The Met’s current show, Jewelry; The Body Transformed is, of course, gorgeous. Beyond gorgeous, it is a fascinating look into the different ways that people have been using jewelry throughout human history. The Met, said it well with this paragraph from the show’s description:
“Jewelry is the world’s oldest art form, predating cave paintings by tens of thousands of years. Throughout history and across cultures, it has served to extend and amplify the human body, accentuating, enhancing, distorting, and transforming it.”
Jewelry; The Body Transformed is comprised of 230 objects, dating from 12,000 BC up to modern day. Focusing heavily on ornate beadwork, and functional items (such as the sandals below), this show recontextualizes what jewelry historically has been, and what it can be today.
Of course, there are some simply lovely examples of gemstones, and complicated settings as one would see most notably for European royalty.
A personal favorite of mine, this wonderfully beaded large neckpiece (below) is a striking example of such a beautiful technique with so much important history behind it.
You can just picture these pieces being worn by their original owners and the different time periods and regions of the world they would’ve called home. It’s such an interesting way to think about history!
It’s fun to see the different shapes that are used (and repeated) throughout these items that range so dramatically in time period and location.
I always love going to The Met, it’s an iconic way to spend a New York weekend afternoon for good reason. But this show in particular felt serendipitous as I recently fulfilled a long time dream of mine to start my own jewelry collection.
As a textile designer, I can’t help but look at things from a textile centric perspective. A while ago I started to daydream about incorporating the amazing hand techniques we oftentimes use in our textile design into jewelry - and it seemed like a beautiful and natural fit. Delicate beadwork, the texture of a luxurious silk, the technology of laser cut design all incorporated to wearable art.
A few of the bracelets from the collection laid out for perusing - to see them all, link here!
After many, many months of hard work by my whole team, designing, editing, troubleshooting, and colorwork, it has been so fun and rewarding to bring these pieces into the world!
I am wearing Kali earrings in Mica, and the Cora choker.
We were absolutely blown away by the response at our launch party earlier this month. It was incredible to see how different people embodied the pieces and how they morphed and changed a bit with everyone’s own unique style!
Click here to see and shop my new jewelry line! I honestly cannot express how much fun this project has been, and how excited I am to have it our in the world and ready to be worn by all of you!
We had so much fun working on this project, from each piece - like the Helen bracelet here - to the branding and packaging!
Thank you to Scott Jones for the beautiful pop-up photos!
Addendum
As the days are getting shorter, I find myself cozying up more and more to watch a show or film - Outlander is a personal favorite!