Showing posts with label ireland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ireland. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

INGA REED

18K Gold & Diamond Triple Pendant Necklace with Serpentine Chains
The Great Court, the Rosetta Stone and the controversial Elgin Marbles sculptures each have a home in the 259-year-old British Museum located in London, England.

The admission-free museum contains over 13 million historical objects from around the world.  England is also home to featured jewelry designer Inga Reed.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

AOIFE O'MAHONY DESIGN

18-Karat Gold Eye Candy Stacking Rings
Ireland’s Newgrange monument is considered one of Europe’s “finest achievements of European Neolithic art.” 

The mound-shaped passage tomb is constructed of engraved kerbstones; and according to Irish mythology the structure is the dwelling place for Oenghus, the god of love.  

Ireland is also home to featured jewelry designer Aoife O’Mahony.

Monday, July 25, 2011

LINDA UHLEMANN JEWELLERY

Sterling Silver Medium
Fuchsia Pendant Necklace
An island located in Ireland’s County Kerry holds a towering rock formation known as Skellig Michael (or Michael’s Rock).  

 A centuries-old Celtic monastery sits near the rock’s summit and serves as a home to puffins, razorbills and petrels.  Ireland is also home to featured jewelry designer Linda Uhlemann.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

SABINE LENZ

Magnificent stone carvings, gorgeous beaches, and bicycle paths leading to other scenic wonders is just a sampling of what you will find at the Ring of Kerry in Ireland. Ireland is also home to featured jewelry designer Sabine Lenz.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

TOM BINNS

The Fitzgerald family once owned the 12th century fortress Kilkea Castle, located in Ireland. It presently serves as a hotel; however, the structure is closely associated with one of the family's Earls, Gerald, whose fascination with alchemy earned him the reputation of being a wizard. Ireland is also the birthplace to featured jewelry designer Tom Binns.

Jewelry is most often purchased in celebration of something, an engagement, or an anniversary. Jewelry is often seen as an expression of joy.

However, designers like Stephen Webster (England), Hanna Hedman (Sweden), Delfina Delettrez Fendi (Italy), and Justin Giunta (USA) take daring approaches to their aesthetics creating highly provocative, unconventional pieces.

A graduate of London's Middlesex Polytechnic, Binns implements irregular combinations of materials and forms. Though the designer has jokingly stated he wanted to make jewelry "to meet girls," the 20th century anarchic style of the Dada Movement motivates his aggressive aesthetic.

His bold, haute couture collections, composed of 18-karat gold and rhodium plated sterling silver, and Crystallized Swarovski Elements, are vividly complex speaking to the designer's strong sense of individuality and fearlessness.

"In terms of usage within a design, I can treat diamonds with complete negligence, while making a piece of beach glass central to the design," he says.

"You are not dealing with reason, you are dealing with attitude. Even if jewelry is not made with gold and diamonds, it is a treasure. It should always have that sentiment."

Since the company's official launch in 2004, Binns' edgy yet stylish designs have adorned such women as Julia Ormond, Jessica Alba, and First Lady Michelle Obama. But the designer also has a sensitive side, as they say.

Such pieces as his 24-karat gold plated Faith in Fate Pendant, and his Raj Drop Necklace display his deft capacity for minimalism. At the same time, nonetheless, the safety pin that pierces the heart of his Faith in Fate Pendant instills an undercurrent of angst.

I like his inclusion of the safety pin, the uneasiness of it. For me, it is a metaphor of the makeshift ways incorporated to keep emotions under control while clinging to faith for a particular outcome. The insertion of the pin, a thoughtful detail, brings a different, weighty meaning to the heart symbol.

In addition to creating his personal collections, Disney approached the Irishman for a collaboration project: to create bijouterie inspired by Tim Burton's film Alice in Wonderland. Binns' unorthodox aesthetic was a perfect match to Burton's distinctive filmmaking style.

"Disney showed me some images and I let my imagination fly," says Binns. "My main focus was on the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, the Tea Party, and the White and Red Queens. So I tried to create jewelry pieces that had the personality and nature of these five major points.

One of my favorite pieces is the Smashing Time Necklace, based on the tea party scene from the film. To make this piece I got teacups, and tiny knives and forks from dollhouses, and put them on a necklace.

The Red Queen is one of my favorite characters and the items I did for her were not sweet but dark. One necklace features hundreds and hundreds of little hearts that are just packed on. The idea for the arrangement is it figuratively suffocates the wearer."



The 2006 winner of CFDA's (Council of Fashion Designers of America) Accessory Designer of the Year award, Binns' audacious cyclical collections can be found at such high-end stores as Maxfield, Nieman Marcus, and Colette, and is sold at ShopBop.com.
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Photo 1 (top right): Sparkling Jeweled Floral Cuff
Photo 2 (center): Alice in Wonderland-inspired 14-Karat Gold Keyhole Ring with Photo Inlay

Photo 3 (bottom left): Pearl and Swarovski Crystal Earrings

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

ALAN ARDIFF

The crumbling remains of 13th century Dunluce Castle in Ireland is precariously flanked by steep cliffs.

Like many castles, the fortress' history is filled with long years of transitioning ownership with Scottish clans vying for rights to the property. Ireland is also home to featured jewelry designer Alan Ardiff.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

BILL AND CHRISTINA STEENSON

Today we are in Ireland standing within the exquisite Walled Garden, a horticulturalist's dream nestled in one of Northern Ireland's oldest estates, Glenarm Castle. It is here we will meet featured husband-wife jewelry design team Bill and Christina Steenson.
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