All posts tagged: jewelry

24 Share it Gold by Tomorrow Lab

Published by

When the product designers at the New York City-based firm Tomorrow Lab discovered that the key fob for New York City’s Citi Bike share system could be cracked-open, they decided to transfer the key’s tiny RFID tag into a new container. Given the demands of the antenna position, the team could not stray too far from the original fob shape so, with design support from architectural journalist Laura Raskin, they came up with an elongated badge-like pendant shape that can be worn like a piece of jewelry. The on-demand 3D printing service, Shapeways.com, allowed Tomorrow Lab to create a gold-plated, stainless steel version of the product. Now if they could do something creative with all of those small plastic loyalty cards on my keychain.

Inca Starzinsky Jewelry

Published by

I met Inca Starzinsky during last month’s London Design Festival, where she was displaying a collection of her jewelry and accessories at the Tent London exhibit at the Old Truman Brewery in Shoreditch. A graduate of Central Saint Martins in 2000 and the Royal College of Art in 2007, Starzinsky has worked as a graphic designer, printed textile designer, design director, and artist. Part of the design and editorial team of Graphic magazine from 2002–2006, Starzinsky developed her skills in printed textile design at the Royal College of Art. I was drawn into Starzinsky’s booth by the vibrant colors of her geometric acrylic pieces. My favorites are the Fade series of necklaces and the Spin series of pendants, brooches, bracelets, and rings made from digitally-printed two-ply acrylic which is laser-cut and finished with silver loops and chain. Each of the variations features bold gradient coloring. The Hackney Clouds and Sunset series of brooches are based on photographs of the sky — they are like little peepholes into the heavens. I asked a Inca a few questions …

Orange Peel Jewelry

Published by

One of my favorite new jewelry finds from this winter’s New York Gift Show was the Calamarie Orange Peel Collection. These handcrafted “roses” start out as orange peels that are collected from street juice vendors and thoroughly cleaned before undergoing a lengthy sun-drying, shaping, and dyeing process. The pieces, which retain a mild scent of orange, are designed in the U.S. and handmade in Colombia by dozens of gifted women artisans across the country. Other collections from Calamarie include jewelry designs made of hand-painted seeds, woven metalwork, and discarded silk worm cocoons. Calamarie founder Catalina Lemaitre travels to Colombia three times a year to work with the artisans, develop new designs, and oversee production. Lemaitre was inspired to create the collection out of an interest in the environment, the economic development and empowerment of women, and the preservation of traditional art forms. The company gives back in other ways as well. “We also develop alliances with artisan coops and foundations to design and develop custom products that support educational and arts programs for children in Colombia as well as other important causes …

Oh My Clumsy Heart Jewelry

Published by

Sophie Davies is a designer living in the South East of Kent in England, where she makes minimal, modern jewelry for the wonderfully named Oh My Clumsy Heart. Her collections range from classic jewelry with a modern twist, to geometric designs, to her latest collection of geology-inspired pieces adorned with titanium quartz and pyrite. We asked Sophie a few questions about her work, and where she finds inspiration. Quartz Necklaces Designy Things: When did you start designing jewelry? Did you study jewelry design in school? Sophie Davies: I started making jewelry around 18 months ago. I wanted to make
 something I would buy and wear myself —minimal designs that are lovely to
 look at. Mostly everything I have learned has been self-taught. When I want 
to make something, and I don’t know how, I teach myself.  I do, however, have
 a degree in Media and Popular Culture with a heavy focus on advertising,
 design, and branding — something that comes in very useful. D.T. Where do you source the stones from the geology line? S.D.: When I have decided on what …

Magical Magnetic Jewelry

Published by

Since the first time i spotted Uno Magnetic jewelry at the New York Gift Show in New York City, i was intrigued. Created by Miami-based architect/interior designer Luis Pons, the jewelry is made of a brightly colored chain and a small magnetic ball that work together to form bracelets, anklets, necklaces, rings, and anything else you can imagine. When a sample arrived in the mail a week before this summer’s Gift Show, i was psyched to try it out for myself, and wore it to my day job at a design magazine. During the course of the day, my pink/green Uno got noticed by several colleagues (i was wearing it with a navy blue dress, and it stood out.) The hardest part is keeping your hands off of it once you have found a design you like – i found myself playing with my necklace all day (to the point of distraction). That being said, i think playing with these chains is a stylish, stress-busting replacement for other nasty habits, such as nail-biting or hair twirling. …

Empty Memory USB Collection

Published by

I met designer Yoo-Kyung Shin last May at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York City, where she was displaying a stunning collection of 4GB USB memory sticks that double as jewelry and objets d’art. Shin founded the London–based design studio Logical Art with Hanhsi Chen after their graduation from the Royal College of Art. The pair’s Empty Memory collection features two designs, Structure and Transparency, that contain “a physical emptiness in its sculptural form” that you can fill with your own “memory.” Structure’s geometric form can only be made with the lost-wax casting method that is normally used for industrial components. Transparency expresses its emptiness another way — it is 50% clear acrylic. After a long search for the right production partner, the designers located a manufacturer in Taiwan that is now producing pieces for the studio. Each piece is cast in high-quality, 316 stainless steel, then hand-polished by craftsmen, and finished in various colors. The Structure version an extra benefit — you can thread a chain through it and wear it as a modern pendant, or …