The Impossible Tiara was one of the nine-piece Collezione Genesi (Genesis Collection), designed personally by founders Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana as a part-NFT, part-physical anthology to supplement fashion lovers’ metaverse wardrobes.

“The Impossible Tiara stems from the idea that the only limitation in digital design is one’s imagination. This was hugely inspiring to the designers, who set out to create a tiara that could only ever exist in their imaginations,” according to the UNXD listing, the digital luxury marketplace that helped conceive the collection idea and auction off all the pieces. “What makes this historic piece ‘impossible’ is that it is simply not possible to find the featured gems anywhere on earth.”

The ornate headwear features a central 16-karat digital red beryl of rectangular cushion shape, with two 9.2-carat lateral red beryls. The entire crown incorporates 60 red beryls, 713 Paraiba neon turquoise tourmalines, and 50 “extraterrestrial” diamonds, as well as 24-karat white and yellow gold in the base.

The buyer of this pretty virtual diadem gained a 4K-rendered animation and stills, the original hand-drawn sketch, and a custom recreation in one open metaverse of their choice. Also included were exclusive perks like one-year access to Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda and other fashion couture events, as well as a private tour of the D&G Milan atelier.

The highest bid was for 99.9 Ethereum (ETH), a cryptocurrency, that translated into over $309,000 US dollars. Secretive purchaser Pranksy (a riff on the name of anonymous artist Banksy) wrote in an email after winning the Impossible Tiara and other items, “I was really excited about D & G entering the NFT space, especially as my wife, Magpie, and her close friend, one of my company directors, Josephine Dwyer-Mann, have a real passion for haute couture. NFTs in fashion have huge potential, especially when linked — as D & G has — to the physical.”

Pranksy also bought three other pieces from the Genesis Collection: a virtual-only Golden Impossible jacket for 99.99 ETH, and the silver and gold versions of The Dress from a Dream, which were rendered in both digital and physical form, for 188.1 ETH and 225.5 ETH, respectively.

Another buyer, “Seedphrase” (aka Australian investor Danny Maegaard), snagged the collection’s digital and physical Lion Crown for 292.82 ETH, writing in an email that “being the first NFT collection by any major fashion house, [this purchase] made a lot of sense from an investment perspective, as I anticipate these pieces to appreciate in value.”

The Genesis items also included a physical and digital iteration of a Glass Suit and two other virtual jackets. The piece that earned the most at auction, however, was the digital and physical Doge Crown, which went for 423.5 ETH, or $1.25 million, to Red DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization whose goal is to invest in digital fashion.

The collection commanded such high prices because of “of provenance; rarity — there were only nine, sold at once; craftsmanship; and utility — people can use them in the metaverse and have physical experiences, too,” explains Sashi Menon, Dubai-based publisher of Vogue Arabia and founder and CEO of UNXD. “The sale resets the market.”

The post Dolce & Gabbana’s Metaverse Tiara Sells for Over $300,000 first appeared on Dornob.

The collection marks 10 years of collaboration with Nilufar and its founder, Nina Yashar, and presents new pieces alongside older works. Crystallizing the various cultural influences that inspired the designer, these lamps, cabinets, desks, headboards, and other objects are rendered in curvaceous glass, wood veneer, and CNC-milled aluminum.

Pondering how the pandemic has led many people to feel a deepened appreciation for their personal spaces, Wood uses the visuals of the British Aesthetic Movement and Art Nouveau to translate the intimacy and sensuality of a woman’s boudoir to each piece. Describing the boudoir as a “private space for both spiritual contemplation and physical cultivation,” Wood invites the viewer to “travel through her mind’s eye” to past travel destinations like Europe, Mexico, California, and East Asia to see the colorful textiles, ceramics, and glasswork that inspired her.

“Quite often, a man’s collection of wooden spoons is somehow seen as a more legitimate collection than a woman’s collection of jewelry,” Wood told Dezeen. “But jewelry has, in the past, been one of the key ways for women to show a point of view and identity and embrace a political standpoint. So I like the idea of taking those small elements off the body and using them as an anchor point to create ‘jewelry’ for larger architectural spaces.”

It’s hard to choose the most compelling pieces from the lot, especially since they’re all so unique and unusual, further cementing Wood’s personal artistic aesthetic as one-of-a-kind. The “Ornate bedhead” is a standout, however, with its assemblage of metallic squiggles, alongside matching Ornate sconces. The two Meisen cabinets, large and small, began as a way to equate furniture hardware to jewelry, but later morphed into undulating ripples of hand-painted veneer inspired by the Ikat weaving seen in Meisen kimonos.

The floral Wisteria sconce, made with hand-dyed PVC, drips with blooms in shades of blue, purple, and red. A series of more abstracted floral lamps, like “Bon Bon” and “Criss Cross-Bloom,” were designed as part of a commission by Design Miami Basel Designer of the Future award, and inspired by a need to slow down foot traffic to elevators at the W hotel Mexico. Wood imagined that sculptural sconces in the long hallways and staircases resembling the graphical displays of flowers seen in Mexican folk art might inspire people to pause and examine how the colors of the glass change when viewed at different heights and from various angles.

Known just as much for her iconic personal style as for her work, Bethan Laura Wood founded her multidisciplinary design studio in 2009. Artisan collaboration, investigation of materials, a passion for color, and location-responsive design enrich her vision of everyday objects as cultural conduits and instigators of emotional connections.

The post Bethan Laura Wood’s Boudoir-Inspired Furniture Celebrates Feminine Ornamentation first appeared on Dornob.

As it turns out, Homer isn’t an album – it’s a luxury brand with a debut collection focused on jewelry. 25 high-end pieces are now for sale at a brick and mortar store in New York City, located at 70-74 Bowery, New York, which is open by appointment only. They include printed silk scarves, diamond bracelets, cartoonish enamel pendants, and gold rings sculpted into the word “A-OK,” all designed in New York and handmade in Italy, with diamonds grown in the brand’s own American laboratory to avoid the ethical tangle associated with diamond mining in Africa.

The pieces range from accessible ($435 for the pins) to astronomical ($1.9 million for a diamond-encrusted one of a kind necklace). Ocean says he didn’t want a single piece in his collection to be priced lower than Cartier, firmly establishing its value as a luxury release. If you’re dying to make a purchase but are nowhere near New York, global orders with complimentary shipping can be made by calling or messaging the store — assuming there’s a restock at some point, since all items in the collection have already sold out.

Homer takes its name from the Greek poet, and as Ocean explains, “Homer is considered the father of history and history is meant to endure — the same as diamonds and gold. I know Homer used papyrus, but I’ve always liked the idea of carving history into stone.” A press release describes the collection as inspired by “childhood obsessions” and “heritage as a fantasy.”

The Homer collection announcement was accompanied by an 84-page catalog with a cover designed and photographed by Ocean himself. Campaign imagery by collaborator Tyrone Lebon gives us a look at individual pieces featuring anime-like characters and colorful video game references, as well as the seafoam anorak Ocean wore at the 2019 Met Gala, possibly teasing an upcoming Prada/Homer collaboration. Model Selena Forrest wears the $1.9 million white gold and diamond necklace on the cover.

Ocean’s fans have been eagerly anticipating new music since rumors of a secretive endeavor first began circulating in 2019. That’s when Ocean established the LLC Home Record, which now appears to be related to Homer. Some will inevitably be disappointed that the release has nothing to do with music, as is often the case lately with artists like Rihanna, Kanye West, and Lady Gaga, who have branched out to ventures involving fashion and cosmetics. But Ocean’s own foray into fashion doesn’t necessarily preclude the release of more music in 2021 or perhaps 2022. We can only hope.

The post Frank Ocean Debuts “Homer,” His New Luxury Jewelry Brand first appeared on Dornob.

You can be sure to find everything on sale this June 21st and 22nd, from elegant jewelry and cookware to cutting-edge tech accessories and computers. The sale is exclusively for Prime members, but you can sign up anytime.

These 10 mind-blowing deals are just a taste of what’s to come, so mark your calendar and get ready to shop!

BENGOO V-4 Gaming Headset

This one’s for the gamers out there. Not only do these bad boys boast a beefy stereo subwoofer and noise-isolating microphone, they’re also compatible with most PCs, smartphones, tablets, the Xbox One and One S, and the Playstation 4 and 5. And at 83 percent off their original price this Prime Day (just $16.97), they’re pretty damn hard to pass up.

BENGOO V-4 Gaming Headset – Buy Now

Lush Decor Black and White Night Sky Curtain

Looking for a quick way to spice up your decor this summer? This glistening curtain pairs faux silk with sparkling black and silver sequins for an eye-catching design reminiscent of the night sky. On sale for just $24.10 this Prime Day (a whopping 81 percent off the original price), there’s really no better (or cheaper) way to bring privacy and panache into your home.

Lush Decor Black and White Night Sky Curtain – Buy Now

Alen BreatheSmart Flex Medical Grade Air Purifier

If you live on the West Coast, you already know that worsening fire seasons are quickly making air purifiers like this one a necessity. Do your lungs and your wallet a favor this Prime Day and pick one up for $205.16 (46 percent off the original price). Not only will you be safe from harmful wildfire smoke, but your home will also stay free of dust, allergens, pollen, fur, pet dander, cigarette smoke, and unwanted household odors.

Alen BreatheSmart Flex Medical Grade Air Purifier – Buy Now

NSdirect 36-Inch Round Coffee Table

Everyone needs a good coffee table to tie their living space together. This spacious 36-inch model from NSdirect makes for a quick and easy way to bring a rustic vibe to your home, and it only takes about 15 to put together from start to finish. Find it at 34 percent off its original price this Prime Day for $132.55.

NSdirect 36-Inch Round Coffee Table – Buy Now

Lush Decor Boho Striped Comforter

Boho chic may be all the rage right now, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to scour every thrift store on the block looking for the perfect furnishings. This bold 5-piece comforter set pairs floral and geometric patterns to dazzling effect, and at 75 percent off this Prime Day, it can all be yours for $50.39.

Lush Decor Boho Striped Comforter – Buy Now

Skagen Women’s RIIS Quartz Analog Stainless Steel Watch

Perfectly in keeping with the modern minimalism we’ve come to know and love from Scandinavia, this women’s wristwatch from Skagen boasts scratch-resistant mineral crystal glass and a 16-millimeter stainless steel band. Available for an unbelievable 70 percent off this Prime Day (just $40!), sophistication hardly ever comes this cheap.

Skagen Women’s RIIS Quartz Analog Stainless Steel Watch – Buy Now

Brazos Home Organic Wood Cutting Board Bundle

Barbecue season is officially here, but you can’t really call yourself a “grill master” unless you’ve got all the right tools for the job. Start yourself on the right path with these gorgeous cutting boards, made entirely from organic walnut. Best of all, they’re 68 percent off this Prime Day, totaling $50.63 for the whole kit and caboodle. Talk about price cuts!

Brazos Home Organic Wood Cutting Board Bundle – Buy Now

TKGOU USB Computer Microphone

After a long year of working from home, we all know the importance of a good home office setup. This nifty TKGOU USB mic takes your Zoom call audio to the next level for just 10 bucks, and it’s about as easy to use as it gets. Just plug it into your computer and talk away, using the one button to mute and unmute yourself as you please.

TKGOU USB Computer Microphone – Buy Now

Razer Blade 15 Base Gaming Laptop 2020

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The post 10 Early Prime Day Deals You Can’t Afford to Miss first appeared on Dornob.

Jewelry with a Purpose

While jewelry is a perennial go-to for Mother’s Day gifting, this year give mom the gift of style and wellness, all in one package. These Philip Stein bracelets tune into your body’s natural frequency to help lower stress, improve sleep, and increase energy. Plus, they’re super stylish and functional. Win-win!

$195.00 – $290.00

30 percent off with promo code MOM30

Breath of Fresh Air

What better way to show mom you care than by giving her the ability to breathe pollutant and allergen-free air? (Dig that poetry). This Molekule Mini air purifier has patented PECO tech to help anyone breathe easier during allergy season — and all year long. Bonus for its super cute look and sleek design.

$399.00

Beauty and the Beach

After being stuck inside for so long, your mom will definitely want to catch some rays and ocean views this summer (safely, of course!).This Sunflow Beach Bundle has everything she needs to hit the beach. With an easy-to-carry chair that doubles as a carrier for all the bare necessities, this set is bound to make her smile.

$296.00

Picture Perfect

It’s been a long year, but we can preserve the moments that matter with the magic of digital picture frames. Curate a slideshow yourself, or simply give mom a blank canvas for uploading her most treasured photos. With models like Nixplay’s best-selling Smart Photo Frames, the possibilities are endless! The 10.1 inch wood-effect frame is our absolute fave.

$154.99 and up

Fashion Forward

Sure, Mom is caring, loving, sweet…but she’s also trendy, fun, and chic! Here are some great ideas to keep your favorite lady looking her best.

Madewell always keeps it fresh, stylish, and affordable. And these Belgrave sunglasses are no exception. Perfect for those sunny, lazy days of summer.

$65.00

Nap dresses are easy, breezy, and super comfy! Show Mom you care with a sweet, flowy Ellie nap dress from Hill House.

$125.00

In Vino Veritas

Does your mom like wine? Of course she does! Give her the gift that keeps on giving with a hip wine subscription from Eater Wine Club. With fun, unique choices curated by Eater’s editors and wine pros, she’ll be able to kick back with a quality glass anytime.

$70.00 and up

Tea, Anyone?

Is your mom less into wine and more into a soothing cup of tea? This pour-over electric tea kettle from Fellow Stagg marries form and function to make the perfect cup with ease. Best of all, it comes in a variety of colors (including warm pink) to match her kitchen aesthetic perfectly.

$149.00 and up

Mother’s Day is almost upon us — and after a grueling year, all moms deserve a treat. Show yours you care by going off-script with any of these amazing gifts that will warm her heart and appeal to her unique sense of style.

The post 8 Stylish Mother’s Day Gift Ideas We Love first appeared on Dornob.

Jewelry by LinguaNigra

Designer Alicia Goodwin creates gorgeous organic-inspired sculptural gold and silver jewelry, selling her unusual pieces at her Chicago-based shop LinguaNigra. “Some of my stuff is really smooth, but for most of my line I use reticulation and acid etching techniques — I want that older kind of feeling, and I like for the work to show,” she says in her Etsy Featured Shop interview.

Ceramic and Textiles by MadeByRheal

Oakland, California-based shop owner Rheal has cultivated a dreamy vibe with her artsy woven blankets, hand-cast concrete plant pots, decorative resin jewelry vessels, and modern marbled glass coasters. Every unique item is handmade to order.

Vegan Cork Goods by MindTheCork

Cork production is unique because cork bark can be harvested from live trees, which continue to grow and produce more bark afterward, making it extra sustainable. Mind the Cork, based in London, crafts this material into all sorts of stylish vegan objects, from gilded planters to versatile zip pouches. “Imprinted with the traits of the tree that produced it, cork leather is not only durable, versatile, and simple to maintain, but incredibly beautiful and ecologically sound,” says designer Jenny Espirito Santo.

Embroidery by CreateTheCulture

Erykah Badu, Beyonce, Prince, and other pop culture icons get the embroidery treatment with modern thread-based works of art by CreateTheCulture. Brooklyn-based artist Krystle Collins embroiders her line drawings onto shirts, pillow cases, tote bags, hats, and embroidery hoops for display.

Leather Goods by KingsleyLeather

Kingsley Thompson of Cheltingham, England crafts leather goods like wallets, bow ties, cuff links, wallets, and belts. His shop, Kingsley Leather, is a great source for refined gifts for the people in your life with more masculine sensibilities. “I design my pieces to be simple, clean, and timeless,” Kingsley says. “Everything is built to last.”

Gardening Kits by HortikiPlants

If you’re a novice gardener or just like the convenience of kits, HortikiPlants has you covered with items like the Organic “Leafy Greens” container gardening kit, which contains organic seed sachets, biodegradable pots and water catchment trays, bamboo plant markers, organic potting soil, and a glass mister bottle. Owner Victoria LeBeaux is based in Washington, D.C. and gets rave reviews for both her products and her expertise.

Illustrations by PairABirds

Artist Tabitha Brown creates vibrant, beautiful portraits by pairing digital hand drawing with vintage images for a collaged effect. In addition to the prints available in her shop, PairABirds, she also offers custom portraits. “My inspiration comes from nature, midcentury modern style, and 60s and 70s photos,” she says. “I also spend a ton of time at the library checking out art books and magazines.”

Furniture by ArcherHomeDesigns

Ntebo Archer of ArcherHomeDesigns in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, builds beautiful wooden furniture and home accessories. “The wood we use features one-of-a-kind character unique grain patterns and highlights nature’s distictive fingerprint,” she says. “This produces a finished product that is uniquely yours.”

The post Our 8 Favorite Black-Owned Etsy Shops for Style and Home Decor first appeared on Dornob.

If you’ve ever let a lemon sit out for a little too long, coming back to find it speckled with the blue, green, and white hues of citrus mold, you can probably smell this picture. So sickly-sweet it can be nauseating, moldy fruit isn’t exactly something most of us want to examine too closely.

But with a new series of sculptures, artist Kathleen Ryan is inviting you to do just that. What look (very convincingly) like pieces of fruit gone bad are actually intricately jeweled works of art. Each tiny spore of “mold” is really a bead made of a precious or semi-precious gemstone.

Tens of thousands of individual beads and stones can go into a single object, like “Emerald City,” a moldy lemon consisting of ammonite, coral, freshwater pearl, glass, bone, abalone shell, ruby in zoisite, marble, lapis lazuli, agate, Ching Hai jade, amethyst, fluorite, jasper, emerald, and other stones, all attached to a coated polystyrene base using steel pins.

Squint at one of these photos, and it truly looks like decaying fruit. Images that zoom in to show detail give us an idea of why the pieces are so effective; just like real mold, the beads gather into puffy masses resembling uneven patches of fungal growth, with shapes, sizes, and colors varied in a way that’s surprisingly realistic.

Working out of a studio in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood, Ryan spends up to eight weeks at a time on each individual piece of ornate fruit. They’re larger than they appear in photos, measuring one to three feet in diameter. Gemstones on strings hang from the walls of the workspace alongside Ryan’s other works.

If you find yourself feeling simultaneously fascinated and disgusted by the “Bad Fruit” series, you’re not alone. In fact, that might just be the artist’s intent. “The sculptures are beautiful and pleasurable, but there’s an ugliness and unease that comes with them,” she says in a profile in The New York Times Style Magazine.

Fruit is a common theme in Ryan’s work, be it unappetizingly spiked or delicately caught in the grip of industrial machinery that could easily crush it. Seemingly symbolizing both decadence and femininity, her pieces include a cascade of concrete grapes the size of balloons (“Baccante (Tall White,” 2016) and oranges trapped between two enormous rectilinear stones, forever a millisecond away from becoming a pool of juice and pulp (“Between Two Bodies,” from the series “Weightless Again,” 2017).

The latter reflects Ryan’s childhood growing up in Santa Monica, California. The oranges represent the shrinking industries that once upheld the state’s economy, while the modernist three-ton granite blocks recall the Brutalist cities that have sprung up around them and crowded them out.

This December, Ryan’s moldy fruit pieces will come together into one big moldy fruit bowl at Art Basel Miami Beach, ultimately to end up in the homes of rich collectors. The artist sees an irony in this fact.

“They’re not just opulent, there’s an inherent sense of decline built into them,” she tells The New York Times, “which is also something that’s happening in the world: the economy is inflating, but so is wealth inequality, all at the expense of the environment.”

The post Look Closely: This Moldy Fruit is Actually Made of Precious Gems first appeared on Dornob.

Brooklyn-based designer Jake Wright was surrounded by military-related objects from the time he was a child. Born to an Air Force Pilot and a military defense contractor, Wright was naturally drawn toward these materials in his design work. Known collectively as Stockpile Designs, Wright’s line of furniture and home objects is based on obsolete and decommissioned military equipment.

“This lamp is made with the tail fins of a 100-lb bomb from the Korean War. Paint and corrosion are removed to expose gleaming steel, interrupted by rough machinists marks from the factory. Finished with a nickel socket, elegant cloth-wrapped cord, and a natural linen shade. Included is a card outlining the piece’s history and care instructions.”

“Base is 29″ from table to harp (where the shade attaches), and approx 7.5″ in diameter; shade is 17″ in diameter and 12″ tall. Made to order, ships approximately four weeks from order date.”

The guts of these Korean War-era bombs have been scooped out and replaced with lamp wiring. Stockpile Designs also offers replica bomb lamps for those who like the look of the unique fixtures but aren’t comfortable with having a disabled weapon in their home.

“Cluster bombs are deployed as huge cylinders packed with explosive bomblets. At a pre-defined altitude the casing of a cluster bomb opens, spilling the bomblets across a wide area. First deployed during WWII, they were most widely used during the Vietnam War. American forces dropped hundreds of millions of anti-personnel cluster bomblets over Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Nearly a third failed to detonate on impact, and are still responsible for hundreds of injuries and deaths every year.”

One of the most striking designs from the collection is the Bomblet Pendant. It’s made from a “lazy dog” bomb that was never explosive, but could be incredibly destructive when dropped from airplanes – kind of like vertical bullets. Wearing one around your neck as an adornment might seem strange to some, but perhaps it can be seen as an expression of non-violence.

The post Real Weapons Turned Into Home Objects first appeared on Dornob.

Matilde Boelhouder believes designers are obligated to think about issues like these, blurring the boundaries between art, design, science, and biology. With this in mind, the Dutch designer has created a series of projects called Insectology, all of which celebrate bugs and work toward helping them thrive.

The series began with a collection of “still life” sculptures called Terra Incognita, mixing delicate metallic plants with preserved specimens in hopes of encouraging viewers to zoom in and look at things that are usually difficult to notice. Next came Insectology Sweets: a series of insect-based confections served up on golden spoons.

“The confections from the Insectology collection were developed as a taste sensation and are meant to make the idea of consuming insects more appealing,” says Boelhouder, adding: “Precisely because we in the West have an aversion to insects, but at the same time it would help alleviate food shortages if more people ate them, it is important for insects to undergo a change of image. So that you don’t actually have to eat the locusts, I have developed some basic ingredients which contain the essential taste of these insects, but which can then be prepared and served in different ways.”

The designer’s Insectology kit of insect care tools is meant to be worn like jewelry, containing tweezers for feeding and handling bugs, a vaporizer made with jewel beetle wings to mist them with water, a small brush to help remove mites, and a mesh terrarium.

“Population growth continues apace, whilst food and other resources become ever more scarce. It has become imperative therefore to look for new solutions by adopting different approaches to these types of problems. I have studied the insect world from the point of view of how insects could function as an alternative source, which has resulted in the production of a series of insect terraria. Through these products, the insect world can be seen in a much more aesthetically pleasing light, thereby increasing the perceived value of these animals and radically changing the way in which we view them.”

Last in the series is Insectology: Food for Buzz, a project examining the crucial relationship between flowers and insects. Boelhouder notes that our urban habitats don’t provide enough flowers to support insect populations. Of course, the obvious answer is to plant more flowers wherever we can, but what about places in which living flowers just aren’t practical? For that, the designer presents beautifully crafted artificial flowers that can serve as an emergency food source for the “big five of pollination,” which are bees, bumblebees, hoverflies, butterflies, and moths.

“Together with engineers and scientists these five colorful manmade flowers have been developed to be self-sustaining and continuously producing natural objects that form the ultimate attractions to those of the big five. Adjusted to the length of their tongues, faceted eyes and shape of preference, these flowers aim to take over all unused empty spots and [bring] back the buzzing and fluttering sounds of those small creatures we can’t ever miss in our cityscape.”

The post Insectology: Design That Helps and Highlights the World of Bugs first appeared on Dornob.

Now, Instanbul-based jewelry company Tasarim Takarim is helping families take these treasured artworks everywhere they go by turning them into bracelets, necklaces, and other elegant metal pieces.

The company was founded by two mothers: Yasemin Erdin Tavukçu, a painter and kids’ art instructor, and Özgür Karavit, a sculptor & goldsmith. The pair believes that every drawing done by a child is a “primal building stone” to their development and should be praised and treated with importance. After all, supporting the things your child creates is a great way to positively reinforce the idea that art is a powerful and life-enhancing tool — even if it is in its first stages of development and perhaps isn’t that impressive yet. But what is impressive, in the words of renowned parenting writer Marjorie Ingall, is that a child’s artwork “symbolizes a wad of cells becoming a sentient artist,” allowing you to watch them blossom and make sense of the world on a canvas right in front of your eyes.

The duo got their start after Karavit transformed her son’s drawing of a bull into a very unique silver brooch: a timeless keepsake she will easily be able to treasure forever. Today, she and Tavukçu combine their skills to replicate the work of other people’s children so everyone else can do the same! Featured often by the likes of The Huffington Post, Bored Panda, The Oprah Magazine, Marie Claire, and Professional Jeweler, the brand has had no problem capturing the attention of the media, which has helped them inspire other jewelry and art lovers all over the world.

They say: “If we want our children to continue to believe in themselves, and their own creativity, then we should continue to support their self-expression. Celebrating their artwork is an easy and effective way to do this.”

Your kid’s drawings can be turned into cufflinks, earrings, charms, tabletop sculptures, necklaces, bracelets, keychains, and even silver bookmarks to slide into your current reads. Simply send Tasarim Takarim a clear photograph or copy of your desired design, and they’ll make the magic happen in your choice of sterling silver or gold plated silver.

The post This Jewelry Company Turns Kids’ Drawings Into Wearable Metal Art first appeared on Dornob.

Etsy is a creative hub for artists and crafters who design and sell their often idiosyncratic goods via individualized virtual stores. It’s the mecca for finding one-off cut stones, personalized charms, and quirky gifts. While it’s always great to support the world’s artists, navigating the vast site can be overwhelming, so we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight three unique and slightly unusual jewelry makers that will leave you questioning why the big guys in their field aren’t already copying them.

Danielle Rose Bean

Mother and crafter Danielle Rose Bean opened her Etsy store a little over a decade ago, and ever since, she’s been growing and developing her jewelry to reflect the unique style that her followers have come to adore her for. Utilizing stones like quartz and hand-hammering copper and gold into distressed-looking metal earrings, chains, charms, and bangles, Danielle has built quite the reputation for her quality designs inspired by celestial imagery.

Something that all visitors to Danielle’s store should check out is her uniquely-colored hammered metal hoop earrings. Danielle created these “fierce” rainbow accessories using 10 grams of solid copper, which, after being molded into circular shapes, was flame-painted with a torch and sealed with clear coat. Available in 11 different measurements, all her products are made to order out of recycled materials. These earrings are also available in a multitude of different styles, including ombre black and silver and sterling silver crystal encrusted.

Therese Kumpel

Handmade using metals and stones, Chicago-based metalsmith and sculptor Therese Kuempel’s lighter cases are so ethereal that you’ll want to stick them on a chain and wear them around your neck — which, as it turns out, is pretty much exactly what you can do with them. Her cases are all made using onyx, opal, turquoise, quartz, and druzy. A big fan of the lost-wax casting method, Kuempel also designs and creates fashionable jewelry from quality metals and adorning stones, such as these brass-painted gold stud earrings and onyx and opal rings and charm pendants.

Sivan Sova

Israel-based goldsmith Sivan Sova has been designing and creating jewelry for over 10 years now, ever since she she graduated from the Shenkar College of Design and Engineering. She began by integrating miniatures into quality metal pendants, creating tiny magical realms within the casing of her handcrafted charms. Utilizing imagery that she believes to be universal in understanding (human experiences, journeys through nature, etc.), Sivan gives her all to imbue positive messages into her work. Her main objective is to churn out unique jewelry that will be worn and adored for a lifetime.

All of the pieces in Sivan’s “Little Boxes” collection bear a hefty price tag, but seeing as she only uses completely original designs and real gold and silver, it’s safe to say that they’re all pretty worth it. One of Sivan’s most iconic pieces is a 14k gold-and-blue topaz pendant, which depicts a female character rowing a wooden boat through a tropical paradise with palm trees and coconuts all around.

The post 3 Unique Jewelry Makers to Watch on Etsy first appeared on Dornob.

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From Freelance to Fame

A native of Ukraine, Haggerty had always had a penchant for makeup, with her artistic talents always improving and her work gaining increasingly more notoriety. At the end of 2014, she moved to Los Angeles to play in the big leagues. As a freelancer, she landed impressive gigs on projects for Disney Style and COVERGIRL. In her free time in between jobs, she started trying out lip art ideas on herself.
Her Instagram posts garnered likes faster than she could post new art, and before long she had around 720,000 followers. With her work being recognized all over the world, Haggerty found herself in the middle of a bonafide makeup career. As Smashbox Cosmetics’ “lip editor in chief,” she not only consults on all their lip products and launches, but she also keeps pushing the envelope by creating one-of-a-kind pieces, many of which incorporates jewels, gems, and other tiny trinkets.

Mouthing Off

Haggerty’s creativity seems endless. Just last year, she created a $26,500 piece that the Guinness Book of World Records calls “The World’s Most Valuable Lip Art,” consisting of Smashbox’s own “Be Legendary” liquid lip formula and a whopping 6.5 carats-worth of gem designer Zoë Chicco’s diamonds.

Of this masterwork, Lori Taylor, Smashbox’s Global Pro Lead Artist, said: “Vlada’s artistry helped us take [Be Legendary] to the next level. The product[s] needed to be showcased in a way that not only reflects how they look on the lips, but also speaks to how they make the wearer feel once they are applied.”

Copycat Conundrum

Although it’s often said that imitation is the highest form of flattery, things don’t exactly work out that way when it comes to business. For instance, one of the most defining characteristics of Haggerty’s art is the “the drip,” a dramatic technique she taught herself that perfectly accentuates the textures and colors of the products she uses.
Not so surprisingly, “the drip” was inevitably poached — in this case by none other than cosmetic queen Kylie Jenner. The logo of Jenner’s Kylie Cosmetics line was so close to Haggerty’s signature style that social media went into a frenzy. That outrage was further fueled by a later holiday collection campaign of Jenner’s, which also seemed to steal directly from Haggerty.

Soon, the issue was the hottest topic on most fashion and cosmetics websites. Haggerty herself revealed: “I was just so shocked, especially after I started seeing [the images] in all the magazines.” She declined to elaborate on the details that followed, saying only that “everything [had] been worked out.” Today, she sees the situation as a learning experience that reminds her how imperative it is to always legally protect one’s work.

The post Vlada Haggerty Gives A Lot of Lip – And The World Absolutely Loves It first appeared on Dornob.

Just like any other 3D-printed object, jewelry can be produced using conventional materials like gold, silver, bronze, copper, and brass or plastics like nylon. A new collection of 3D-printed jewelry called “Bearing,” made by designer Giulio Iachetti for Italian design brand Maison 203, shows how this technology can take something as classic and timeless as a pearl necklace and update it for the 21st century. Iachetti calls the series “A reinterpretation of the most iconic jewel, an aesthetic research starting from a classic element: the string of pearls.”

“Bearing” pieces are made up of 3D-printed nylon “pearls,” all of which have a joint on one end and a bearing in the other so they can fit together into a string with lots of flexibility. These beads are sold individually as a simple pair of earrings, in longer strands of dangling earrings, and in bracelet and necklace forms. There’s also a ring with a single nylon “pearl” on it for a graphic minimalist statement. Ranging anywhere from 20 to 95 euros, the collection’s prices are affordable, too.

The “Delft Blue” series by Dutch designer Elleke van Gorsel is another gorgeous example of modern 3D-printed jewelry. Taking inspiration from its namesake city’s long history of producing earthenware covered in distinctive blue and white patterns, the series integrates a striking blue gradient into 3D-printed accessories. The full line includes rings, earrings, pendants, earrings, hair accessories, and even bow ties, all printed, hand-dyed, and finished by the artist herself. The materials are 100 percent locally-sourced and made in The Netherlands.

Another high-tech jeweler is known for taking 3D-printed intricacy even further with stunning designs influenced by natural biological structures and systems. Massachusetts-based studio Nervous System uses 3D computer modeling software and mathematical algorithms similar to those seen in the cells of plants and animals to produce their sculptural pieces, like “floraform hyphae,” a flower-like design printed in nylon or metal. Another piece in the “Floraform” series draws from the ruffles on the tentacles of jellyfish.

“Floraform is inspired by the biomechanics of growing leaves and blooming flowers. Each piece emerges from a computational simulation of differential growth, a surface that grows at different rates in different locations. The flowering structures expand fastest along their edges, evolving from simple surfaces to flexuous forms that fill space with curves, folds, and ruffles.”

Nervous System explains that they’re attracted to complex and unconventional geometries and work to engage in “generative processes” to expand upon them.

“Instead of designing a specific form, we craft a system whose result is a myriad of distinct creations. These systems are interactive, responding both to changes in specific variables and to physical inputs. There is no definitive, final product, instead the many designs created allow for mass customization.”

The post 3D-Printed Jewelry Explores Intricate Forms first appeared on Dornob.

Project Kino’s living jewelry is made possible by a function that’s been present in the robots since they were first developed: the ability to move across static clothing via the use of magnets. To transform them into jewelry, the robots’ designers simply covered them in a stylish fabric that could be shaped and changed out as desired, making them versatile enough to use with a number of different garments. The material over which the robots crawl is sandwiched between the two magnets and boasts an eye-catching sheath on its outer surface. The design team says that Project Kino, “explores a dynamic future in which the accessories we wear are no longer static, but are instead mobile, living objects on the body.” The jewelry is a tech-savvy approach to accessorizing and offers its wearer several innovative options in terms of both aesthetic and functionality.

Additionally, Project Kino has the potential to act as a kind of climate control. The wearable robots can be attached to the drawstrings of a jacket and pull the hood up as soon as rain starts to fall. In another example outlined by MIT, a microphone could be inserted into the jewelry, effectively turning it into a voice-activated recording device. For the purposes of adornment, multiple living jewels can be worn at once and reconfigured on the wearer to create different types of jewelry: arrange the bots in cluster patterns to create a feature brooch, or position them in a ring around your neck as a statement necklace. If you wear certain materials, such as velvet, the robot’s movements can even create patterns on the fabric itself, transforming the garment into a work of art-in-progress. If you cover the robots in an eye-catching, geometric material that matches the shirt you’re wearing, their path can create an optical illusion as the two patterns cross each other.

Although the robots are currently quite large, their designers hope that they’ll be slimmed down as their concept and materiality are refined. Once they’re small enough, the developers explain, “With the addition of kinetic capabilities, traditionally static jewelry and accessories will start displaying life-like qualities, learning, shifting, and reconfiguring to the needs and preferences of the wearer, also assisting in fluid presentation of self. With wearables that possess hybrid qualities of the living and the crafted, we explore a new on-body ecology for human-wearable symbiosis.” However, when new products like these hit the market, it can never really be predicted where they will end up and how they will be used. Nonetheless, the possibilities for Project Kino are definitely endless!

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Guitar String Bracelet

One Instructables user shared a detailed list of instructions for making these beautiful bracelets. According to her, the band is assembled by making two three-strand braids from acoustic guitar strings and connecting them with a bit of 20 gauge wire. When finished, you can wear it as-is or gently hammer it for some added texture.

Wood Ring with Guitar String

If rings are more your speed, you might consider checking some of Johan Rust’s jewelry out on Etsy. Rust crafts unique, personalized rings from natural finish wood, titanium, and a guitar string that you send him. These bands can make for classy mementos or thoughtful gifts for your musician friends.

Bangles

Salvaged Designs is all about upcycling. This inventive company combines guitar strings, jewelry wire, seashell beads, and Czech glass beads to create colorful, unusual bangles. Wear one on its own, or stack them up on your arm for a stunning fashion statement.

Wear Your Music Jewelry

Are you a fan of Eric Clapton, or is Tim McGraw more your speed? Wear Your Music sells bracelets made from famous musicians’ donated guitar strings and gives a portion of its profits to the charities of their choosing. These pieces of jewelry are pretty expensive, but remember that each purchase contributes to a great cause. Us budget shoppers are also in luck: the company sells a separate line of bracelets made from non-celebrity strings.

String and Pick Bracelet

Artist and guitarist Christina Nieves makes some gorgeous jewelry from worn out guitar strings as part of her EsperanzaArtGallery business. We were particularly smitten by this bracelet that also features a set of hand-stamped initials (of your choice) on a silver guitar pick. To create these bangles, Nieves uses aluminum or copper wiring to wrap three golden guitar strings together. “Subtleties in color, wear and tear of each string make every bracelet unique,” reads her Etsy page.

Pendant Drop Earrings

California’s Offbeat Accents is an equal-opportunity musical recycler. These designers incorporate parts from all sorts of musical instruments into their jewelry. Case in point: these old guitar strings have been linked together using metal from a discarded flute! The earrings hang from pieces of hand-shaped sterling silver wire.

Bronze Pendant

Jewelry-maker Damienne Grant Dibble says she crafts her pendants from bronze guitar strings, oxidized bronze beads, and copper wire. For this striking pendant, she “used a hammer to forge a springy bronze guitar string into a textured wire flourish.”

Zig Zag Ring

We love the unusual style of this guitar string ring, which has been made from both a steel electric string and a brass acoustic one. When ordering your zig zag ring, you’ll be able to choose which of the two strings you’d like on the outside and which you’d prefer on the inside. All of GStringRings’ products are forged from 100 percent recycled guitar strings and individually tailored to each customer. If you like the ring, you may want to check out the same company’s similarly-styled bracelet.

The post This Guitar String Jewelry is Sure to Strike a Chord first appeared on Dornob.