once again...SF, part 3

"triadic" - charles marks, stainless steel from chi ha paura...?

the next day, raissa and i ventured out for more jewelry this time to de vera, gump's, and the sf museum of craft and design. de vera is a tiny shop with new and antique jewelry and objects. the selection is finely curated and inspiring. i especially loved looking at the antique pieces due to my recent heightened interest in historical jewelry. there was a new piece, however, that both raissa and i were immediately attracted to - a crocheted necklace in olive green with hot pink leaf-like "pendants" and little stones scattered throughout. i wish i had a picture to share!

cameo ring, c. 1780 at de vera

next we walked across the street to look at barbara heinrich's gorgeous work at the incredibly fancy department store, gump's. in addition to all the fine jewelry, gump's also has a selection of antique pieces and fantastic beaded purses.

necklace in 18K gold by barbara heinrich

finally, we stopped at the san francisco museum of craft and design to see the exhibition "designers on jewelry: twelve years of production for chi ha paura...?". this show features the work of a group of jewelers who form "Chi ha paura...?". the group was started by gijs bakker and they focus on making jewelry in which the idea is most important, not the materials or value. the pieces are simple, smart, innovative, and sometimes irreverent and many are interactive, like the "strip bracelet." i was also intrigued by the unusual display. when you walk into the gallery there is a huge, nearly life-size black and white photo of a group of people wearing the jewelry, but the pieces are actually attached to the photo. here's a picture:

"bound by blood" - designer: katja prins - wood

thanks for reading.

i left my jewelry in san francisco, part 2

yesterday i went on a museum/gallery crawl starting with the de young museum and ending with the asian art museum. in between i visited park life, chariots on fire, san francisco museum of craft & design, and velvet da vinci, i know, that's a lot of art...but it was so fun and inspiring! this is a long post, please bare with me.

i finally got to see maya lin: systematic landscapes at the de young museum. i was there early and the only person viewing the show at the time - being alone heightened the experience and added to the works' quiet minimalism.
i also visited yves saint laurent with nearly 130 accessorized garments and sketches. ysl's work is impeccable and exquisite. my favorite piece was the knit bridal gown. bjork, anyone?
next i visited park life a sweet little shop with lots of cool modern goods on clement street in the inner richmond neighborhood. they will be carrying my work in the coming weeks.
then i headed to the downtown area for chariots on fire a tucked-away jewelry gallery. i got to chat with the owner ritz yagi about the shop and her ideas regarding jewelry. she is very interested in bringing avant garde work to the forefront while placing it alongside unusual antique and vintage pieces. the space is stark but dramatic and the jewelery is beautifully displayed.
next up, the san francisco museum of craft & design to see the thinking body, a jewelry exhibition focused on "work [that] considers the body in relation to its physical and intellectual environment." the show included groundbreaking work from the 80's by gijs bakker and otto kunzli. it was exciting to see these pieces up close! i especially liked the work of cornelia parker. her pieces each featured one incredibly long piece of wire, one of which was the length of the height of the statue of liberty. the shadow created by the piece with the overhead light was beautiful in itself.
also on view was jewelry_cycle which features jewelry made from re-cycled circuit boards. there was also a table loaded with various materials so patrons could craft their own recycled jewelry.
it addition there was a fantastic show titled my first royal jewels by emiko oye. the pieces made from legos are based on european jewelry created by some of the great design houses including boucheron, cartier, and harry winston. the show is interactive - patrons can handle and wear each piece and also photograph themselves in the work. i really loved the three different exhibits together. they complimented each other, giving patrons different views of jewelry and making art jewelery more accessible to the masses.
following this i jumped on a bus and rode up polk street to velvet da vinci which many of you probably know as one of my favorite jeweler galleries. on view this trip was the pendant show which included nearly 100 of the jewelers in the book 500 pendants and lockets. it was wonderful to see some of my favorites - cornelia sauter, thelma aviani, and claudia costa.
also on view was new work by jillian moore - ...and the radical jewelry makeover - this piece is by suzanne pugh
i ended the day with a trip to the asian art museum to see afghanistan: hidden treasures from the national museum, kabul. the collection includes many incredible examples of gold metalwork discovered in graves from the third century B.C. to the first century A.D. my absolute favorite was the jewelry and ornaments found near one woman displayed just as it was found. it was eerie and beautiful. the following image is a crown and diadem that is collapsible.
...in LA now. carol young|undesigned trunkshow tomorrow, saturday from 12-6.

thanks for reading.