Wearable Art Blog

Woody Jewelry by Terhi Tolvanen

Amsterdam-based and Finnish-born jewelry designer Terhi Tolvanen's jewelry made from wood is inspired by her love of the beauty in nature. She combines branches of birch, hazel, rosemary, and heather with gemstones such as smoky quartz and aquamarine.

 
  
Necklace in silk, paint, wood, agate and silver

Tolvanen calls the mosses, fungi and toadstools that flourish on or near fallen trees, the ‘jewelry’ of the forest.

 

 

Brooch in silver, porcelain, wood, paint

She pays homage to the natural beauty that is so easily overlooked and reminds us to pay attention and value even the most basic things that nature has to offer.

 

 
Brooch in labradorite, wood, silver

Even though these pieces look like they were picked up from the floor of the forest, they exude a sophisticated elegance. Tolvanen's work is on display at the Viceversa Contemporary Jewelry Gallery in Lausanne, Switzerland through March 17, 2010. Or, you can see more at Terhi Tolvanen or Kilmt02.

  

Papusza Couture

 
Photo by Bethany Antikajian

Kaytee Papusza, of Papusza Couture, is a young fashion designer and artist who lives and works in New York City. She creates fashion from a very personal place. Taught and encouraged by her seamstress mother to sew, ideate and create, Papusza has been designing her own fashions since childhood. Papusza thinks of fashion as art. Her work is conceptual, inspired by darkness, taxidermy, and psychological horror films. Each dress in one of her collections is a "character" with its own story. Read my interview with Kaytee Papusza to find out more about her inspirations and see some incredible fashion.

Beaded Jewelry by Sophia Mann

Swiss jewerly artist Sophia Mann likes to create striking jewelry sculptures by combining shells, bones, antique glass beads, and stones stuffed in gold and silver frames.

 
This handsome silver brooch is from the Orchid Collection. It has elements of the flower in the design, and is made with bones, animal horns, sea urchin, coral, cornelien, turquoise, citrine, and garnet.

Mann has six collections on her website, all of which feature silver and gold molded into curves or organic shapes resembling the natural world. The brightly colored beads combined with the unusual forms make the pieces come alive.

 
This ring, from the Impact Collection, was made by manipulating clay through nylon, then twisting and pushing it into the silver frame. Materials include silver, diamond beads, 22ct plated silver and turquoise beads.   

Mann's work is impressive, especially considerting that she only graduated from Central Saint Martins (London, UK) with a Master of Arts in Jewelry Design in 2009.

How do you like these pieces? You can see more at Sophia Mann.

  

Couture Fashion Week Coverage

I just received photos from CoutureFashionWeek 2010, which took place in February, in New York City, at the same time as Fashion Week New York. Couture Fashion Week presents high end, handcrafted clothing (lots of gowns) and accessories from artists around the globe and has been doing so since 2003. Couture Fashion Week doesn't get the press or blog coverage that Fashion Week does. It could be that the designers showing here don't work for the big fashion labels, so they don't garner the same attention.

In support of handmade fashion, here are a few up-and-coming designers whose work inspired me.

 

Photo courtesy of CoutureFashionWeek.com. 
 
This gorgeous coat (above) was made by Janina Stankiene, a native of Lithuania, who began knitting at an early age. Stankiene specializes in wool and fur and even redesigns vintage fur coats for her clients under her Janerations label.

 

 

Photo courtesy of CoutureFashionWeek.com. 

Morgan Sarver specializes in one-of-a-kind gowns (above), made to her customers' specifications. Sarver began designing gowns in 2001, after studying in Europe for nearly a decade.

 

Photo courtesy of CoutureFashionWeek.com. 

Paulina Lopez, from Mexico City, presented her "Celebration" collection (above) to reflect her belief that every day can be a celebration. She creates lovely, custom made, "haute" dresses and gowns. I just love the gown's big, bold rosettes and stunning shade of blue.

How do you like this kind of fashion?

Kamilla Wozniak's "Ocean of Wool" Collection

Poland-based fashion designer, Kamilla Wozniak, designed and made these gorgeous sweaters as part of her "Ocean of Wool" collection. Do you think of the ocean when you see the rich green and aqua colors, curves and sculptural details? These were Wozniak's inspirations. Here's an interesting detail, the sweater below comes with only one sleeve. 

 
Green Ocean Cardigan

I like that Wozniak has created cute bags and head rosettes to go with the sweaters. Put them all together and you have a great outfit. One of the sweaters in this collection (bottom photo) can be worn as a cape or sweater and comes with a detachable turtleneck.

 
Ocean Sweater with Flounces

Last year, Wozniak was a prize winner at Cracow's Fashion Week for the inventive "Ocean of Wool" collection. It's easy to see why.

 

Ocean Sweater with Turtleneck

Aren't these pieces adorable? You can see more of them at Not Just a Label.