Style Tip: Best Travel Jewelry for Summer 2011

Packing is like a math problem. How many outfits can you make combining as few pieces as possible? Next problem…what jewelry to bring. Never wanting to spend extra time at airport security, the search is on for a few pieces that can easily transition from day to night. I picked three pieces that will keep you hip, bejeweled and a light traveler this summer!

A long gold chain that can be worn long with a tunic, doubled for a bigger evening look, or wrapped around your wrist.

Gold dangle earrings that can pass as casual day earrings with hair down or more dramatic for evening with upswept hair.

A bit of green. Green is the hottest trend in jewelry this season. I am traveling with an oversized turquoise and wood ring. It is so hip!

 

Have a happy holiday weekend!

Style Setters: The Jewelry Brief Interviews Elva Fields

Emily Wheat Maynard is the owner and designer behind the amazing one-of-a-kind jewelry produced by Elva Fields. Emily reached her artistic pinnacle just as all the true masters do: through years of study and dedication. Emily was an Art History and French major in college, and did graduate work in ancient jewelry comparisons at Bard. But it was not until she took a course at the famed Jewelry Arts Institute in Manhattan, that she had her a-ha! Moment, and decided that creating jewelry was her calling. Lucky for us!

Each piece designed by Emily is truly unique and eco-friendly. Emily finds inspiration from beautiful objects she finds: a Victorian brass buckle, a vintage gold tone fish brooch, an enamel and pearl cherry pin that you might see at a flea market or vintage clothing store. The necklaces are designed around those focal points with complimentary beads and coordinating clasps. The result is amazing! Seasonal collections are available at www.ElvaFields.com, where you can also discover fun fact about the company including the meaning behind its name.

The website is beautiful, easy to navigate and fun to read. Every piece comes replete with prose worthy of the finest gemstones! A portion of each sale on the Elva Fields website goes to support a charitable program in their local community in Kentucky. Back Pack Buddies of Spencer County provides healthy meals and snacks each weekend of the school year for over 185 children to take home. Emily Wheat Maynard is making a difference in her own back yard, and we love that, too.

 

Every piece in your collections is unique. How can you keep such high levels of creativity? Do you have sources of inspiration that you keep going back to?

Staying fresh and inspired is definitely a challenge when it comes to creating so many one-of-a-kind designs each season – but the materials are truly what renews our passion and creativity each day. Each vintage brooch or antique buckle seems eager to tell its own story, and that engages our love of design and gives us the opportunity to arrange the right composition for each. (And if all else fails, a trip to the flea market or a walk down our country road breathes new life into a stagnant state of mind!)

You have been and academician and jewelry historian and now are a designer. Tell us about your journey.

Very roundabout! I’ve always loved to create, but my love of research and documentation is equally strong, so I suppose it was no surprise that I ended up mixing it all together to fashion a business that draws from both aspects and interests. I studied Art History in college at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia – all while taking studio art classes – and initially thought I’d be a curator or an auction house specialist. Objects have always held a distinct fascination for me, so pursuing studies in the Decorative Arts, learning about the history of furniture, silverware, Oriental carpets, or jewelry was a natural next step upon graduation. I have a Masters in Decorative Art History, with a focus on the history of jewelry, from The Bard Graduate Center in New York. My graduate school studies were all-consuming, leaving little time for creating art; but when an advisor recommended a course at Manhattan’s Jewelry Arts Institute to better understand ancient metalsmithing techniques for my thesis studies, my love of working with my hands immediately returned, and as much as I loved library research and writing about art, I realized how much I missed making art. Elva Fields seemed a perfect opportunity to allow both my academic and creative sides to flourish simultaneously.

As a jewelry historian, you were exposed to the styles of different periods. Do you have a favorite era?

Ancient Roman jewelry will always be special to me – and it all started with a childhood project on Pompeii and grew from there. Something about ancient gold (especially tiny amphorae earrings!) with its beautiful detail and roughly carved and polished stones is so stunning.

I love the idea of custom designs for brides. What inspired you to bring originality to a space where tradition and classic styles have always reigned?

I started the business just after my own wedding, and I had created necklaces for each of my bridesmaids and my mother and grandmother–each of them unique. I remember thinking it was such a fun and special element of the celebration, and I felt sure that other brides would enjoy a similar opportunity for giving (and wearing)! I love working with such adventurous, stylish, and sentimental brides–it’s a joy to be part of the occasion.

What are you working on right now?

Our Holiday Collection is nearly finished, so I’m putting the finishing touches on those designs, giving them names, and preparing to pack them for press opportunities after our fun photo shoot with them! Next up, a second Holiday Collection…but more on that another time!

Finally, as a writer about jewelry, I must ask: Do you write the descriptions of the pieces for your website? They are so witty and, like your jewelry, very original.

Thank you! I did write all of the descriptions myself for these past seven years and only very recently enlisted help with copywriting – not because I don’t love to tell each design’s story, but our production has increased just enough that crafting so many narratives for each web update was a bit overwhelming. The thesaurus had served me well, but it was time to divide and conquer with another author!

The True Prep on Jewelry

Thirty years have passed since The Official Preppy Handbook was published, but there is renewed hope as the recently updated edition guides prepdom into the 21^st Century. Author Lisa Birnbach has teamed up with designer Chipp Kidd to bring us True Prep: It’s a Whole New World.

 

Indeed, much has changed over the last thirty years, but some noted traditional jewelry style maxims still hold true. Always remove one piece of jewelry before leaving the house, bigger diamonds are for evening, and pearls are for anytime. The author selects Verdura as the ultimate preppy jeweler. While his jewels are undeniably stunning, I believe the jewels of Verdura were selected primarily for their lack of pretension.

 

The book is also host to a three page list of vintage stores, where you are all but guaranteed to find the best in costume jewels. After all, if it is good enough for the First Ladies, it should be good enough.

 

My only complaint is the down putting of signet rings, one of my favorite pieces of preppy jewelry.