A Designer Looks at Art, Architecture and Everything
Masters of Modernism offers lighting, silver, jewelry and hardware from the masters of modern design. I picked a couple of things that caught my eye.
Flexible Arm Wall Lamp, Eduard-Wilfrid Buquet, 1927
Door Levers, Ludwig Wittgenstein, 1927
“Le tre steghe” Pendant Lamp, Guenther Leuchtmann, 1981
You might think this fixture is strange, even ugly. It’s really a gorgeous piece and you can see it on display at Siematic Seattle.
Online here.
Limited edition jewelry by Australian and New Zealand designers at e.g.etal located in Melbourne.
185 Little Collins Street Melbourne VIC 3000 Australia
Basement 167 Flinders Lane Melbourne VIC 3000 Australia
davidmetnicole is an eclectic accessories and interiors shop in Surry Hills.
Simple classic lines split into three grades. The Kode Lamp changes in tone from base to top. Frame is composite wood covered in frosted matt polycarbonate. Inner coloured drop in insert is hand silk screen printed. Available colors: White/Yellow/Orange. $95
Vintage necklace made from vintage parts sourced from UK and France. 2 fob watch keys, a watch part and a 9kt tableware charm, a knife, a fork and a spoon on a long vintage chain. $225
Via FecalFace.com. Thesamenicepeople makes a handful of clothing and jewelry. Not limited editions … their quantities are lower than that … and quality and attention to detail are most important.
We visited the gallery of goldsmith Malcolm Betts in 2001. At that time he had just opened his new space on Campden Street. The pristine interior detailing is a nice contrast to the hammered look of his work. Newly updated website with sumptuous up-close images of his jewellry designs.
1 Campden Street
London W8 7EP
T. 44+(0)20 7229 9565
F. 44+(0)20 7229 9909
E. malcolm@malcolmbetts.com
Norbert Muerrle creates an amazing line of jewelry called Récrolie, which features a unique textural quality in platinum, champagne gold, yellow gold and diamonds. Each piece is made of a long ribbon which is textured with serpentine lines. Then the metal band is wrapped around itself creating a unique depth and significant heft. Larger diamonds peak out of the edge of the ribbon while others have their surfaces riddled with tiny brilliant diamonds.
champagne gold 750, width 13mm, one pear shaped diamond 0.75ct with 48 white diamonds
platinum 950, width 15mm, 73 diamonds
champagne gold 750, width 13mm, one diamond 0.35ct
yellow gold 750, width 15mm
I wrote about a bracelet I bought from Love & Hatred last time I was in Sydney. I wanted to follow up with another post showing two additional Love & Hatred pieces.
L&H is one of my favorite retail haunts in Sydney. I like to visit the store a few times over a week or two because there is so much to take in, it’s nice to return and see something I previously overlooked or hadn’t thought about. First visit I tried on a white gold ring with an intricate filigree; beautiful and chunky. Nice heavy weight on the finger. Next time I was in the mood for something less formal. Giovanni D’Ercole always displays a variety of silver rings with interesting construction details and unique twists on the brand name. I liked a couple designs.
One of the rings has a dark lattice that wraps nearly the entire circumference and the other has a gothic type treatment of the words ‘Love’ and ‘Hatred’.
This is my favorite Martin Margiela’s accessory design for Spring/Summer 2008, a fish-hook bracelet in silver. Kind of punk, minimal and elegant at the same time. Great for Summer. Barneys New York store had them for a while … also comes in a matching necklace.
At the beach in Melbourne. Top Fish Hook by Maison Martin Margiela, below Baby Bead by Jill Platner.
Perfectly modern platinum and diamond earrings from Niessing.
Each time I visit Sydney I like to make a pilgrimage to see Giovanni D’Ercole’s custom made jewelry creations at Love & Hatred. The theme of his latest collection, ‘The Lovebirds’, is courtship, romance and the search for love. His designs juxtapose celtic and contemporary elements with a discrete nod to the dark-side mixed in. The shop interior is sensual and enveloping with warm wood details which contrasts with the sparkling stones vying for your attention.
Here’s my latest acquisition.
Love & Hatred Charm Bracelet, in silver.
Niessing jewelry designs are modern and timeless. According to Niessing, “each piece embodies a simple idea.” Visit their online shop to discover more jewelry.
One of my favorite Niessing ring designs: Plissé, shown in platinum. Although the ring looks heavy because of the creases and folds, it is actually very light. $2983
Volume 12 Iris. Niessing created a process where gold and platinum are fused together creating a seamless transition. The result is a beautiful gradient. The exterior of the ring is flat but the interior features a convex surface which allows a slight view underneath the rim of the ring when worn. This is a simple but powerful effect. $3552 I really like the Volume 12 in platinum; it’s a heavy ring but feels great on your finger.
Signum in Gold and Platinum. Engraved words are veiled over with a layer of gold or platinum. $3141
New: Niessing Polymer necklace.
You can now order directly from the Jill Platner website. This is one of my favorite Jill Platner designs: Palmeira in black. $775
Visit Dinosaur Designs for all sorts of objects created in resin. This is one of my favorite shops in The Strand Arcade, Sydney. Yes, the shop is quite tiny, but it’s filled wall to wall and floor to ceiling with amazing creations. Trust me, you’ll need several visits to take it all in. Their website now features an online store that has a sampling of their different lines.
