Astrology for the Materialistic

You guys, astrology.

I'm late to the party, I know, but in the same way that I was late to the Jonas Brothers party in 2007, I jumped on the bandwagon at full force and now I'm addicted. When I read that Mercury was going retrograde for the first week of June, I had no idea what it meant. As any poser does, I looked it up online and then blamed every misshap for two weeks on Mercury being in retrograde. I can't stop consulting my horoscope. (I adhere to the Susan Miller school, but if I need extra guidance I source second opinions.)  Who am I? What am I? Sagittarius.

Now that I've discovered my newfound passion for astrological signs, I've been toying with the idea of wearing my sign on my sleeve (by which I mean, shoe, chest or neck). A few examples from the cross-section of clothing/accessories and astrological signs include Scosha's Supernova collection, VFiles sweatshirts, and Rebecca Taylor zodiac slippers.

I like them all because I generally like wearable objects of the graphic design type, but I've found in my sartorial experience that wearing such things on your chest fields a common question from observers: What's on your [article of clothing]? This is a great way to start a conversation at a party, but you have to be educated in what you're wearing for the conversation to flow. I wouldn't have had a clue that this necklace was depicting my sign had the product not included 'Sagittarius' in its description. Poser fail. I like the VFiles sweatshirts for laying it out point blank--who needs time for illustrations when you can just read the words? And the Rebecca Taylor slippers are a different story. Yes, I'm aware that there's a difference between zodiacs and astrology, but it's all the same hullaballoo to me.

The limits of my wallet restrict me from buying astrology-themed jewelry anytime soon, but between you and me, if I had a few more dolla dolla bills to my name, I'd be adorned in Sagittarius jewelry. Yolo.

Inside the Designer's Studio: Erica Weiner

My never-ending search for the next best sample sale led me to Erica Weiner’s Greenpoint studio in March. It was 5 PM on a Sunday and I had spent the better half of the day seeing Craigslist apartments in the flesh around Manhattan. The fruitless housing hunt left me needing to destress in the only way I know how: by surrounding myself in a room with wearable objects available for purchase. I stood on a corner by Union Square and scrolled through my inbox until I found a sample sale that the investigative shopping journalists behind Racked.com had deemed worthy, and so I headed to Erica’s studio. I didn’t realize until I got there that the sale was cash only, so I bought a five dollar bangle from the seven dollars cash I had in my wallet.

Fast forward/flash back to a few weeks ago when I went back to Erica’s studio to ask her about her #creativeprocess and find out how she wound up a Brookyln-based jewelry designer. Context alert: she’s from the New Jersey town that neighbors the one in which I grew up.

In true autodidactic fashion, Erica taught herself how to sew when she was in high school. She went off to explore the liberal arts for college and majored in art history at Vassar. Her foray into the world of wearable art began when she was studying abroad in a textile program at the Glasgow School of Art. After graduating college, she got a job working as a costume manager of a Broadway touring company, where she learned how to make things on both a budget and a tight schedule. She ditched the theater after two years and entered the high fash-un industry as a patternmaker.

Jewelry making began as her side project, but once she walked away with wads of cash from selling her charms and chains at a Philadelphia craft fair, she knew she was onto something. In a case of being in the right place at the right time, she snagged one of the first five vendor spots at the Brooklyn Artists & Flea circa 2006.

The trademark pieces that catapulted her from flea market artisan to established jewelry designer still make up much of her business, though she’s since expanded into the antiques sphere. She and her business partner go antique hunting in treasure troves in London and Maine and either sell their finds in vintage form or modify them as part of her 1909 line. Anywhooze, she’s got something for everyone--from brides looking for an antique ring to lil’ old you and me in the market for an airplane charm necklace--all of which you can check out here.

Designer Spotlight: Starring Louise Damas

I came across Louise Damas’jewelry collection while combing through various blogs and online shopping sites a couple of weeks ago—otherwise known as my favorite form of multitasking. As soon as I clicked into her e-shop, I wanted to adorn myself in all of the accouterments on her site and then meet her because both she and her jewelry seemed so effortlessly cool.

I went to go visit Louise at her apartment-cum-workshop on an 11^th arrondissement street close to Père Lachaise cemetery last week. Home to grungy chic Oberkampf, the 11^th has the sketchy hip vibe that attracts post-college creative types (uh, hipsters). I wouldn’t say it’s the Brooklyn of Paris though—maybe the Long Island City? Actually, I have no idea.

As expected, Louise is the quintessential cool Parisian. Born and raised in Paris, she graduated from the Sorbonne two years ago with a degree in literature and launched her jewelry line during her final year of school. She’s a DIY evangelist and has been creating things since she was younger, so jewelry making was a natural hobby, and now career, for her to fall into. I wondered if she’d be at a nondescript entry-level job if she weren’t designing jewelry (do they have those in hashtag France?), but she claims she’d be studying for a higher degree in literature. Girl crush alert: I love people who love studying.

She hasn’t left literature behind though, and much of her inspiration comes from the great heroines of European classics. Emile Zola, Charles Baudelaire, Stefan Zweig, and Colette rank among her top authors, and one of her favorite pieces in her new collection is a ring named after Mrs. C, the main character in Zweig’s Twenty-Four Hours in the Life of a Woman. The walls of Louise’s workshop are lined with books: a collection of rare editions passed down from her grandmother, two sets of encyclopedias, and stacks of livre de poche books that could have only been purchased with a class syllabus in hand.

Currently at work on her third collection, she makes all of her pieces at a desk in her apartment. Aside from the usual necklace-bracelet-ring combo that constitutes a run of the mill jewelry collection, her new line incorporates ear cuffs, headbands, and shirt collars, and includes strands of gold braids, Swarovski crystals, and semi-precious stones. Her line is currently available at a few boutiques in Paris and online at her e-shop, which you can buy (and ship to the Etats-Unis!) here.

Bobo chic, no? Au revoir!