I love statement jewelry, especially pieces made by those with a strong streak of creativity and an eye for sculptural forms.
Mariam Nassir Zadeh, Totokaelo, and Creatures of Comfort seem to get the right mix.
Arielle De Pinto, Manu, Anndra Neen and Samma are a few designers that I really love.

Every time I wear this necklace people ask me if I made it myself.
Unfortunately the answer makes me feel like a failure.
You can find Lauren Manogian’s (Manu) work at Bona Drag, Pour Porter and Anica.

This piece (I forget who made it) is from Maryam Nassir Zadeh.
I love the look of oxidized materials. This looks like a treasure dug up in the Southwest.

Peppercotton (crystals in a mesh tubing)

Lizzie Fortunato “Mad Men” necklace.
Available at Anica in San Francisco.

I forget who made this

Samma.
Available at Domahoka and Maryam Nassir Zadeh and Anica

Arielle De Pinto.
I have two of my friend’s web necklaces (thought I lost one and then it resurfaced a year later). All of Arielle’s work is amazing.

Available at Lambs Ear, Creatures of Comfort and Totokaelo.

Broken Fab

Anndra Neen.
Sold at Ten Over Six, Kirna Zabete and Roseark.

I love a long epic necklace.

Huge jangles from Morocco, those that channel my nine years of Girl Scouts, diy affairs full of knots and braided rope, lanyards, embroidery, and metal. Monkey’s Fists! Carrick Knots! Friendship Bracelets! I will channel them all.

Elizabeth came over, after a trip to the hardware store, for a necklace Crafternoon. A few days later, new friends, and a round two of necklace making that involved cutting up old teeshirts, keychains, knotted clothing line, tassels, and twine. Photos of our successes to come.

Here is some great jewelry, a lot of it by smaller designers, from Kabiri. I love this website and what they sell! If only dropping hundreds on a necklace was no big deal.

+ Kapow Wow

+ Uli Rapp

+ Lizzy Fortunato

+ Lanyard

+ Fernanda Pereira

+ Comfort Station

If you can, buy this stuff, or you can have a Crafternoon and make your own version that is janky but a totally fun activity whilst watching the Rachel Zoe Project and this season’s craptastical Project Runway. Nothing a little hardware store, some wine, and old teeshirts and clothing line can’t take care of.

I’ve been feeeeeeling mourning jewelry. I don’t really have any goth in me and I don’t think I could pull off wearing a ring with some dead person’s hair… but maybe. The Victorian way of memorializing the dead; be it photographs of them “sleeping,” photographic portraits on brooches or in lockets, forget me not flowers, woven and knotted hair filled rings is creepy and beautiful.

Here are some images and ebay auctions I liked:

ring

9ct mourning ring with hair

in memory of

photo locket

brooch

hinge bracelet

bow brooch with table-worked hair

enamel brooch

15ct mourning ring

mourning locket with photo and hair

enamel jet black brooch with dangling beads

forget me knot/not

ebay category

I’ve done a bit of Ebay sleuthing and came up with some rings to watch. I’m feeling black cameos, poison rings (in particular this odd King Tut number), high school and signet rings from the 20s, and anything in rose gold.

I met Arielle de Pinto the second time I visited my friend Matt in Montreal. Last summer was spent at Middlebury College in Vermont, at an insane language immersion program, so spending time in Canada with both a well needed break and also a chance to practice my French.

We visited Arielle at her studio and home, and both times she was working on her crocheted projects; a series of chain-mail inspired Gothic masks and her woven spiderweb necklaces. We had planned a trade, but after I saw her pieces at Lambs Ear, in Seattle, I’m feeling impatient. I’m going to buy one when she returns from Berlin and joins us in NYC. Can’t. Wait. They’re so rad.

fancy mask photos via bored and beautiful

I discovered the “body jewelry” of Bliss Lau via the whole Erin Wasson controversy. Lau’s necklaces are really interesting statement pieces, and after I get paid from my next job and can decide which I like best, I am going to buy one. I just can’t decide which would look least trashy on a girl who has tits. They’re definitely more accessible than the $1200 price tag Wasson wanted for “hers,” and I think I can pull them off with a simple tank or perhaps a deep v-neck tee.