Taë Schmeisser

 

My last panic attack (and I mean an actual physical panic attack in which I was curled in the foetal position) came from my mother deciding it was a good time to yell at my for not taking the bins to the curb during a the first night of a three day period in which I had an exam each day. Well maybe I would have had better luck remembering to do my task if I had a cute little reminder around my neck, such as the the necklaces from Taë Schmeisser for Edition X? I like the black wheelie bin with fluorescent green on the inside- that's exactly how my bin smell like... that is if smelly things could be represented with colour. 

 

You could even store little messages for yourself inside the wheelie bin- like a post modern and sort of depressing locket... I really wouldn't read too much into that for meaning or something. You'll only make yourself feel sad.

Take out the trash with Taë Schmeisser's brilliant little 'Trash and Treasure' wheelie bin lockets. Made in sterling silver, they are hand finished with a splash of fluro paint. Hinged lid, rotating wheels, colour: green. 

Hannah Carlyle for Edition X

I adore anything coloured lilac and light purple at the moment so I'm obviously in love with the dainty gemstone shaped earrings from Hannah Carlyle's collection with Edition X. If they weren't too expensive I would leap at the opportunity to snap them up, but until then I must bide my time and wait a little longer before I can splash out on fun geometric jewellery.

I am a great lover and admirer of things geometric and that sort of rough emerald cut look that gemstones can sometimes be gifted. Hannah Carlyle is an Australian maker, designer and emerging jeweller based in Adelaide. She completed her degree of a Bachelor of Visual Arts and Applied Design in 2008 and has been an associate at JamFactory in 2009/10.

JamFactory is a unique not-for-profit organisation in the Adelaide city centre which is supported by the South Australian government. JamFactory supports and promotes artistic designs and craftsmanship through its studios, galleries and shops.
The JamFactory has been working with talented artists, craftspeople and designers to present exhibitions and nurture careers for almost forty years.
Hannah Carlyle currently shares a studio space at JamFactory with two fellow jewellers.

 

Her pieces are like nothing I've ever seen- the mixing and swirling colours of the resin combined with the strong and geometric shapes fit spookily well together.The hand-crafted, swirling and coloured layers of the resin perfected by Carlyle results in unique pieces that are individual and one-of-a-kind. Although the colour scheme may be the same, who really knows what thoughts and feeling from Carlyle may be transferred and transformed into her pieces at their time of creation?

Hannah says: "I coax ‘spontaneous patterns' of colour from the material. I exercise partial control over the miniature swirling storms and coloured layers, unable ever to predict the exact and final outcome."

I like the combination of bright orange, yellow and white- it must be my love affair with candy corn and the jagged emerald cut shape of the resin reminds me of the sweet treat even more! From this piece you can see the variation between the colour and band thickness of some of the colours between one earring and the other. Things that are mass produced by machine have little life to them and there's no magical story behind them whereas with Hannah Carlyle's jewellery you can imagine her sitting and working in her studio space at Jam Factory, industriously slaving to create beautiful gems to become necklaces and earrings. The ripple of the bright orange and yellow of the resin earring pictured on the left is a great feature to the craftsmanship of the pieces and I think I like the pieces with that swirling effect the most.

The straight cut lines of the first earrings pictured (lilac) is also charming and I like that the main colour of the earrings is light purple, my favourite muse at the moment with black and white layers either side.

The combination of red, white and blue (how patriotic) has more of the swirling effect and interplay between the red and white layers. From the photograph of the model you can get a sense of the weight and size of each of the resin gemstone pieces and their bold design. The side profile of the model is quite delicate and pretty but I love the bright colours that seem to shine through and the neat presentation of the model. I think they'd look best on a curator or a very arty librarian; worn by someone who is perceived to have a boring job but leads their own incredible and artistic life when the sun goes down.
I'm continually fascinated and enchanted by the romantic vibes and story-telling that some pieces of jewellery and clothing have to offer and pieces from Hannah Carlyle are no exception.

Hannah Carlyle:
I am currently based in an independent studio within JamFactory.

Hands-on material manipulation is essential to my practice. It is how things are shaped and formed as I’m exploring a variety of methods in working with materials that bring out qualities I feel attracted to.

By exploring processes of manipulation I am trying to capture detail found in the resin, its facets and the reflection of light, continuously looking at the ongoing dialogue between the lines and colours and the textures, shapes and size.

In my subjective investigations, I coax ‘spontaneous patterns of colour’ from the material. I exercise partial control over the miniature swirling storms and coloured layers, unable ever to predict the exact and final outcome.

Hand-pigmented resin Facet Pendant on sterling silver chain by Hannah Carlyle. They remind us of geological rock strata, or a delicious layered cake! In a combination of colours featuring green, white, navy, yellow and turquoise.

The combination of amber, caramel and white all stringed along a bullet chain necklace makes me feel reminiscent of candy corn and melt-in-your-mouth softness. I can only imagine how heavy and large the resin for the necklaces must feel compared to the earrings- hence needing not one, but two strings of necklace to keep them aloft.
I like the simple and skinny grunge necklaces which allow the resin pieces to be the centre of attention of the piece. When mixing with colour like that naturally the best effect would be to not detract attention from the centre piece of the jewellery.

The bright pink in contrast to the red and white resin is dreamy and fantastic. Another weird quirk I'm having lately is the attraction to pink as well as lilac. If you were to wear this stand-out necklace with a little black dress and some brogues; well the top half of the resin necklace in white in contrast with the swirling mixture of pink and red would wow anyone walking past.

vibrance

If you are interested in contacting Carlyle about her resin pieces and fantastic jewels, you can contact her on hannah.carlyle@gmail.com
All of the pieces and more are available here at the online shop Edition X Jewels.

Kester Black Gold

Kester Black was established in 2009 by up and coming fashion designer Anna Ross. While studying a Bachelor of Fashion Design at Otago Polytechnic in New Zealand, Ross realised her flair and passion for designing jewellery, and so Kester Black was born.

Now based in Melbourne, Ross creates her pieces from her studio, an old converted prison, supplying stockists throughout both Australia and New Zealand.

Producing two collections each year, all of the jewellery produced is made from the highest quality materials and workmanship, utilising materials such as white gold, silver, minerals and hand carved wood.

A sub branch of her collection Maiden Voyage, comes the glamour and spray-painted goodness of Edition X and a limited range of carved animals. There’s only the carved wooden animals; none of the geometric shapes or polished silver animals and mineral rocks Anna Ross the designer has previously delved into before. I like the new take on the wooden crafted pieces since I have wondered previous what colours suited these three animals in particular. Certainly I wondered whether a brown bear would be better than the carved polar bear already available.

 
The same basic design as Kester Black’s carved animals, the special gold range from Edition X looks a little better for the three specially chosen animals: bear, horse and cow. The bear looks the best since the basic design is versatile enough to be coloured brown or polar bear with a change in paint colour. There’s a gentle brushed effect from the top of the bear leaving it more looking like a honey coloured but the golden paws with neat, sharp little claws look really cool.

 

I never realised how large the carved animal necklaces were before I saw this photograph. For $80, I would feel like I’m getting my money’s worth in terms of the large and folk carved animals as well as the strong pleated rope necklace. As of late I prefer longer necklaces as opposed to tight ones around my neck and have them drape around me natural curves and clothes. That, and I am a sucker for Peter Pan collars so the models looks like perfection in my eyes wearing two of my favourite fashion items.

When I was a young child, I always hoped at age twelve to begin to carve things such as sculptures of animals and motifs. That childhood dream ended when I was aged ten and I began to play basketball instead and then I ended quitting as I approached my seventeenth birthday and I would need to play against older women. Designer of Kester Black, Anna Ross does it better than I could have ever dreamed with the rough-sculpted lines contributing to the overall soft curves of the animals, I fell in love some years ago with the necklaces when I spotted them in a magazine, most likely Frankie.

Available here at Edition X Jewels.

Helena Bogucki

Be enchanted and protected by the Enter the Brave series of amulets from jeweller Helena Bogucki. Double headed Cat at My Side bracelet made in powder coated brass. Laser cut wood tag attached with artist hallmark.

65 mm x 65 mm x 8 mm
Adorn yourself with these amulets!

The grunge and rough looking chain combined with the intentionally bumpy shape of the cat’s figure and individual look of the charm is alluring and mysterious. I am magnetically drawn to things that have a mystique, a one-of-a-kind look and Helena Bogucki’s jewellery is all that especially her collection for Edition X. There was once a silver cat’s face as a locket and that was the one that got away on eBay, so this may be me replacing the lost cat necklace I never had. The side profile of the cat as well as the long and skinny legs and tail make the cat look elegant. I in turn have the deep-seeded hope in my heart that I too will become elegant but dark and a little edgy.

 

The designer of these charming cat necklaces and bangles, Helena Bogucki creates jewellery that reflects a passing moment of conversation and are a memento of the past in that sense. She is an independent designer who makes objects that combine formed and found pieces. Her jewellery incorporates motifs from an point in time or incident accidentally discovered by Helena Bogucki.

 

West Australian jeweller Helena Bogucki was a resident at the Pattern Shop until 2011, adding her distinctive fusion of jewellery design and historical-social research to the Atelier’s increasingly diverse skill base.

Not only does Helena Bogucki create jewellery, she is also has been selected by curatorial teams from FORM Gallery and Western Australia and has been honoured with an invitation to exhibit her work at Melbourne galleries as well.

Her jewellery designs, which stem from meticulous research into, and intriguing documentation of, museum and other historical collections, set Helena apart as a unique designer with captivating methodologies. 

 

I don’t really like the bangle as much as the necklace, probably due to the poor definition and articulation of the shape of the cat’s head on the ends of the bangle. I like the metal and black finish used on both pieces of jewellery shown in this post but without the slender and art-like representation of the cat’s body it does make it hard to distinguish what animal it is of. Originally I thought it was the head of a giraffe, but that may just be how I draw them and reminds me of my poor state of my scrawling. You don’t really see many bangles designed these days as there is a greater focus on rings, bracelets and necklaces so if you do like the brooding mood and darkness of the cat jewellery by Helena Bogucki I suggest you jump in quick as they are limited edition from the website Edition X Jewels. But if you don’t like them that’s fine too- I love animals and them being incorporated into jewellery so there’ll be more for me.
If you are interested in contacting Bogucki and discovering more of her enchanting pieces you can contact her on her website: www.helenabogucki.com.