Emily Rothschild

Concealment clothing, long-favored by expert travelers, has more recently been adopted over the years by practical technophiles. Dedicated cell phone pockets have given birth to dresses with iPad compartments, jackets with built-in computer sleeves, and slap bracelets for iPods that mirror watchbands.

Along this trend, comes Emily Rothschild who understands that design solutions can be visually beautiful while still sufficiently serving the intended purpose. Medical IDs are transformed from dog tags into modernist nameplate jewelry, while pills leave their pharmacy plastic bottles to live within visible bubbles at the bottom of drinking glasses.

Our favorite is the USB drive necklace which houses a flash drive within a replica of a turn-of-a-century mourning locket. Lovely, functional and smart, it blends the best of yesterday and today.

Visit Emily Rothschild’s Web site to view pieces and browse a store list.

Turn Me on Design (TMOD)

Sometimes communication needs to be taken to a different level, somewhere deeper and internal, where it can resonate and bypass the typical “in one ear and out the other” method.

Sydney-based designers Georgie Swift and Milenka Osen of Turn Me on Design (TMOD), whose previous Smoke & Mirrors collection featured puzzle-solving jewelry, such as three-dimensional maze cubes and interlocking keys, recently collaborated with artist Andy Uprock for a new interactive series entitled /\poetry in braille/\.

Uprock, known for large floating cup street installations, imparts his Cuprocking vision to this range of sterling silver pieces, with TMOD evolving them into smaller, dearer, more intimate elements. Necklaces and rings flaunting cascading miniature cups and industrial cones are textured with Braille phrases serenely promoting community and integration. Tiered signpost pendants twist to reveal thoughts in English and Braille, melding the two languages into one. And Pagoda-shaped rings, dangled upside-down on chains, conceal poetic streams along the interior.

To view styles and browse purchase links, visit the TMOD Web site.

Lisa Levine

There’s no higher endorsement of one’s work than that of a fellow colleague who inserts your designs into their personal wardrobe rotation, wearing the piece again, and again, and again. And truth be known that Lisa Levine is one those rare talents whose jewelry is consistently worn by New York’s fashion populi.

Her signature pieces are typically ethereal, with mixed metal draped arrangements, but her latest collection serves up bold color, holding fast onto the beat of summer. Vintage brass and copper chains in slinky, chunky widths are adorned with a mixture of beads and stones, some along one side, others broken into color-blocked segments.

To browse styles and purchase visit Creatures of Comfort.

Rising Trend: Seed Bead Jewelry

Weaving small beads into intricate patterns has been around for ages, literally, harking back to ancient Egypt, eighth century Japan, and ninth century India. Of course, we still see glass seed beads adorned on dresses, sweaters and other elegant apparel, and now they are making a comeback in jewelry as well.

Fallon’s fringe necklaces were the first to make a splash, and now you can find beaded collar creations at stores like Urban Outfitters. But we love the inspired pieces lovingly produced by artisans such as Patrizia Tager (necklace above) and Carol Deane Sharpe…elaborate and interesting, these jewelry selections are the real deal.

To browse styles and purchase visit:

Triz Designs - Beadwork by Patrizia Tager
Beaded and Fiber Gifts by Carol Dean Sharpe

Finch Metal

Oh, to be a kid again…whipping paper airplanes into shape, exploring the wind with a flying kite, getting colored chalk under your fingernails as you draw hopscotch patterns on the sidewalk.

Metalsmith Jill Antonishak’s designs are sweet emblems of treasured playthings, from tire swings to the helix-shaped slinky. Necklace pendants take form as three-dimensional pinwheels, flat paper dolls, dainty toy boats and intricate ferris wheels. Perfect, perfect little reminders that childhood pleasures need not reside in the past as a closed chapter. Rejoice, wear rompers, live like a kid again, and make sure to get your feet dirty.

To view styles and shop, visit the designer’s Web site.

Concrete Fruit Jewelry

Fruit and concrete probably sit at opposite ends of the contextual spectrum, which is why pairing them together makes so much sense. Take the sweet, soft and colorful and marry it with something durable, creating a vibrant new form filled with depth and longevity, rather than spoiling under the weight of time. If only all perishable goods could be rid of their pesky expiration dates, staying fresh and tasty forever and ever.

Designer Sue Urquhart’s fruit collection flaunts brushed silver pendants inlaid with tinted concrete, and dangled from 16” inch sterling drawn chains. Red strawberries, green pears, orange slices, lemon wedges, a pair of dangling cherries…no matter what your taste buds crave, each selection is juicy good and perfect for summer picnic days.

Visit the designer’s blog for recent work and purchasing information.

Reverie Jewelry by Alison Woodward

If the arts and crafts movement is indeed in revivalist mode as many predict, putting vintage Koos van den Akker jackets, mixed print and quilted, front and center along with Mary McFadden braided belts, then surely chunky jewelry is going to stick around for a while. Good news for Alison Woodward, who skillfully crafts large-scale pieces that are highly ornate and rich in tone.

Woodward’s forte is re-thinking the contextual nature of vintage elements, changing their lifeline through reconfiguration. Shells, color-drenched with paint, are arranged in a flower formation and dressed up with vintage ribbon…a brass mechanic’s shop plaque is given new life with 1950s rhinestone adornments. Some of the pieces are more straightforward, but all will have you daydreaming, just as the designer predicts with the jewelry line’s chosen name – Reverie.

To view styles and purchase, visit the designer’s Web site.

Blue Bayer

Long time East Village resident Blue Bayer spent many, many years crafting smoking pipes and selling them to locals until he meet a young kid entranced with Steam Punk and everything kind of fell in to place. As if destiny itself was calling, the encounter lead Bayer to become re-inspired with his youthful obsessions like turn-of-the-century science fiction, and he started translating the gruesome design aesthetic he used in his pipe-crafting into wearable jewelry assembled from found objects.

Bayer’s line, called Assemblagio, flaunts pieces that marry clock parts with hand-blown glass eyes, and dangle hummingbird skulls cast in 18k gold. Many designs have been enhanced with modeling clays and aging solvents to impart an antique appearance. But here’s the best part – Blue writes like Bukowski, on full display in his Etsy store listings. From Pat (a battle scarred old guy from Queens) to Stone Gnome (a lady who sells him gemstones and adopts a lot cats) Bayer has stories, lots of them, and he tells them in such a real-deal manner that you can become distracted and forget how frickin’ amazing his jewelry is…almost, but not quite.

To browse styles visit the designer’s Web site. It’s connected to his Etsy store.

Yasmin Kuhn Design

Perhaps it's winter doldrums nipping at our psyche that has us turning our thoughts, ever so early, to the coming of spring (the dance of bright colors, the wispy feminine fabrics, the sprightly footwear). So, yes, perking up is in order, and Yasmin Kuhn's cheery jewelry pieces are a flawless tonic for battling the blues.

Emulating flower lei silhouettes, Kuhn, a RISD graduate, bundles clear and frosted acrylic beads in chunky arrangements, some monochromatic, others with scattered colors. Most selections are available as a single 20" or in a longer 36" length that can artfully be wrapped around the neck several times.

To view styles and store listings, visit the designer's Web site.

Specimen Jewelry

Designer Carrie Yee is an ardent enthusiast of anthropology infusing her Specimen jewelry line with elements such as coyote teeth (paired with Indian glass beads) and shark vertebrae (nestled with skulls carved from nuts).

Of course, lots of on-trend feathers make an appearance in her pieces, as well as shells and semi-precious stones, but it’s her arrangements that are bewitching, such as the Hawaiian Fish Hook necklace, flaunting an off-center bone pendant on chain braided into cord.

Until recently, one had to visit Yee’s booth at the Brooklyn Flea to snap up one of her creations, but no more…a just launched Etsy shop offers a chunk of the Specimen collection online.

Lingua Nigra

Most of us say one thing, but really mean another, but that's just because we all tightly scrutinize things through our own personal microscope. Which explains why some see beauty in small imperfections, and others cite them as unequivocal flaws. But perhaps everything is a dual-sided entity, with interpretation not determined by which side the wind is kicking, but on the threshold of forgiveness in our hearts, and how far our minds will let curiosity wander.

Take for instance the reticulation of brass, a melting process that elevates the copper, imprinting the metal with intervals. What was once smooth is now imperfectly rippled, yet far more complex. This texture evolution is the blueprint for Alicia Goodwin’s jewelry line Lingua Nigra. Some circular elements are heavily manipulated to reveal repetitive patterns (disc necklace above), while others are given a lighter hand to encourage free-form results, such as a drop pendant earring with a curved end resembling a worn book page corner.

To view styles and purchase, visit the designer’s Web site, which currently forwards to her Etsy shop.

Hot Pick: Lark and Lotus Damballah Necklace

I'm a Voodoo Child baby, I don't take no for an answer.
(Jimi Hendrix)

Because snakes know how to shed skins, and redirect their cause, slithering covertly to strike when the moment is just right. And so one must tread carefully and not believe every skillful twist of the tongue.

The Damballah necklace from designer Suzannah Murray's Lark and Lotus line is a spirited homage to the mighty serpent, flaunting an uncoiled 14k gold pendant, textured and set with a deep garnet stone.

To purchase, visit the Lark and Lotus Web site.

Brilliant Everyday: Unearthen Necklaces

The Brilliant Everyday series spotlights jewelry pieces perfect for everyday wear.

If ever there were two groups historically on opposing sides, despite sharing outsider status, it’s the punks and the hippies. After all, one faction encourages harmony and friendship, and the other just wants to live fast and die young.

And yet, as much as peace and love doesn’t usually mix well with anarchy and destruction, designer Gia Bahm has found a moderating voice, enabling both sides to shake hands in agreement that optimism and pessimism can indeed reside on the same page.

Bahm’s Unearthen necklaces are perfectly emblematic of the dichotomy existing within all of us, flaunting rough-cut, sparkling quartz crystals stuffed into .38 and .22 bullet casings. The pendants, available with a wide range of colorful stones (ruby crystal is featured above), are hung from 14k gold chains at a 22” length.

To view styles and browse store listings, visit the Unearthen Web site.

Rediscovering the Chain Store

Just like the local pharmacy, which has become the bargain hunter’s destination for make-up essentials, the chain store is well positioned to become a well for jewelry box refreshment, if for no other reason than the affordable price points.

But some chains have interesting offerings, including Urban Outfitters which recently launched a collection in collaboration with Bing Bang’s Anna Sheffield. The line, called Bee 23, flaunts the designer’s signature style, including this sweetheart necklace (above), but are easy on the wallet. Old Navy is currently selling cozy sweater bangles reminiscent of Elizabeth Yarborough’s hot creations from last year, but for less than ten bucks. And Forever 21 is always a treasure trove for up-to-the-minute looks for less, including a vast selection of cocktail rings that hover around five dollars.

Best of Etsy: Knee Highs & Pigtails Jewelry

This series highlights noteworthy jewelry selections available on Etsy, the mammoth online marketplace for handmade goods.

Camille and Sara, best friends since they were wearing knee high socks and sporting pigtails in their hair, re-work vintage findings into pieces that would be at home in grandma's jewelry box, if, of course, her life was drawn from the same cloth as Anaïs Nin’s.

And while many crafters dabble with found elements, we appreciate that these selections were created with a consistent sensibility. All too often, you see a little of this, and a little of that, but no threaded vision, especially as price points dip lower and lower. Predominately produced with raw brass treated to darken over time, the super affordable necklaces and earring sets are sprinkled with colorful Czech beading in dusty hues.

To view styles and purchase, visit the Knee Highs & Pigtails Etsy shop.

Etten Eller

Designer Cristina Bloom is a master at transforming watch gears into pretty, pretty jewelry. After all, most pieces flaunting mechanical parts are clunky and masculine, with their gritty appeal rooted in the Steampunk movement.

But Bloom’s Etten Eller line takes a deliciously different turn, presenting ethereal selections that are airy and refined, with a decidedly feminine twist. Vintage pocket watch hands are dangled from draped vermeil necklace chains, a single circular gear is paired with a contrasting oxidized necklace chain, and a bronze plate pendant in a crescent shape displays spacious cut-outs.

The Etten Eller collection is available at Barney’s CO-OP, but check out the designer’s Web site (launching soon) for updates.

Hot Pick: Nola Bella Brass Chain & Pearl Necklace

Perhaps designing jewelry is no different than mixing a potent cocktail to perfection…a little of this, a little of that, but nothing too sweet or head-shaking strong. If so, than Jill Scharmen knows exactly what she is doing, integrating chunky brass chains with oversized mother-of-pearl drops that are draped in an asymmetrical fashion. The necklace, titled Grandma’s Pearls, is visually stunning, yet lighthearted, as if elegant Nana, dressed to impress in her Chanel suit, had an impish tryst with a dirty downtown hipster.

Available at the designer’s Web site.

Winifred Grace

One wouldn't have to twist your arm twice for you to spill the beans and fess up to being a die-hard romantic. Yes, you're an old school glamour gal, addicted to sentimental movies and the occasional bodice-ripping novel. And in the corner of your mind, you fancy yourself a modern day Garbo, veiled in mystery with beauty to spare. Slipped into a fluttering silk blouse and dripping with Winifred Grace jewelry, you're armed and ready to navigate the town in vintage style.

Lovely everyday pieces have always been designer Winifred Grace Gundeck’s specialty, but her Autumn 2008 collection proves that she can equally guide women through the evening hours as well. The 1920s-inspired selections, with looped rhinestone fringe and oxidize chain, have a magical antique quality, much like treasures found in an ancestor’s jewelry box. The flowing necklaces and elongated earrings may be perfectly in step with this season’s clothes, but thankfully they are not costumey, ensuring that the adornments can be worn for years and years to come.

To browse styles and purchase, visit the designer’s Web site.

Brilliant Everyday: Jacquie Aiche Evil Eye Necklace

The Brilliant Everyday series spotlights jewelry pieces perfect for everyday wear.

Oh yeah, the Evil Eye, the ultimate good luck charm, staring back at the world to ward off pesky devilish spirits. Is there a better choice for an everyday piece than one guaranteed to keep you out of harm’s way? We think not. And this gold vermeil rendition from Jacquie Aiche is divine, encrusted with sparkling stones and dangling from a perfect 18” length.

Available at Madison Los Angeles.

In the mood to splurge? Check out the diamond and sapphire version at Kate Boutique.

wear-and-tear Jewelry

If only life's biggest decisions were as black and white as a mathematical equation, with no shades of grey caught in between, and no ideological questions to ponder. Then, it might be possible, just possible, for all of us to reside on the same page, working happily in sync to accomplish greater goals for the common good. Sadly right answers are generally subjective, which forges otherwise smooth processes critically out-of-whack. But what if the solutions actually existed in the chaos? Twists and turns, after all, only remind us that nothing worth having comes so easily.

Similar to the transformation of a sheet of paper from a flat piece to a crumpled ball, Cheung Lik squeezes once harmonious chain links into erratic 3-D silhouettes. Some of the irregular shapes, presented in necklace and bracelet arrangements, have lopsided effects, others are more balanced, but all make a statement. Lik, who previously created amazing jewelry with the Daydream Nation team, has launched her own label, wear-and-tear, to showcase these pieces, along with her signature weaved fabric tape designs.

To browse styles and purchase, visit the designer's Web site.