Saturday, August 14, 2010

NERVOUS SYSTEM

Today we visit the sprawling estate located in Ipswich, Massachusetts known as Castle Hill. Once owned by Mr. and Mrs. Richard T. Crane, the estate encapsulates finely coiffed landscapes, over twenty outbuildings, and a majestic mansion.

Massachusetts is also home to jewelry design team Jessica Rosenkrantz and Jesse Louis-Rosenberg.

Jewelry design and jewelry creation are as much a cerebral act as it is an act of instinct.

I have often considered that the heart of creativity lies within an intangible space that is not necessarily connected to the unambiguous functions of the intellect.

However, such jewelry artists as Marty Reynard (USA) and Simon Cottrell (Australia) are great examples of the inherent structured, almost scientific, quality of this art form. Rosenkrantz and Louis-Rosenberg's jewelry brand Nervous System is a fantastic representation of the keen intellectualism of jewelry making.

The designers met while attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) no less with Rosenkrantz studying architecture and biology, while Louis-Rosenberg majored in mathematics. They launched their company in 2007, two years after graduation.

"We are attracted to complex and unconventional geometries. Jessica is more interested in the interactions between forms and process," says Louis-Rosenberg, "My interest is in creating our designs in an open-source way using affordable and ethical manufacturing methods."


To create their unusual designs, the duo enlists graphic designer John Maeda's program called Processing to cultivate patterns that are "grown" using algorithms. Selective Laser Sintering and etching are implemented to produce these intricate patterns in tangible forms that mimic plant cells, honeycomb, dendrites, and sea anemones.

An array of materials including 24-karat gold plated stainless steel, stainless steel, silicone rubber, , and wool felt are used to construct complex and ethereal earrings, bracelets, and pendant necklaces.

I like that many of the lacy designs are patterned after the building blocks of the natural world, such as cells, as opposed to an actual composite form like a leaf or flower.  Incidentally, their Orchid Necklace is a stunning floral depiction of over fifty layers of sculpted stainless steel.

The outstretched, spidery veins of the nervous system mimic tree branches in creations that are at once very poetic, transient and lyrical.

"Our inspiration is grounded in the natural forms and processes that construct our world, this is an essential ingredient to our design process. Our trajectory focuses on creating innovative products," says Louis-Rosenberg.

"The generative aspect of our design process allows us to also create mass, custom-made patterns," says Louis-Rosenberg.

"Our studio exploits this by releasing our work online as a series of interactive applets that customers can use to craft personalized jewelry products."
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Photo 1 (top right): 24-Karat Gold Plated Stainless Steel Algae Bloom Pendant Necklace
Photo 2 (center): White Silicone Radiolaria Bracelet
Photo 3 (bottom left): Fuchsia Wool Radial Necklace

3 comments:

Rembrandt Charms said...

I am in love with your designs.Looks so delicate and almost like a hand woven lace.Love the light and delicate and feminine look of the pieces.

Unknown said...

Hi Carlotta,

I saw your website whilst searching for relevant sites to gain quality links from.I really liked the look and feel of your site carlotta-wwwsplendor.blogspot.com and think it runs along the same lines as my website (www.comptonandwoodhouse.co.uk)

Being relevant to our business I’m interested to know if you do sponsored posts? Posts would not have to be about our website as such, simply on a related field, with a link to our website. We're flexible as to who writes the post too.

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Unknown said...

I like the feminine piece pendant as a gift for my wife's birthday, especially the last one in fuchsia pink hue. It definitely gives justice to the name, nervous system. On the other hand, I'm kind of intrigue of jewelries that are made out of stainless steel, gold plated or not and I'm even planning to buy some. Many perforated stainless steel and stainless steel extrusions products are used to create fine and attractive handmade jewelry design. Each piece is unique, just like the creations of Reynard and Cottrell. I'm so grateful of you Carlotta for sharing this incredible post.

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