ADINA MILLS DESIGNHOUSE

Orange Calcite Pendant
with Hemp Macrame Rope

With storied origins dating back to the mid-19^th century, the New York Public Library contains millions of items. 

Touted as the world’s third largest library it contains branches in three boroughs including Manhattan. 

New York is also the tentative home of featured jewelry designer Adina Mills.

One rule to wearing statement jewelry pieces is to be free of any self-consciousness!  Self-consciousness encroaches upon one’s ability to carry it off.  You must become one with the piece!

Mills’ bold designs of medallion-like necklaces and large gemstone rings are protean and avant-garde. 

Commanding free forms of raw gemstones such as cobalt blue Smelt Quartz dangle from long hemp ropes or are melded with clay.  Her aesthetic is unquestionably energetic, colorful and not for the faint of heart.

A freewheeling native of California, Mills travels the United States in a 1977 motor-home named Journey with her companion, Miles.  Though she has not officially settled in New York, her ambition is to live there and set up a studio.

“I spent time in Connecticut and every two weeks I used to travel from there to New York to meet with stores and network with people in the hope of jump-starting my jewelry business. It eventually paid off,” she says.

The one-time manager of a California hair salon, Mills has no regrets about pursuing her passion for jewelry making.  A lover of the arts she took a sculpture class where she learned about the unspecified clay she implements in her work.

Gold Toned Apophylites Earrings
with Snake Chain

She allows both her surroundings and internal changes to dictate a design.  And though each piece is a quintessential bohemian showstopper they hold a tad of grace as well.

“The origin of my collections is generally the same: urban meets organic.  During my trek across the U.S.  I gain loads of inspiration from cities and nature. 

I hand-pick every gemstone, mineral and found object.  I hand sculpt and paint the clay I use.  These pieces are not like plastic or metal jewelry and need to be worn with extra care.

Cobalt Blue Smelt Quartz Ring

The clay I use is extremely durable but will break down much faster if worn handling rough objects or the like. 

I like to think of my jewelry as blurring the lines between art and fashion.”