Maker and Shaker: Alice Waese

THE UNLIMITED sat down with artistic renaissance woman Alice Waese for an interview about evolution, inspiration, and collaboration.

THE UNLIMITED: How did you wind up making jewelry? 

Alice Waese: I moved to New York from Toronto when I was twenty and became Maria Cornejo’s designer's assistant. She taught me everything about being a designer as well as how to run a business. Though I liked out joint work, I didn’t like the disposable nature of fashion, of making more clothes season after season. I thought, “the world really doesn’t need another dress.” So I went to Goldsmiths University in London for a year and then I dropped out. I knew I didn’t want to work in fashion, but my passion for adornment and my work in the sculpting studio during my year at school, focused me on jewelry. I ended up putting the two together - fashion and sculpture. Jewelry is really interesting. It has crazy history and working with metal is a really emotionally charged process.  

TU: Tell us about your book

AW: Those That Don't  is my second book, a limited edition of twenty. It has three different covers. It starts with my drawings, a good way for me to get my drawings into the collection and bring the jewelry together with the artwork. The books have a little secret compartment in the back, so it’s this little cutout secret that you have with the book, and you get something precious in there.

Click and Drag to flip through the pages 

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TU: What inspires you?

AW: Sometimes I work purely from imagination. I never look at magazines and I should go to art shows a lot more than I do. I’m pretty internal and I get a lot of inspiration from materials. I work with nature in the beginning, turning something in nature into something else that people see as a precious item and realize the beauty in it. I do a lot of castings of things that I find that have no value whatsoever, then change them from something that’s essentially valueless to something that’s extremely precious. I use a lot of black diamonds and 24-carat and 18-carat gold, which creates a really interesting transformation.

TU: How do you go from making different pieces to making a full-blown collection?

AW: I’m always trying to find ways to bring the collection together, because I think it is confusing for people. The shoes come out of the drawings; the jewelry comes out of the jacket. It’s the evolution of inspiration.

TU: How do you manage the transition between the different types of art forms you touch upon?

AW: I don’t really think about mediums. Obviously there’s a difference between making a pair of shoes, making a piece of jewelry, and making a painting or a book. But they relate to each other. For instance, I made shoes that came out of a drawing. They were worn by a caricature I drew and I decided to actually make them. The same thing goes for the jewelry. I guess it all comes from the same place. 

alicewaese.com

Philantrophies: Jewelry Designer Dana Bronfman

John Lennon once said, “Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans,” a statement to which Dana Bronfman can totally relate. The young jewelry designer/social entrepreneur and NYC freshman has already launched her first jewelry line in the fall, and we got to sit down with her and hear how it all happened.

THE UNLIMITED - What made you move to New York?

Dana Bronfman - I originally came out here to take some classes, which turned into applying for an internship with a designer to gain more experience. I then decided to stay even longer for a Jewelry design program at Pratt. I think I was subconsciously ready for a change. Since moving here I felt like my world opened up. I was having such a great time and didn’t want to leave,  so I kept postponing my departure, saying, ‘I’ll just stay a little longer, just a little longer.’ I then just realized this is where I want to be and this is where I should stay. I’m in love with New York, and I’m ready for it. 

TU- Tell us about being a social entrepreneur in the jewelry industry.

DB- I worked in the non-profit sector for two years and then transitioned into jewelry, so I wanted to do something creative but also keep a philanthropic aspect. My business follows both a philanthropic and sustainable model; I donate a portion of the proceeds of my sales to different charity organizations that support green jewelry practices, natural resource conservation, and educational and art scholarships for at-risk youth. 

All the metals that I work with are recycled. The caster that I use does certified recycled metals, I rarely use stones, but when I do, I only use natural stones.

I MAKE PIECES THAT I FEEL ARE BOTH UNEXPECTED AND TIMELESS.

TU- Who do you design for?

DB- I design what I like, so I suppose I design for people like myself; bold, aren’t afraid to be a bit different, and look beyond just owning “cool” stuff. My clients want to know where their products came and that they’re high quality and going to stay with them for a long time. I don’t create only in order to make money. I make pieces that I feel are both unexpected and timeless. Everything is handmade in New York. 

TU- Is New York your inspiration?

DB - I find it incredibly inspiring. In fact, it was at the essence of the mood board for this collection. These earrings (pictured, right) for example, were inspired by panels, rivets and bolts of the Williamsburg Bridge, and gave them a grainy and matte finishes to create an industrial quality. New York has this opulent, glamorous beauty, and I try capture the contrast of that in my collection. 

Selected pieces are available for purchase at DanaBronfman.com 

Designer Profile: Tini Courtney

Tini Courtney is the founder of HOWL, a handmade jewelry line. She creates out of her shop in Venice, California. Her pieces reflect her own spirituality, the people she creates for, and the materials she uses. 

How did you get into jewelry?

I was actually in school for fashion design. I slowly realized that I was not a fan of clothing and that whole industry. It was like a year before I graduated I started making my own jewelry and just kind of messing around. People were really interested in what I was doing so I started selling stuff, and I got some press right away. I had the name “Handle Only With Love” (HOWL) as something I just thought of and I just wrote it down.  Then the whole dreamcatcher thing just felt like it fit so perfectly with the name of it. So I built a website and it just really took off. I was promoting, throwing parties at clubs and then slowly fizzled out of that, and was able to just do this for the last four years and I am still doing it.

How much has social media impacted your success?

I like to do everything myself, unfortunately I am really stubborn like that. I mean obviously instagram has worked wonders with my business too, which is so nice because you can post something and it is so accessible for someone to see it. I have tried the e-commerce thing so many times, but I am so particular about how my pieces look on a website that I had made my website more of a gallery and less about selling. I think its more about how people see something now and contact me to get more custom, which is what I love to do anyways. A lot of times people will send me their old jewelry or an old jewelry box and I will just recreate whatever I can from there and then give them back the rest of it.

How much spirituality is in your personal life?

I was definitely raised by a mother who is spiritually connected, head in the clouds but feet on the ground kind of woman. She has been doing her own art for the last four years and is very strong and independent, but very out there and does lots of yoga and meditates a lot. It is something I was raised around so for me it is just kind of part of my life. The whole crystal thing and that whole aspect of it, and that being tied into my work is also something that is very important to me. I am such a nerd when it comes to crystals like I am obsessed. They all carry different properties, and I am still learning so much. There is so much to learn, and there are so many different kinds and different ways to use them. It is really interesting to me.

"I want people to feel connected to the pieces."

Do you feel there is a healing power you are sending out with your jewelry?

Absolutely, and it is all about your intention. When I make them I definitely have that intention behind. A lot of people that like these pieces are also attracted to that aspect of it. It is just subconscious you can not help it, like there is a reason why you like certain pieces.

Do you see yourself taking stuff that you are doing by hand and moving them to big manufacturer?

That has been such a battle the last couple of years, but I honestly do not. I really have no desire to do that. I think being able to hand make something and have a timeless piece is so unique. Everyone is always like the money is there, but I really don’t care to be honest. I would rather just like really refine my skills and be able to charge more and be happy doing it. That has what has been happening the past couple years. I have been practicing so much, and learning more things, and it has become more valuable because my time has become more valuable.

“If it was not hand made it would not have as much of a story. It would be going against everything I am about.”

This year for Art Basel I am doing an installation that is definitely going to change my path just because the materials and the category that these pieces are going in. I am using gold leaf and they are 3.5ft metal sculptures and I am implementing pieces of my jewelry into these sculptures. They are really beautiful and I have never done anything like this mind blowing to myself so I am very excited about Basel this year. This installation is in the middle of the Wynwood Walls which is this amazing place to have this. Those pieces to me are like pieces of fine art. 

If you are going to Art Basel in Miami go check out Tini's installation at the Wynwood Walls on 25th and NW 2nd Ave. in Wynwood. 

http://www.handleonlywithlove.com