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| Sterling Silver Flower Drop Necklace |
The Australian War Memorial and the National
Museum of Australia are two sites to learn about the city’s origin. Australia is also home to featured jewelry
designer Pip Keane.
Why doesn’t silver get shine? Considering the blog’s topic, the question is
not a play on words.
My reference of
the shine colloquialism is one of my
random musings on jewelers’ mentality towards the precious metal.
In many cases jewelry designers work with both gold and sterling
silver; however, photos of gold jewelry are often uploaded to an online gallery
with the caption that the same design is in sterling silver.
If that is any indication it would seem gold is considered
the belle of the ball, while sterling silver is the pretty but overlooked
wallflower.
Although Keane works with gold, resin and titanium the
entirety of the handcrafted jewelry photos uploaded to her online gallery are
in sterling silver.
She makes full use of her silversmithing skills creating tactile surfaces of arabesque or perforated details; and juxtaposing blackened and polished metal. Her style is sleek, modern and feminine; a great showcase of the beauty of sterling silver.
A graduate of Australian
National University, Keane is a seasoned crafter making jewelry and
hollow-ware since 1996. The jeweler set
up shop in Melbourne seven years ago after leaving her hometown of
Canberra. The move proved to be a bit of
a challenge.
She makes full use of her silversmithing skills creating tactile surfaces of arabesque or perforated details; and juxtaposing blackened and polished metal. Her style is sleek, modern and feminine; a great showcase of the beauty of sterling silver.
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| Blackened & Polished Sterling Silver Square Flower Ring |
“I had spent ten years working in a shared studio before
moving to Melbourne. My husband had
gotten a job there and I felt it was a good opportunity for me to establish a
presence,” recalls the working mom.
“I had to find new suppliers, customers and I had to get accustomed to delegating my workload after working for so long by myself. Sharing the workload was very difficult.
“I had to find new suppliers, customers and I had to get accustomed to delegating my workload after working for so long by myself. Sharing the workload was very difficult.
I think the biggest challenge came after I gave birth to my
daughter four years ago. My day would
start at 5 a.m. and end at 6:30 p.m. I
would work like crazy returning client phone calls, meeting with clients and
making jewelry. It was tough but I like
being busy.”
Keane has cultivated a beautiful design style inspired by
the varied patterns of nature, tea strainers, and crisp, geometric angles. “I give great thought to comfort, flexibility
and beautifully integrated design. I
like creating shapes that integrate and overlap into simple, stylish
accessories.”
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| Matte & Polished Sterling Silver Pebble Road Cuff Bracelet |
2013 Jewelry Trend Alert: Sterling silver metal has a strong presence in this year’s jewelry trends and as referenced above Keane makes the metal central to her aesthetic.
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