Jewelry: Three Designers and a Collector
The subject of jewelry comes up again and again when we're hitting the streets and getting the scoop on Austin’s fashion scene. Everybody seems to know somebody in Austin involved in making or selling it. Even Eliza Page, the upscale jewelry store in the 2nd Street District, carries over a dozen local designers.
It was impossible to interview everyone, so we selected four young designers to profile:
- Melissa Lancaster, just starting her collection
- Part-time designer Renee Miller of Moontower Metalworks
- Full-time designer Rachel Roberts of Mingle, and
- Collector Rhianna Horan of Trouve Vintage Jewelry
Trouve by Rhianna Horan
“Do you remember that brooch craze?” asks Rhianna Horan, referring to the Sex and the City-inspired trend of fall 2004. “Everybody was brooching everything. I remember going to the mall and seeing these knocked-off brooches at Banana Republic for eighty dollars.”
Rhianna, an avid collector of vintage jewelry, was previously working as a sales associate at By George. She planned on attending a large antique show, so she asked her boss if she wanted her to pick up an assortment of brooches to sell at the boutique. Her boss said yes.
Little did Rhianna know that this would be the start of her vintage jewelry business.
“They sold so fast,” Rhianna says. “And the brooches thing was over, and everyone was wearing long glass necklaces, and long chains.”
Rhianna looked for pieces that fit with the latest fashions sold at By George. As the jewelry trends evolved, so did the quality and quantity of Trouve – French for “has been found."
"I was spending more time and making more money doing that, and eventually I was able to quit (By George).”
That was two years ago. At the time, Rhianna was meeting with two other entrepreneurial friends to give each other positive feedback.
“I can’t express how valuable it was to have that encouragement from other people, regularly. It’s quite scary quitting your job and trying to make it on your own.”
When Rhianna’s not selling, she’s researching specific pieces, reading antique books on jewelry (the Victorian era is her favorite), and combing the nation’s estate sales and antique shows for merchandise. She was a one-woman show until a month ago; she hired a friend to help her create press kits this summer.
Recently, Rhianna began buying jewelry overseas, from India and China. These pieces aren’t vintage, but, as Rhianna explains, they still fit with Trouve’s mission. “The whole concept is traveling to a place I’ve never been before and finding beautiful things.”
As for future plans, Rhianna plans on expanding her Web site, selling her jewelry at other mid-sized cities in the U.S., and reworking unrepairable family heirlooms into modern pieces.
Trouve is sold at By George and through private trunk shows. Prices vary. For more information about Trouve, go here.
Rachel Roberts of Mingle
You’ve probably seen the Mingle honeycomb necklaces around town. They’re thin disks of gold, with pinky-finger-wide holes strung on delicate chains. If you haven’t spotted one this year, you probably will after reading this. It’s one of Rachel Roberts’ trademark designs (and we’ve seen them around the necks of several fashionable Austinites).
“People enjoy the intricate cutout designs,” Rachel says. She points to a fashion magazine clipping, pinned on the inspiration board of her studio, featuring jewelry with a similar concept. “It’s so different.”
Rachel’s other designs include spin-offs of the honeycomb, as well as large, dangling hoop earrings made in silver and gold-plate (24-karat gold pieces are made upon special request). She draws her designs on templates, transfers them on metal and cuts everything by hand – no two pieces are absolutely identical.
Mingle was born in 2005 while Rachel was the manager of a restaurant. She began creating and selling her designs full-time a year ago, hired a full-time assistant last winter, and this summer she took on her first intern.
“At the beginning, I wasn’t sure what my direction was; what my voice or style was going to be. So, I just kind of had private parties with friends and family… for about six months before I showed it to any stores,” Rachel says.
Eventually, Mingle garnered exposure with boutique owners and local buyers after Rachel participated with Tribeza’s designer events. She started selling at Envie Boutique first, then Eliza Page, Wildflower, and then boutiques outside of Austin. Rachel says she didn’t spend a penny on real advertising.
“These things just kinda happened. I didn’t have to approach anyone. And because of that, other people started seeing my stuff and started (approaching) me.”
But now that Mingle is growing, Rachel is concentrating on marketing her designs by sending press packets to national magazines and catalogues to showrooms.
For pricing information, boutique locations and to learn more about Mingle, go visit their website.
Lancaster Atelier by Melissa Lancaster
A window ledge in Melissa Lancaster’s sun-drenched garage apartment is adorned by dried seed pods, stars of anise, and other objects gathered from nature.
“I was that little kid who always had rocks in her pockets,” Melissa says, showing us her silver charm necklaces and hammered rings. The charms are mass-produced from molds of found-objects. Her pieces include a folded piece of lace ribbon, a milagro, and a wishbone from a small hen.
“In the design process, I found myself gravitating towards natural things, and it just sort of evolved that way,” she says.
Melissa, a trained painter and textile designer, didn’t learn how to metalsmith until taking two courses at Pratt Fine Arts Center—not to be confused with New York’s Pratt Institute—in Seattle. She also taught herself techniques by using the “metalsmithing bible,” Tim McCreight's Complete Metalsmith.
Currently, Melissa works full time at a home décor store and spends her free time working on her jewelry. A website for Lancaster Atelier and business cards in the works, as well as a studio where Melissa can use a soldering torch and kiln to execute more of her ideas.
“Once I get set up I’ll be a producing maniac,” Melissa says.
Melissa mostly works in silver, giving it a high-shine or oxidized finish, although she’ll replicate any design in gold upon special request. Her designs can be found at Mercury Design Studio , retailing for $200+.
Moontower Metalworks by Renee Miller
Moontower Metalworks is basically a line of wearable sculptures.
Renee Miller creates everything by forging (heating and hammering) flat sheets or wires of silver and gold until she creates an imperfect “hand-worked” look. Each piece conveys a sense of expression through movement; a silver bangle creates a jangling sound as tiny gold bars slide through small holes, and geometric earrings that appear to float over women’s shoulders.
A Moontower piece is truly unique, but the process is time-consuming – which is why, Renee explains, Moontower is a part-time job. She spends the other half of her week working in retail.
“I’m pretty particular with materials, so there are things I’m not willing to do… I don’t want to work with gold-plate or gold-fill,” Renee says. “I’ve been asked by several people, ‘Can I make a less-expensive line?’ I suppose I could, but that would involve using some manufactured materials.”
Renee’s appreciation for artful quality can be attributed to her art background. She studied sculpture in college and even owned a gallery (Moontower Gallery) in South Austin for a year. She started selling beaded jewelry at By George two years ago, which did “okay,” then switched to working with gold. That's when the line took off.
Her most popular pieces are her stacked rings, bangles, and versatile hoop-chain necklace. Renee recently switch gears by opting to work with silver, since the price of gold is astronomical, but she will create gold pieces upon request.
Moontower Metalworks is sold exclusively at By George, through trunk shows, and on a commission basis. Prices vary.
Photos submitted by featured designers
