Art Jewelry magazine Editors' Blog : handmade

Video gives sneak peek inside Ford Forlano studios and how they make polymer clay art jewelry

Kristin Sutter — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:26:00 GMT

If you like polymer clay jewelry, chances are you've seen work by Ford Forlano; that is Steve Ford and David Forlano, with Maryanne Petrus-Gilbert doing metalwork. We first featured Ford Forlano's work in "A Rarefied Medium," an article by Ronna Weltman (September 2006) about A-list polymer clay jewelry. If you've never seen their work, prepare for a treat. For me, Ford Forlano pieces never disappoint. The texture, the shape, the color — the pieces are always exciting and elegant. When I'm feeling creative, I tend to work better on my own. So it was really interesting to learn more about the team's collaboration in this video.

It shares not only great images of their studios and finished pieces, but also a bit about their history and how they continue to work together. Check it out!

—Kristin

Green Jewelry: if you're into pieces made from recycled, repurposed materials, check out jewelry by Mana Bernardes and the Touch NY show

Kristin Sutter — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:35:00 GMT

Personally, I get excited about anything green — I mean both the color (my favorite) and the concept. I learned about Touch, a group of eco-minded designers, a few months ago when I came across jewelry by Mana Bernardes, whose jewelry is showcased on the Touch Web site. For anyone in the New York area today and tomorrow (May 19th and 20th), you can check out the Touch NY show from noon to 7 p.m. at 148 11th Ave. According to the Touch Web site, they'll have products and installations made from recycled materials. Judging from the pictures on their flyer, the show looks like a great place to find fresh ideas and inspiration.

Have you ever made jewelry with the intention of making it green? I'd love to hear about it — and see pictures!!

—Kristin

Crafts in the Grey Lady

Hazel Wheaton — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 16:53:00 GMT

I've been sent this link by about three different people, so I know it's making the rounds... but it's evidence that the made-by-hand movement is picking up momentum when it gets a feature in the New York Times. Check out the story here. (The NYT site requires registration, but it's free.) The writer spends much of the article talking about etsy.com, which isn't surprising, given its rising popularity among both sellers and buyers of handmade work.

I'm thrilled to see made-by-hand gaining popularity — the number of friends who have told me that they're not buying presents this year, but making them instead has surprised me. Not because I don't think my friends are creative, but because when things get hectic around the end of the year, it's just easier to run out and buy something. Making things by hand requires forethought, and planning, and time set aside weeks and even months in advance... but then, all of that goes into the best kind of gift to receive. I don't think that the growing number of people who are making things rather than buying them is a result of our individual budget limitations, because there's no limit to the amount of cheap goods that one can buy at short notice, and buying ingredients can often be more expensive than buying prepackaged, finished items. But cheap also all too often equals cheaply made, and I like to think that that's much of what's fueling this resurgence of handcrafts. A dissatisfaction with the impersonal and cheaply made goods that fill the shelves of mega-stores, the same plastic items that you can find in every mega-store anywhere in the world.

So, is a return to personal, handmade goods a rebellion against the consumer society that swung a bit too far in the direction of mass production? I like to think so. And I hope that my family members enjoy the boxes of cookies that I'm sending out for the holidays this year!

Fun at the One-of-a-Kind Show in Chicago!

Kristin Sutter — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:09:00 GMT

Lunchtime on Dec. 7, 2007, found Jill, Addie, and I (plus Addie's mom and a friend of Jill's) at bluprint, a restaurant at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. We met there to fuel up in preparation for the journey we were about to take through the floor of the One-of-a-Kind Show, which was going on above our heads about seven floors up. I ended up taking a picture of my gourmet mac & cheese.

I wanted to show the picture to Naomi Fujimoto, senior editor at BeadStyle magazine, one of our sister publications. Naomi has a thing for gourmet comfort foods. The food was so beautiful that everyone wanted a picture of their as-yet-undevoured dish.

Yum!

Thus sustained, we took the elevator upstairs and spent the next five hours inundating ourselves with beautiful works of art. Most notably — you guessed it — jewelry. Many times, we stopped by a booth and asked that all-important question, "How did they do that?" (When we ask that, we know we're seeing something magazine-worthy.)

When we're scouting for jewelry artists, we try not to take too much time away from the jewelers; we understand that they're at the show to sell their work. But many people were gracious enough to take the time to hear us out about why they should submit a project or an image for gallery. (If you're thinking of submitting something, we'd love to hear from you! Check out our guidelines.)

Some artists encouraged us to try on their work for fun — and how could we resist!! Of course, some of us went home with a couple you'll-regret-it-forever-if-you-don't-buy-it pieces.

So, thanks to the art jewelry community for delighting us! We hope to return the favor! (If we did our scouting job right, you'll be seeing some fabulous work in our pages in the coming year.)

–Kristin

A peridot ring for my birthday!

Kristin Sutter — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:45:00 GMT

Last week, I celebrated my birthday. One of the coolest gifts I got was from Associate Editor Addie Kidd. As I unwrapped her gift, I realized that the box could contain only jewelry. I got excited — you know that jewelry from a jeweler will be good. Happily for me, I was right!

The box held this peridot-and-sterling-silver ring by KEW Designs (Kim E. Wilson, from Fox Point, Wisc., is the jeweler). I love green, so peridot is one of my favorite stones. And since I'm into a sort of earthy, things-coming-just-a-little-bit-undone thing, I also love the subtly rugged shank.

Word is, Associate Editor Jill Erickson helped Addie pick out the ring at the Milwaukee Art Museum's Ornaments and Adornments Show, which was Nov. 16–17, 2007. (You'll have to watch for next year's show!) I like the ring so much that I haven't taken it off since I got it, but the best part of my gift is knowing that I have such thoughtful friends and coworkers!

Thanks, you two!

–Kristin

What person wouldn't love the word "handmade?"

Addie Kidd — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 21:01:00 GMT

Certainly not I. I adore handmade things! I "smith" my own gold, knit my own scarves, and sew my own duvets. I rarely "chef" my own meals...but that avoidance is another story entirely.

One of the greatest things to happen to the handmade art world in recent history is Etsy. If you haven't explored it's crafty depths, I suggest you click now. (No need to navigate away; just open a new browser window. I promise ArtJewelryMag.com and Etsy.com can play nice together on your screen.) Etsy is an online collection of independent artists gathered for your shopping (and/or selling) pleasure.
On it you'll find:

finished jewelry
jewelry components
tools for jewelry and other handwork genres
sculptural objects
fiber creations
yarn, fabric, and other raw crafty ingredients
unique clothing
antique and vintage items
craft supplies
artwork

It's that last point that brings me to my blog today. Usually Etsy leads me to jewelry, but this time I ended up with fresh artwork for my home instead. Earlier this week I received in the mail some of the prettiest artwork I've bought in a long time. And I love-love-love that it's handmade, one-of-a-kind, and completely mine.

I found the artist, Racheal Anilyse, through the "Suggestions" feature of Etsy. As you browse the wares available on the Web site, you can click on your favorites. Then, Etsy will suggest new thing you might like based on your preferences. That led me to a sweet little illustration of a red bee balm flower that Racheal had for sale. I emailed her with a request of 4 more unusual flowers to go along with the lonely bee balm. I was met with an enthusiastic response, and a mere few weeks later I now have my handmade garden!

Racheal even liked the flowers so much that she turned the images into a notecard set. What a great way to spread the "handmade-ed-ness" around! I suppose it's sort of like sculpting a beautiful ring, and then creating a mold from it. More than just one person gets to enjoy your creation and labor that way.

Have any of you tried Etsy? Do you sell, buy, or simply find inspiration?
Do you have and tips or tricks about how to stretch your handmade capacity, or are you strictly a one-off creator? Tell me your handmade stories!

SOFA Chicago or Bust!

Kristin Sutter — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:32:00 GMT

Art Jewelry's associate editors, Jill Erickson, Addie Kidd, and I, are heading down to the SOFA (Sculpture Objects & Functional Art) show in Chicago this Friday, November 2, 2008, at Navy Pier. We plan to be there when the doors open at 11 a.m. (The show goes until 8 p.m.) I've never been to the show, but I'm so excited! From what the other editors (the ones who have attended) tell me, it's the place to see beautiful art that's known for pushing boundaries. Ever since I saw the 2004 catalog, with its spike-in-the-heel glass slipper on the cover, I've been intrigued and hoping for a chance to go. Of course, scouting for jewelry and artists is the main reason we're going, but I'm also looking forward to seeing the furniture and anything that falls under the category of industrial design. A pitcher, silverware — how people design the things they encounter on a daily basis fascinates me.

The show has a lecture series that includes talks by some amazing jewelry artists: Anya Kivarkis, Sayumi Yokouchi, Susie Ganch, Graziano Visintin, Gerd Rothmann, Tod Pardon, Melissa Huff, Berd Munsteiner, Terhi Tolvanen, Evert Nijland, Marjorie Schick. I hope to have time to attend at least one!

I also hope to meet some of you there!

–Kristin