out of notice when I engaged with the jewelry.

Another aspect of the exhibition I liked was the professionalism.  The artists were standing ready to show their work, answer questions, and assist in trying on the jewelry.  The even had alcoholic wipes to disinfect the earrings after their were worn, something you see in retail jewelry stores.  They were able to establish and ground their pop up show by using cleverly placed decal stickers.  It gave a more polished presentation and legitimized the temporary show as an exhibition.

The work on display was definitely on par with things I would see at a craft show.  Each piece was excellently executed and functioned flawlessly. There was also a wide range of work from powder coated copper, classic silver, and well rendered CAD pieces.  Being in a classroom, it's often you see that students influence each other, and you tend to see repeated techniques or similar designs. I did not see that here. Just well thought out, diverse designs.

My only criticism of the pop up show would be the lack of display and attention to the statement pieces.  Most were just laid out on the table next to the displayed production jewelry.  It gave the insinuation that those pieces were put there as an afterthought.  The pieces themselves were gorgeous and very well done, I just wish that the same attention that went into making them was evident in their display.

I have a slew of photos of the event to be enjoyed.  If in the Philadelphia area please make an effort to go support these up and coming artists during tomorrow's business hours! I believe they are there Saturday the 26th 9am to 5pm

                   
                These silver ruffle like earrings were one of the pieces I purchased, very light

   This statement necklace I absolutely loved, the focal point was made up of silicon extensions that
                                                                flexed to the touch

                                                     
                              Fabric material and pearls giving nice motion to the pieces

                         This was my second purchase, dyed nylon, CAD modeled earrings

                                I see a future in toy design here, more dyed CAD pieces

                                             Fun colored powder coated pieces

Nice contrast utilizing CAD

Lamina Production Show at Tyler School of Art April 24th-27th

                                  Hello All! Just a quick plug to my Alma Mater!

Tyler School of Art is hosting it's annual production show, Lamina, in it's atrium April 24th through the 27th
9am to 5pm.

If you are in the Philadelphia area, I highly recommend checking out this show held by the metals department. Perhaps even feel inclined to purchase some of the jewelry on sale.  I know I already have my eye on a resin ring that will be on display.

This is a great way to see fresh work in a field of tired recycled designs, and a chance to see up and coming artists in the area.

I will update on the exhibition with photos and a review when I attend this Saturday, so for now here is a link to their Facebook page for a sneak preview.

Lamina Facebook link:  Lamina

Okay this one is a shout out to my fellow gemology lovers.  In Early April, I had the pleasure of being a first time attendee of the NY/NJ Mineral and Fossil Show. Being a long time veteran of many a craft show, I decided to try something new and see my beloved minerals in their most raw form. I must say I was pleasantly surprised.

Most craft shows feature booths that are set up like individualized miniature showrooms that are meant to invoke a particular mood that the artist wants you to feel.  This often creates a feeling of disunity for the craft show as a whole since it feels like you're jumping from store to store.  This is widely excepted since each booth needs to be radically different from the next to stand out making sure the artist has their voice heard. The mineral show however was surprisingly cohesive.


You were almost automatically guided through by very well labeled showcases.  It almost felt like a pop up museum in how each different family of stone was sectioned off allowing you to compare and contrast it against it's brethren. I found myself giddy and love drunk over being able to take time to analyze these stones, how they were grown, where, how they attached to other minerals,  and all other aspects of their creation.  Of course my euphoria was contagious.  I found myself conversing with other visitors that were equally as ecstatic as me to share the knowledge and wonderment of the spectacle sprawled out before us.

Now the gemstones themselves were the obvious showstoppers.  From the gargantuan to the pocket sized and growing in every direction off of every mineral imaginable.  The most successful portion of the show for me was the precious gemstone area.  It was off to the side in it's own little room with the displays set up very much like the rest of the show.  However, what made this part meaningful to me was the fact that the raw gemstones were put on display next to polished, cut, finished, and set into jewelry gemstones.  Seeing where that stone came from and how it originally looked makes you appreciate all the work that stone cutters truly do.  Jewelers often say the stone usually inspires the pieces they create. They build a work to showcase the stone, and this display in the precious gemstone area really exhibited that creation process well. You see the raw stone, which the cutter visualizes a cut stone. That stone gets cut and polished, then it's displayed in a piece of jewelry. Seeing that process broken down really created a new appreciation for gemstones for me. A lot of times you forget where they come from since we are used to seeing so many finished and accessible.

Something I would like to see, and have seen very little of, would be raw gemstones set as they are.  They come in such unique and beautiful shapes before they're cut. Even the inclusions give them a unique essence, writing a story only that particular gemstone can sow because it was in the right place at the right time to be grown.  I would love to see more jewelers share that side of the story.  I do admit to seeing some contemporary pieces exhibiting raw diamonds, but I'd love to see more.

I could go on forever about this wondrous experience and definitely know I will be checking out it's sister shows in the fall.

For more information check out their site
 http://ny-nj-gemshow.com/