So many things are handmade these days but you might be wondering what does that really entail anyway? What goes into designing and making a piece of handmade jewelry ? To shed some light on this, I’m taking you behind the scenes with me to share a bit of my process and do a deep dive into one of my favorite pieces: the Mirage hoops. This is going to be a two-parter so make sure to stay tuned for the second part where I’ll go more in depth into the hands on making process.
If you’ve been following the brand for a while, you probably already know I love looking to architecture, art and design for a lot of my inspiration. The idea for these hoops sprung after exploring the works of the Memphis Group. Founded in the early 80s by creative misfit Ettore Sottsass, the group was known for their use of unexpected shapes, bold colors and dynamic patterns. Look at any piece from this era and you’ll see that it’s anything but boring. Unexpected collisions of geometric shapes and brilliant colors completely transform the look of everyday items: a lamp becomes a futuristic toy car, a shelf an explosion of patterned panels, teapots a playful stack of colorful geometric shapes.
It was the Ultrafragola mirror, that I gravitated towards especially. The dancing wavy lines of its frame evoke a sense of rhythm and movement. Brilliant, vibrant and festive, it’s like a party for the eyes! After being smitten by this mirror, I wanted to create a piece that would capture its sense of liveliness and movement. Stay tuned for Part 2 to see how I took my idea and turned it into a finished piece!
