Wearable Art Blog

Knits by First Born

First Born is an Australian women’s knitwear label with a philosophy of using fair trade practices to support the knitting traditions of tribal people living in Latin America. The beautifully patterned pieces featured here, from their Winter 2010 collection, are inspired by Andean traditions. Like all First Born collections, this one has been created by weavers and artists who live in Peru and Argentina.
 

Hand knitted vest with tie inspired by the colors and traditions of the Andean region of Argentina

Karolina Roze, the designer behind First Born, divides her time between Buenos Aires and Sydney, which is her home. 

  

Hand Crocheted Cardigan

Roze says this about her beloved Buenos Aires: “Buenos Aires is the Paris of South America with inspiration around every corner. It’s a pleasure to live and work with so many local talented artisans in an environment so rich in culture, color and life..."

 
Hand knitted cropped cardigan sweater and scarf inspired by the colors and traditions of northern Argentina

Wearing these vibrantly colored, stylish pieces could be a good way to stay warm and generate some attention in these cooler days of fall, all the while helping to support indigenous craftspeople. You can see more at Not Just a Label.

 

 

Hat Couture by Jane Taylor

How do you like this "Curled Goose Comb" by Jane Taylor? Soft goose feathers sit on a comb wrapped in matching silk. This piece works best at the back or the side of the head. You can see bits of matching crystal that Taylor uses for added interest.

 

Taylor, who has an undergraduate degree in embroidery, was inspired to become a milliner because of her love of classic hats and vintage materials. She works out of her studio in London.

Her classic designs are embellished with vintage feathers, veiling, lace, gems and antique adornments. How do you like the "Studded Cocktail Hat" above? I love the gold circles topped off with the bird-like decoration on top.

 
Taylor creates custom pieces, hand dying most of the fabrics and sources the vintage trimmings and beadings, too. One example is the elegant, vintage-inspired pillbox hat (above).

Taylors' pieces have been featured in many fashion magazines, like a recent article entitled, Thoroughly Modern Milliners in Vogue.com UK, which is not surprising, given the gorgeous variety of styles and materials that she uses.

You can see more at Jane Taylor.

Isabell Schaupp at Friends of Carlotta

Germany's jewelry designer Isabell Schaupp thinks of her one-of-a-kind pieces as links between their wearer and the environment.

 
Brooch: silver, coral 

Here's what Schaupp says about her work, “Due to their partly technical, partly organic shapes, my work seems to belong to a yet unknown species."

She sees jewelry as a link between the inner and the outer worlds. This brooch shows coral beads being held captive in small wire baskets.

 
Cactus brooch: silver, copper, enamel, a photo, coral, fabric  

I know these pieces aren't classically pretty but they're interesting to look at nonetheless. They're like small works of art that you have to spend some time with to fully appreciate.

One of the galleries where you can see Shaup's work is Friends of Carlotta in Zurich. Friends of Carlotta, founded in 1995 by jewelry designer Bruna Hauert, is dedicated to furthering the development of European contemporary jewelry design. Check it out if you can!

Stine Ladefoged

 
 
Pictured here is the recent Danish Design School graduate Stine Ladefoged’s graduate collection, “Narcissism is Calling.” Ladefoged experiments by mixing and matching different types of yarn and uses several knitting techniques to produce the effects you see here.

 
Ladefoged says, "My style is sculptural and detailed, but with Scandinavian simplicity, so the focus is on the material, structure and silhouette." Her aim is to, "make showpieces with sculptural expressions..." I think she succeeds.

 
   
One of her favorite fashion designers is the well known knitwear maven Sandra Backlund. You can see some similarity in the the big, distinctive textures each of them creates.

I am a big fan of knits because of the sculptural elements and drama that can be achieved. These pieces are just stunning, especially considering that they're coming from someone who's just starting out.

You can see more, including her Autumn/Winter 2010/2011 collection at Stine Ladefoged.

 

Erfurter Jewelry Symposium

 
Volker Atrops: Ring of Iron

If you hadn't looked at the caption, above, would you have known that this ring was made from iron? When I saw that, it blew me away! At first, I thought it was made out of wood, or maybe even from a fancy leather. But when I looked at it more closely, I could see that it was made from metal. Would you ever imagine such a lovely shape being carved from iron?

The ring was featured as part of the 2010 Erfurter Schmucksymposium (schmuck means jewelry in German). Erfurter is a center of contemporary jewelry and has a long tradition in gold and silversmith craftmanship. The symposium aims to push the boundaries of contemporary jewelry by having international artists live  in a studio and work together on a given theme for two weeks every two years.

Here are some other interesting designs from this year's Symposium.

 
Mandy Rasch: 3 brooches of plastic and silver

Many of the participating artists this year are well known in the art jewelry world and a couple have been featured on this blog (Philip Sajet and Iris Bodemer). Most are from Germany: Volker Atrops, Iris Bodemer, Heike Gruber, Mandy Rasch and Ann Schmalwasser. A few are from Italy: Daniela Boieri, Federica Pallaver and Fabrizio Tridenti. Philip Sajet and Dana Seachuga are from the Netherlands.

 
Dana Seachuga: "Games Kings Play" necklace of ebony, silver, copper, and paint

Even though the works, made mostly of nonprecious materials, are not pretty in a conventional way, they are still compelling.

The pieces produced at this year's Symposium will be shown in Berlin at Gallery Schmuckfrage from September 18 through October 2, 2010. The show will then travel to Firenze, Italy. Check it out if you can.