Zoe Comings’ ceramic jewelry line is inspired by the artist’s reflection on place and nature.

What you might notice first about Austin, Texas-based designer Zoe Comings’ jewelry is that it’s made of ceramic, an atypical medium for jewelry. We’re used to seeing ceramic tiles and housewares, but it’s rare to see it used to create wearable art.

“I started studying jewelry-making years ago, and I was studying clay as well. I used to work in each medium separately. I did tile work and housewares and had really separated these things in my mind creatively. At some point, I knew something was missing for me and I started to experiment. When I began making jewelry with ceramics, it was that eureka moment. A light switch went on and I knew this was absolutely it for me,” says Comings. She starts with simple shapes, often circles, teardrops and leaves. “I like shapes that have an organic, timeless feel,” she says. But those simple shapes are rooted in her past.

Comings is heavily influenced by a sense of place. Her designs reflect the Northern California landscape where she spent her childhood, New Mexico where she studied art, and North Carolina and Portland, Oregon, where she used to live. “A little inspiration seeps in from all of the places I have lived and traveled. I have always been inspired by river rocks, river beds and sedimentary layers. I have hiked a lot and seen a lot of the country’s natural beauty.”

If you look at her work today, you can also see Austin’s influence. “There’s more subtly to the nature in Austin. We don’t have the sharp, jagged mountains like Northern California or the Rockies or the red clay of New Mexico. I love the patterns and the weathered look of Austin’s limestone. I’m inspired by the leaf patterns and the trees in Austin. There’s something lush, rich and very beautiful about the foliage here.”

As Comings’ line has evolved, so has her color palette. “I started with white and light grey, and last year I added gold to get a more luxurious feel. It works really well and people are very responsive to the gold pieces. Right now I am working on the spring collection and using soft, subtle colors like mint green and nude in combination with rose gold.”

No matter what she is working on, however, Comings’ ultimate goal is to create beautiful, versatile designs that bring out an individual’s look and make women feel beautiful.

Being so connected to the natural world, it’s no surprise that Comings strives to source all of her raw materials locally and uses eco-friendly materials to pack and ship her products. The biggest way she is controlling her footprint is by using recycled packaging. “For wholesale orders, I have to ship everything in these little plastic bags. I used to work in retail and I know how much waste there is, so I only use recycled paper goods and I buy biodegradable bags. They are a little more expensive, but I don’t think twice about things like that.”

Each piece is handmade in her Austin studio, which is lovingly guarded by her two dogs, Baron and Mattie. Check out Zoe Comings’ ceramic jewelry collection here—or at a number of shops across the country.

Image: Nicole Mlaker Photography

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Value driven jewelry designer Nettie Kent talks with EcoSalon about her process, what changing color in brass jewelry really means and why she chooses to hand make her jewelry in New York City. 

Juliette Donatelli: When people find out your line is made in NYC what is the reaction you get?

Nettie Kent: Buyers here [in NYC] care. My showroom is actually in LA, it’s on the west coast, and they don’t care [laughs]. But people here definitely care. And also people that care about sustainable design, where things are made and all that–they definitely care.

One of my biggest selling points is that everything is handmade in my studio, and all my metals are recycled. I work with an amazing caster. This is all brass and he has just the best quality brass. A lot of casting techniques afterwards they rinse the casting in these super gross harsh chemicals– he doesn’t do that. And he doesn’t do that because he necessarily cares about the environment. He is so funny; his name is Frank and it is a family business. His daughters work there and so does his son, and when I first interviewed him — it was important to me — he was like, in this thick Long Island accent, “My family works here! I am not going to put that shit around here, I am not going to expose them to that.” I said I love you we are working together!

So, it’s more work because when my castings come back they are really dirty and it is more work polishing them and cleaning them up. But for me it is worth it. Sometimes is it a curse [laughs] you know. But the color I can achieve from his brass is amazing.

JD: Yeah, I would have never been able to tell it was brass, I thought it was gold. 

NK: Yeah, it is wild, [matches up gold ring against Nettie Kent brass ring] this ring is gold and you can hardly tell the difference.

Also, I don’t do any plating, plating is a really dirty business.

JD: Why is plating a dirty business? What does it entail?

NK: A lot of customers want things to be gold plated; they think it is more valuable and they think it means that it will stay. But what happens when you gold plate something is first it is washed–it has a nickel coating on it and nickel is a white metal, a lot of people are allergic to it, so that is why I say my brass is nickel-free. Because people think they are allergic to brass, it is not actually brass they are allergic to, they are allergic to nickel. So when something is plated it is dipped in a nickel bath and then dipped in the gold. So between the brass and the gold it has this kind of like a poison on it. It is really hard. The only kind of plating that lasts a long time is micron, and  it is a real thick layer. And it very expensive. It is hard actually to find someone in New York that is good at it. Rhode Island is actually the best.

So I just decided not to do it. People ask me too, and I say sorry I just don’t do gold plating. If you me to make it in gold, I would love to make it in gold for you. It is just not part of what I do.

Here I am going to all these lengths to make my jewelry and make my practice clean. And then to cover it in that seemed totally silly.

I love brass, I love how it changes color with the environment and ages. And it is just an interesting metal. It reacts to your body’s pH too. Your body reacts to brass when it is too acidic, like when you are overtired or drinking too much coffee.

I had to learn all this about brass when I switched over. I had to learn this because people would ask me, ‘Why is my brass turning color?’ And I would say, let me figure that out!

I try to have fun with it, and make things I want to wear. I am not a sales person, but I feel like if I believe in it I can recommend it to people.

images from the brand

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We know that during the winter months creating stylish outfits seems like afterthought. Our main concern is mostly staying warm and deciding if it’s okay to wear leggings, dresses and boots to work–everyday. But, it’s important to keep one’s sartorial spirit alive and to that end here are some great chunky handmade jewelry pieces (and one vintage design we love) from Etsy that are just perfect for the season.

1. Lisner Winter White Vintage 1950s Jewelry Set

Image: STLvintage

Go vintage with this pretty Lucite style chunky necklace from the 1950s. Make a vintage statement and pair this pretty set with a cardigan and a pencil skirt for a librarian-chic look or wear with a rockin’ rockabilly style cocktail dress. Wearing vintage is the ultimate in re-purposing chic!

2. Chunky Knit Necklace

Image: IKKX

Get bold and sport this knitted statement necklace made from mint green polymer clay rings and super soft grey cotton yarn. It’s fastened by tying on the cotton ribbons and so the length can be adjusted. This handmade jewelry style comes in a variety of color combinations to suit your winter wardrobe.

3. Knit Necklace

Image: NeekaKnits

This chunky handmade jewelry design is part necklace and part scarf and is the perfect necklace to add some drama to your look without sacrificing comfort and warmth! This easy to wear piece is made from hand-knitted circles that are joined to form a necklace that slips over the head. Who says fashion can’t be comfortable?

4. Winter Bangle Grey Branches Chunky Perspex Bracelet

Image: JessicaSherriff

For a true statement design, consider this chunky bangle. It’s made from Perspex acrylic, which is similar to Lucite, and features a gorgeous photo image of grey silhouetted winter tree branches. The way the bracelet is constructed it creates an optical illusion of softness as the image is viewed through the Perspex. Each piece is one-of-a-kind.

5. Scandinavian Winter Textile Bead Necklace

Image: TomBjornDesigns

This chunky necklace is made with eco-friendly cotton beads and is more than just a chunky handmade jewelry statement necklace–it can also be used as sweet nursing necklace. This design features icy white, silver grey and deep burgundy cotton beads, but other color combinations are available.

6. Winter White Choker

Image: jursvi

This chunky winter white choker is made from lightweight polymer clay, so it makes a statement while still being completely comfortable to wear.  This stunning handmade jewelry design fastens together with magnets for easy on and off too.

7. Branches Pendant and Earrings Set

Image: BeautySpot

Finally, here’s a more delicate resin jewelry design featuring a stunning photograph from Russian photographer Tatyana Kirsanova. In shades of cool winter blue and greens is a photo depicting the first hints of spring.

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” To see things in the seed, that is genius”    —Lao Tzu

These 3 jewelry makers create intricate, lively and elegant pieces that are as sustainable as they are beautiful. All three featured brands and organizations employ artisans from forgotten communities that use seeds to craft incredibly detailed and exotic earrings, bracelets and necklaces that echo the ornaments of rainforest dwellers. 

Organic Tagua Jewelry

Tagua, also known as vegetable ivory, is obtained from the seed of a palm tree nut. Practically as dense and durable as animal ivory, tagua can be dyed (it takes bright colors very well) and cut into thin discs and beads to make jewelry that brings together exotic materials and modern design. Since tagua trees produce several bushels of seed pods per year, with up to 100 tagua nuts in a pod, they are considered a sustainable and harm-free material for jewelry production. Organic Tagua Jewlery shares the creativity of the people of Ecuador, the native country of the tagua tree.

Chiapas Bazaar

Founded in order to facilitate access to international markets for rural artisans, Chiapas Bazaar brings us the most exquisite accessories from the crafty minds of Chiapas, Mexico.  The founding couple of the Bazaar established the marketplace in order to purchase pieces from these incredibly talented artisans and share them with the rest of the world. Using everyday ‘trash’ such as orange peels and guaje seeds as materials, these artisans have managed to create impressively beautiful and wearable jewelry. Who would have thought that tree resin or seeds could be turned into a pair of earrings? The seedburst earrings above are made from guaje seeds, found in the pods of the Tamarind tree, with a painted orange pea seed in the middle.

Eco-Vogue
Ecuadorian Angelica Cocha founded Eco-Vogue in 2010 in an attempt to improve the lives of locals craftsmen and the local economy. All of the necklaces, bracelets, earrings and belts in the collection are handmade out of nuts and seeds, making the completely organic, eco-friendly and sustainable. The Ecuadorian artisans most often use tagua nut for their exotic creations but acai seed and pambil also appear in their work, as with the bracelet above. These seeds have been used for hundreds of years in South American communities and promoting the jewelry crafted from them helps to improve the local community and reduce rainforest destruction.

Images: Organic Tagua Jewelry, Chiapas Bazaar, Eco-Vogue

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Since the beginning of time we have had an innate connection to adorning ourselves with the beautiful objects we find in our forests, deserts, river bottoms and seasides. The following natural jewelry makers are taking inspiration from the detailed work of our ancestors, creating modern but sustainable pieces that bring our Earth’s often overshadowed objects into the limelight. Ranging from simple and wearable to ornate and artistic, these jewelry makers are demonstrating the impressive versatility of our precious raw materials.

Third Eye Pinecones

Santa Cruz-based Third Eye Pinecones makes emblematic, organic jewelry from the center of the world’s densest pinecone, the Knobcone Pine, which can only reproduce post-forest fires. These incandescent and talismanic pieces are all lovingly handcrafted and many are inlaid with a wide variety of crystals and fossils such as sustainably obtained butterfly wings. Third Eye Pinecones also works in partnership with conservational foundation American Forests with their own “buy a cone, plant a tree” seed-harvesting and replanting scheme whereby 1-3 trees are planted per pendant sold.

Mr. Lentz

Mr. Lentz is a Colorado based crafty cowboy that has taken woodworked natural jewelry to the next level. Sustainable harvesting and production are the cornerstone of Mr. Lentz’s pieces, which are made from solid wood and naturally preserved plants. His unisex rings and pendants are carefully handcrafted, representing Mr. Lentz’s philosophy of “capturing the beauty of Mother Nature without harming her.” Inspired by the beauty of California’s Redwood Forests, these pieces truly convey the beauty of those magnificent trees in wearable form.

Jacomin van der Donk

Jacomin van der Donk is a jewelry designer that allows nature to flow into her designs with endless and unexpected ease, resulting in interesting pieces that give a completely new life to varying natural objects. Twigs, stones, goat hair, antlers and other found objects combine in jewelry that not only is wearable, but stands out as a truly unique piece of art. A modern take on the body adornment creations of our ancestors, these pieces embody an intriguing juxtaposition of raw nature and refined design. As the designer states, “I try to bridge the material world and the life source that energizes it.“

Sarah Hood

Sarah Hood is a jewelry artist who creates pieces ranging from wearable limited editions treasures to sculptural art pieces displayed in galleries. Her work tactfully displays the sculptural and detailed beauty of natural materials and objects, as demonstrated in her Organic Collection. Constantly drawing inspirations from the natural world, Hood brings a distinct elegance to each dimension of a necklace, ring or earring she creates, giving new life to many, too easily discarded natural materials.

Images: Third Eye Pinecones, Mr. Lentz, Jacomin van der Donk, Sarah Hood

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London Fashion Week’s Estethica Exhibition, now in its 14th consecutive season, is the British Fashion Council’s showcase of the industry’s leading sustainable style-makers.

At the launch of the Fall/Winter 2013 exhibition at London’s Somerset house over the weekend, a number of sustainable designers who have previously graced the posts of EcoSalon were present, including Mich Dulce and Pachacuti. But it was the newcomer Rudá Rings–the work of Brazilian designer Janice Perez–that caught our attention with creations that are equal parts organic and outrageous.

Perez’s designs have indigenous roots, both in their name— Rudá means ‘the god of love’ in the indigenous Tupi Guarani language—and in the materials that she sources. The base of her rings are made of Brazilian hardwood that she reclaims from discarded furniture and demolished houses. She tops them off with raw stones—mainly working with hematite, pyrite, vanadinite, uvite and lapis lazuli—from 35 countries including Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and Kazakhstan. Lastly, Perez polishes the wood with carnauba wax, sourced from a palm tree commonly found in the northeast of Brazil.

Perez never alters the stone, as she says that she likes to use them “the way nature provides it” and then craft the wood around it. Formerly a shoe designer like her father, Perez decided to start her own label in 2007 and considered creating a sustainable and eco-friendly product as her core criteria.

In order to work with the reclaimed hardwood she uses, Perez had to develop her own techniques by adapting her knowledge of several handicrafts. The ring’s shape is partially left to chance once she whittles down a block of wood to a suitable size and then drills a hole for the wearer’s finger.

The result is that each of her creations is unique and utterly show-stopping. With some of her rings taking up a whole hand, her creations could more accurately be described as sculpture than as jewelery.

The British Fashion Council’s Estethica’s criteria includes elements such as sourcing of materials, life cycle of the product, and supply chain knowledge, among others. While Perez is certainly taking heed of these factors in her designs, most impressive is her demonstrable passion for her creations, which not even a language barrier was able to mask at London Fashion Week.

“The ring needs to fascinate,” says Perez, “At the same time it needs to be sustainable. The designer will achieve that enhancing his creativity.”

Images courtesy of Rudá Rings.

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ColumnFor fashion label Mikuti, it’s a family affair.

Bombarded with beautiful beaded bangles, there’s an inexplicable awe that comes through observing the brilliant outcome of a designer’s process. Sifting through images from designer Erika Freud – the creative behind breakout accessory label Mikuti – on her most recent journey in East Africa, was like living inside a rainbow. Sourcing materials and producing Mikuti’s adornments through cooperation with artisans in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda, Freud has an eye for the standout colors and designs that make a statement.

Growing up in a family of culinary artists, that also held an interest in designing homes and gardens, Freud has creativity flowing through her veins. After spending 3 months in Tanzania with a small group who were working on some economic development projects, Freud and her team realized there was a way to create a bracelet out of banana bark.

“When I saw there was a potential market for it, as well as an opportunity to create jobs for the individuals I was working with and possibly myself, I ran with the idea of starting a company,” Freud tells EcoSalon.

In a few short years since Freud began her business endeavor, Mikuti has quickly become an attention-grabbing accessory brand for fresh fashion designers. Labels such as Mara Hoffman, AFIA, and ChiChia London, have all embraced Mikuti’s bangles as an enhancement for their recent lookbooks and runway events. What do they all have in common? None of them seem to be the least bit intimidated to throw blasts of color and print into their collections.

When Freud journeys to East Africa from her NYC home, she lives her every moment abroad to the fullest. Working on several collections on the same trip, Freud is developing two small, limited edition summer collections focused on color trends – Neons & Neutrals and For The Love Of Fuchsia. “I love color, especially these. It’s a small, fun collection that I think everyone will really like,” Freud says.

The limited number of summer pieces are being created in Kenya from recycled aluminum and beads. “I’ve worked with both materials before, so since I’m familiar with it, it’s made it easy for me to develop new ideas around it,” Freud says.

Working with talented artisans has influenced the creation process for Mikuti. Freud tells EcoSalon about how her beader is a standout individual. “She’s incredibly skilled and really knows how to execute my ideas. Whether it’s going bead shopping or going over color combinations, I genuinely enjoy her. Plus, she has a lot of good ideas for future possible designs. I think creativity breeds creativity. Once you get going with someone, the ideas just start to flow.”

Freud was definitely fed creativity at home growing up, and that knack for imaginative resourcefulness has only evolved in a collaborative relationship with her father. As Freud does the majority of her framework designing in the U.S., having “samples” to share with the artisans abroad can be key.

“By trade, my dad is a highly skilled builder and designer. The week before my trip, my father and I sat together in the garage many nights, cutting pieces of wood from my drawings for me to use as molds,” she explains.

These wood carvings are an ideal way to relay the design direction and aesthetic to her collaborators abroad. Having now worked in East Africa for about 3 years, Freud is quite methodical on how to communicate her ideas. The process begins with a pattern that she sketches. Then, her father creates a model of her design using thin plywood. Freud explains, “I do this because it helps me see the actual size and feel of something and let’s me imagine it to a point in my mind.”

When she travels to East Africa, she brings all of her plywood pieces and shows them to the artisan she has been working with. “He then creates it with whatever metal I choose and together, we fine-tune it. Sometimes this happens in one try, other times it takes 5 tries. It depends on the complexity of the piece. I really value his opinion and genuinely enjoy the collaborative experience we have,” Freud says.

In addition to the fabulous fuchsia and neon/neutral pieces for summer, Freud is also producing her Fall/Winter collection along this journey in East Africa. Inspired by Native American culture, Freud visited an array of museums and exhibits, while extensively researching traditional Native American dress and adornments over the past months.

“There’s something about old cultures and traditions I’m very drawn to. I like learning about them and then taking things from them to create a piece of jewelry. I recall visiting the Native American Museum in Washington, DC to do some research, where I was in awe of all the different shapes of arrowheads exhibited. I also loved looking at the totem poles and pulling ideas from them,” Freud explains.

Mikuti’s Fall/Winter collection has a material focus of horn and brass, sourced from Kenya and Uganda. Having never worked with either of these materials, Freud has found it exceptionally helpful having worked previously with this artisan in Kenya.

“He’s highly skilled and I enjoy working with him through the product development phase. He excels at taking my drawings and seeing them to fruition,” Freud says.
For the horn pieces, Freud is working with a few different artisans in the Kampala region of Uganda. An agribusiness byproduct, the horn Mikuti features is recycled from local butcheries. For Freud, venturing into Uganda has been a new opportunity to integrate “another sustainable, eco-friendly angle and to work in a new region and support the local artisans.”

Continuously melding innovative angles into her designs, Freud’s creations have depth. She expresses an inspired enjoyment in learning about the spirituality woven into Native American culture.

“Like many old cultures, jewelry played a role in this. So, a lot of my ideas were formed around their spirituality and I tried to bring that to each of my pieces,” she says.
Emotionally, Freud is excited about her upcoming Fall/Winter collection.

“I’ve really stepped out of my comfort zone and feel as though this collection brings everything full circle.”

While many aspects of Freud’s supply chain and design inspirations may have come full circle for her, it seems Mikuti’s distinct presence on the fashion circuit has only just begun.

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