Necklace · Eco-Chick

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Jewelry by Pippa Small: Impactful and Joyous (in More Ways than Just Aesthetically)

I’m loving London-based jeweler Pippa Small‘s oversized, colorful jewelry. After working under Tom Ford at Gucci and Phoebe Philo at Chloe, she has a fantastic design eye for what’s going to work with a dressed down frock, smart denims and a white tee, or even with a more polished jacket-and-skirt ensemble.

Smalls’ new online shop means that her designs are now easily available to anyone with an Internet connection, though her jewelry is available at all sorts of boutiques and is featured on net-a-porter too.

And the designer doesn’t just have an eye for style, she works with what is the world’s 1st registered Fairtrade gold mine in Bolivia, and partnered with Afghanistan-based charity Turtle Mountain, which is working to regenerate the country’s traditional arts. She also produced a collection with the Fairtrade company MADE based in Kibera, a slum area in Nairobi.

Read more about these various projects here.

“Pippa believes the art of jewellery making can enhance life and help alleviate poverty and protect precious traditions, helping to grow the confidence of crafts people around the world and reverse the tradition of exploitation associated with the gem industry over the centuries. Her jewellery is collected and coveted by many who appreciate the rough organic, hand made feel of the jewellery.”

afghanistan, bolivia, british, charity, cocktail ring, earrings, fairtrade, gold, Jewelry, necklace

Digby and Iona: Handmade Jewelry with a Whimsical Touch

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by Starre Vartan · 11/21/11

Aaron Ruff, the designer behind Digby & Iona, in his Brooklyn studio.

It’s rare that I obsess over jewelry; I am lucky enough to have inherited all my grandma’s and great-grandma’s necklaces, rings, hatpins, brooches and bracelets, pieces from 1880-1980, and rarely find anything that’s as interesting or beautiful as what I already have. I’m darn picky, in other words, and only respond to jewelry that’s really interesting or different. When I stumbled up on Digby & Iona, I audibly exclaimed; here was a collection of interesting, humorous, intelligent pieces that compliment each other or stand on their own. And was I excited to hear that it’s made here in NYC from recycled metals? You know it.

Designer Aaron Ruff’s latest collection, Me and My Arrow, is made up of and is inspired by “…the classic Harry Nilsson album The Point, Me & My Arrow retells the fable about Oblio, the only round-headed boy in Pointed Village, where everyone and everything had to have a point.” I got a chance to ask Aaron a few questions about his new line and his design process, and he was generous enough to provide the answers herein.

The bluejay arrow necklace

Starre Vartan: Where do you find your inspiration? I’m loving the arrows collection, how did you come up with the idea to use real bird feathers?

Aaron Digby: I’ve mainly worked with silver and brass for the last few collections and really wanted to use color. The feathers were a great natural material with a huge range of colors and textures I could work from. Almost all my designs are rooted in my childhood. Anything that interested me as a kid seems to bubble up to the surface in my designs, I was a little obsessed with Indian craft techniques. The bow and arrows are just miniature version on the ones I made when I was 8.

The Inspector Clouseau necklace.

SV: What are your sustainable/ethical practices, and why do they matter to you?

AD: I work with one of the few metal casters in New York who casts recycled sterling silver. The materials I work with are a limited resource – there’s only so much of any given precious metal on the earth, especially silver and gold and the vast majority of it has already been mined.

The 14-point stag ring.

SV: If you could make any piece of jewelry, price and resources being no object, what would it be?

AD: If we could add an unlimited timeline as well that would be the icing on the cake! I’ve always dreamt of making some little clockwork masterpiece that was not only beautiful and intricate but also fully functional.

The Stump ring.

SV: Can you give us a hint about what your next collections will be influenced by?

AD: I have a few collections I’m developing at the moment but haven’t decided what will be released for Spring 2012. So far it’s down to one based off of implements of measurement or the War of 1812.

A pendant-type bow necklace.

It’s a worth a look through all six collections on the site; the woods-and-sea background of native Mainer Aarron Ruff comes through variously and in different iterations but is always present.

Animals, Brooklyn, digby & iona, Jewelry, necklace, NYC, recycled metals, ring

Polli’s Peter Pan Collar Necklaces

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by Starre Vartan · 11/11/11

Polli is an Australian-based ethical jewelry company (run by women!) which uses recycled materials like stainless steel, sustainable plantation pine, and 100% recycled card. Their peter pan collars are, as you can see, beyond gorgeous; I would wear them over a blouse, as an added decorative touch, or with a scoop neck blouse. They have lots of beautiful filigree-type necklaces too, with mini-scenes on them (this one of a boat on high seas). So sweet!

accessories, Australia, collar, eco friendly, Jewelry, necklace

Odette New York: Handcrafted Jewelry Inspired by Natural Ephemera

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by Starre Vartan · 12/30/10

I was lucky enough to receive the gorgeous necklace above from my boyfriend for Christmas this year. Not only is it lovely and interesting, it is made by hand, locally, in NYC (Brooklyn, to be exact) and is one of the many creations that’s part of the modern jewelry line, Odette New York.

I had spotted the necklace at an eco fashion event in Brooklyn during the most recent NYC Fall Fashion Week, and exclaimed over the unique and crafted aesthetic that guides the line. He remembered! The necklace came in a pretty keepsake bag and is part of a line of ocean-themed pieces, called ‘Sea‘.

Jellyfish at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, which inspired the gift!

I’ve always loved jellyfish and can watch them for hours, such simple, singularly graceful beings that seem composed of nothing, yet are alive and sensitive beings perfectly suited to their environment.

Christmas, necklace, ny, NYC

Fall Accessories 2009: Muichic Eco Jewelry from Colombia

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by Starre Vartan · 09/07/09

Chunky statement necklaces, bracelets and rings are an easy way to upgrade your wardrobe without buying tons of new clothes, so when I saw these handmade pieces (at very reasonable prices to boot), I thought they would be perfect for Autumn.

Handmade in Colombia, Muichic jewelry is all made from tagua nuts, which is a botanical alternative to ivory and is actually the seed of the ivory-nut palm or tagua palm. Sometimes called vegetable ivory, tagua nuts are a renewable resource that grow in the tropical forests of South America; harvesting them is a sustainable alternative to chopping down rainforest for cattle grazing or other destructive farming practices and encourages local conservation practices.