Minneapolis, December 13, 2016 — The Walker Art Center is adding the creativity of local accessory makers to its popular Jewelry mart on Saturday, February 4, 11 am – 5 pm in the Skyline Room. Meet the makers while shopping for beautiful jewelry and stylish accessories – the perfect winter pick-me-up! Bring a friend and enjoy this not-to-be-missed Walker Shop event. This Jewelry & Accessory Makers Mart features 20 jewelry artists and 7 accessory designers each presenting their original, hand-crafted designs.
All proceeds support the Walker’s artistic and educational programs. Walker members receive a 10% discount on all purchases.
Featured artists include: Dominique Bereiter, Yen Chee, Ruby 3, Bird Industries, Shimmering Carbon, Makwa Studio, Nicole Collodoro, Elara Coleman, Camille Hempel, The Mad Rabbit Shoppe, Madison Holler, Karin Jacobson, Betty Jäger, Annika Kaplan, Britta Kauppila, Tia Keobounpheng, Urban Gypsy Design, Milkhaus Design, Scarf Shop, Meghan Nelson, Jovy Rockey, Emily Kisa Design, Erin Smith, Jlux.co, Emily Temte, La Grace Company, Helen Wang.
Walker Art Center’s Jewelry & Accessory Makers Mart:
Saturday February 4, 2017, 11 am – 5 pm
Skyline Room, Free
Member Mimosa Preview: Jewelry & Accessory Makers Mart:
membership@walkerart.org
Featured Artists
Dominique Bereiter, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: sterling silver, hand-picked rocks, and beach glass
During childhood Bereiter developed a love for art, its creation and expression. After coming to the US, her creative efforts included: fiber, paint, and clay; however, her first love was metal. She enrolled in several classes at Rhode Island School of Design and local art centers, while working as a senior research assistant in a neuroscience laboratory. Since relocating to Minneapolis 10 years ago, Bereiter has immersed herself completely in the design and creation of jewelry. Her work is all handmade, adding texture by pounding and heating the metal, she use mostly Sterling Silver that she oxidizes to give it a darker and richer appearance. Bereiter also incorporates some copper or semi-precious stones into her work.
La Grace Company, Edina, Minnesota
Materials: Using natural stones, unique coins, and special findings
LA Grace is a mother/daughter team based out of Minneapolis with years of experience in the jewelry field. After working for others, they decided to follow their own vision, and so LA Grace was born in their dining room, as they handcrafted one piece, then another. Using natural stones, unique coins, and special findings it is their goal to create pieces that can be worn by women of any age for any occasion for years to come.
Yen-Ying Chee – Yen Chee Design, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: sterling silver, quartz crystal, onyx and tourmalinated quartz
Yen-Ying Chee has always been drawn to creating clean, unique, modern jewelry. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Boston University, as well as a bachelor of science in interior design from the University of Minnesota. Prior to working as a full-time jewelry designer and mom, she worked as a commercial interior designer at architecture firms for over a decade. These experiences greatly influenced the “miniature sculptures” she creates. Besides being inspired by her travels, furniture, and architecture, her designs often come from a deeper spiritual place within. She is especially drawn to working with clear quartz crystals due to their natural beauty and healing properties. Clear quartz known as “universal crystals” are completely natural and from the earth, believed for centuries to attract positive energy that enhances the mind, body, and spirit.
Shimmering Carbon, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: sterling silver, gold, pearls, and gemstones
I have been a customer jeweler for 17 years in independent system shops and corporately. My heart was not full, so I went out on my own and I started Shimmering Carbon. I have found so
much joy in working with the client one on one to create the piece of their dreams. I have also created an inspirational line where I combine movement, sterling silver, and exotic woods to create unique pieces.
Nicole Collodoro, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Materials: silver, wood, stone, fossils, paper, fabric, clay
Nicole Collodoro grew up in rural Wisconsin and spent most of her youth exploring the surrounding wilderness with her father, a geologist. Her background in the outdoors is reflected in the stones and natural materials she uses in her designs. In 2000 she began attending Minneapolis College of Art & Design, where she graduated with a BFA in Sculpture in 2004. Since then she has focused on creating small scale works and jewelry. Collodoro works and lives in Saint Paul, MN with her husband and two daughters.
Elara Coleman, Traverse City, Michigan
Materials: silver, copper, enamel, felt, yarn
Coleman loves metal because it is full of surprises and contradictions. She partners with her husband in the way that he is also a metal worker on a larger scale and she reuses his leftover scrap. In this way her work does not stand apart from her own philosophy to conserve resources and be kind to the environment.
Coleman has always tried to mimic nature in her work; not just the colors and shapes but the qualities: the way a leaf flutters in the wind, its lightness, strength and simplicity. However she is not an all nature girl, inspiration also comes from fashion, trends, the absurd and Avant garde. She combines these interests into pieces that are unique yet wearable every day.
The Mad Rabbit Shoppe, St. Paul, Minnesota
Materials: Wool
Erin Fink is a self-taught knitter and crocheter, and believes she inherited the ability to create from her parents. Between the two of them, she thinks they could make just about anything in this world from scratch.
Fink draws inspiration from many things around her, but her greatest muse has been her little rabbit, Harold. ‘It’s a rather peculiar thing because everything he does is quite ordinary. He eats, he sleeps, he runs, he eats some more. He does these ordinary things, but he does them in sort of a mad way. I find his mannerisms fascinating and somehow inspiring, so I named my shop for this ordinary, simple, but altogether mad, rabbit.”
Fink’s work consists of both knitting and crocheting, and each piece is made with love exclusively by her. She designs and writes all of her own patterns, making each piece authentic and unique that is at once refined, ethereal, and alive with an unexpected touch of sensuality.
Bird Industries, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: upcycled bike tubes, fabric, stainless steel beads
Bird Industries was founded to enable women bicycle commuters to seamlessly and fashionably transition from bike to work to social settings by developing functional, stylish accessories, and upcycled jewelry. Living in Minneapolis, one of the nation’s top bike cities, owner/designer, Amanda Stolle, commutes through sun and snow, inspired by the ever-growing community of stylish female bikers. Through her experience in both apparel and graphic design, she has developed and rigorously tested her unique bicycle accessories. Whether it’s with bike tube earrings or reflective jewelry, Bird Industries encourages you to live stylishly and be cheeky!
Ruby 3, Moorhead & Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: Felt, fabric, ribbon
Anna Lee is the Creative Director of Workerby, a Product Development Studio where she also
offers workshops and creative career coaching, throws events, and makes magical hats through her custom millinery, Ruby3. Anna creates on the principle that not only is there honor in a job well done, but importance and respect in every task required to make something happen. Ruby3 presents three collections annually – Derby, Spring/Summer, and Autumn/Winter. Anna loves working with clients on custom headwear for daywear, bridal, and special occasion.
Emily Kisa Design, Wayzata, Minnesota
Materials: lace
Local textile designer Emily Johnson Kisa collaborates with talented artisan women in Turkey to create modern jewelry using ancient ‘OYA” lace work techniques.
Camille Hempel, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: sterling silver and gold
Hempel explores jewelry as design and form, not just as accessories. Inspiration comes from bridges, architecture and furniture design, things that endure over time, rooted in the classics. Hempel took a few classes at the UW Madison, and continued her education working as an apprentice at the Jeweler’s Workshop in Madison, WI. In 1992 she moved to New York and learned about production jewelry. All this experience as well as jobs in toy design, prosthetics, and furniture making has informed her work and contributed to her aesthetic and the processes she uses. Hempel had her own shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn until 2012, this opportunity gave her the chance to collaborate more intimately with people’s individual desires and meet the demands for custom wedding and engagement rings. Things had come full circle when her seven-year lease ended and she figured it was a good time to return to the Midwest. She now works out of her studio and showroom in the Qarma Building in Northeast Minneapolis.
Urban Gypsy Design, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: Leather
Urban Gypsy Design was founded in 2009 by Minneapolis artist and designer Christina Hankins. Hankins began her career as a fine artist in southern California creating narrative works in pastel and paint which she has exhibited throughout the United States. In 2003 she relocated her studio with her husband and children to Minnesota and began to establish herself in the Upper Midwest. Several years after her relocation, Hankins began to think about combining fine art and function and started to visualize a line of artisan leather handbags. Each bag is thoughtfully designed with an artist’s eye while keeping wearability and function in mind. Christina creates original linocut block prints, hand painted pieces and appliqués which she constructs her bags around. All of her bags are designed, hand-cut, and sewn in her studio with the help of an assistant or two and are considered art to wear.
Madison Holler, St. Cloud, Minnesota
Materials: beads and sterling silver
Born and raised in central Minnesota, Holler works mostly with metals, beads, found Minnesota porcupine quills, beach glass and other organic materials from Minnesota and near her cabin in Ontario, Canada. She also enjoys wood working and carving, baking, and sewing.
Karin Jacobson, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: sterling silver, topaz, white quartz and other lab grown gems
Play is a central theme in Karin Jacobson’s futuristic and fun work, which is inspired by science fiction, comic books, mechanical toys, and Japanese animation. She likes pieces that make a bold statement so she uses big shapes, clean lines, and bright colors. Jacobson’s ultimate goal is to create jewelry that is sculptural as well as functional. Using materials such as sterling and lab-grown or less expensive gems, she focuses on form and affordable, innovative designs.
Betty Jäger, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: sterling silver, 18 karat, 22 karat and 24 karat gold
Jäger was born and raised on the shores of the misty Puget Sound. Her current line of handmade jewelry finds inspiration in the interesting and organic textures of her past. Reflections of the simple curve of a wave, the bark on evergreen trees can be found in her organically crafted jewelry. The strength of a hand fabricated piece of jewelry robustly highlighted with the softness of hammered texture and smooth satin finish. These pieces exude the consistency of natural elements, imitating the deep texture and bold, voluminous forms, and finally relayed onto metal.
Annika Kaplan, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: sterling silver and semi-precious gemstones
After studying jewelry design and fabrication at the Savannah College of Art and Design and the Minneapolis Community and Technical College, Annika Kaplan set up shop in a small South Minneapolis studio. Influenced by nature and folk traditions, she produces jewelry made mostly from blackened sterling silver and semi-precious gems. She strives to create pieces which are both highly wearable and highly unique, in hopes of offering wearers a new way to adorn themselves.
Britta Kauppila – Britta Lynn Design, Duluth, Minnesota
Materials Used: sterling silver, stones, gold, and pearls
Britta Kauppila hand forms each piece of jewelry she makes, by manipulating and shaping metal into pieces that are extremely soft and delicate, but substantial. Often inspired by nature, she combines form, line, and texture to produce movement, rhythm, and harmony and is drawn to the contradiction of the hard immovable structure that metal offers to create her unique jewelry line.
Tia Keobounpheng – Silver Cocoon, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: wood, acrylic, sterling silver, 14k gold-fill
Fascinated with “things” and how they are made, Tia Keobounpheng incorporates architectural design to create pieces made from wood, acrylic, and metal. Color, texture, repetition, and light are important considerations in her work whose forms and compositions respond to the natural and man-made world around her. Practicality and simplicity transcend her work in any medium or scale.
Scarf Shop, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: cotton
Scarf Shop scarves are dyed by hand in small batches in the MAD studio, located in Minneapolis, MN. Low impact materials and methods are used whenever possible.
Kettle dying in small batches with water based dyes gives fabric a rich and mottled appearance. Because each scarf is dyed in small dye lots, a slight color variation will occur from batch to batch.
Makwa Studio, St. Paul, Minnesota
Materials: wool
Makwa Studio was started by Maggie Thompson (Fond Du Lac Ojibwe) in 2014. Makwa pronounced like “Mukwa” means bear in the Ojibwe language.
Makwa Studio is a creative space with a focus on textiles, art and fashion. Much of the work is influenced by Thompson’s Native heritage where she brings subtle cultural references to her patterns and design work. Makwa strives to use luxury yarns specializing in the use of wool that is sourced from a US mill. Each item is designed; hand loomed and shipped from our studio in Northeast Minneapolis at the Northrup King Building. Makwa is passionate about creating high quality made goods and how our practice contributes to the discussion of contemporary Native art and fashion.
Milkhaus Design, Madison, Wisconsin
Materials: Hand Dyed Cotton, Leather
Bethany Nelson, the creator behind Milkhaus Design, creates pretty and practical items for you, your family, your friends, and your home. She believes every item you own should be stylish, no matter what it is. It’s often the little details that make life just a little bit better and a little bit sweeter.
The Milkhaus Design aesthetic is simple, modern and classic. Bethany’s love for the beauty of natural materials is balanced with her love of vibrant and bold colors. All Milkhaus Design screen printed products are printed with Nelson’s original designs that are inspired by the everyday details she notices as she goes about her day. All dyed pieces are considered happy accidents — she custom mixes all dyes based on feeling rather than formula and is (almost) always pleasantly surprised at the results.
Meghan Nelson- Dottir Jewelry, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials Used: sterling silver, brass
Dottir is a Minneapolis based jewelry line by artist Meghan Nelson. She uses silver and brass to create work that focuses on clean lines, geometric shapes, and elegant forms. Ranging from the perfect everyday pair of posts to the dramatic statement collar, her pieces strive for wearability and functionality. All elements of her jewelry are hand fabricated in her Seward studio.
Jovy Rockey, Winona, Minnesota
Materials: Stainless steel, silver, copper, brass, gemstones, pewter, wood horn and bone beads, clay
Rockey’s work is inspired by her appreciation for simplicity and modernism. She is very drawn to geometric shapes, curves, and lines and this is what embodies her styling. She creates her jewelry using basic metal forging and wire working techniques. She works primarily with stainless steel, as she appreciates its strength and longevity, but also uses recycled sterling silver, gold fill, and niobium metals. She incorporates additional elements such as glass, semi-precious stones and textured metal while still retaining the minimalist effect of the overall piece. Her collection includes earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and rings. She is a self-taught artist who has been designing jewelry since 2011 and is continually learning new techniques and growing with new design concepts. She currently resides in Winona, Minnesota with her husband, three sons, and two adorable dogs.
Jlux.co, Golden Valley, Minnesota
Materials: sterling silver, brass, niobium, leather, stone, feathers, antlers, etc.
Founded by Minneapolis-based artist Jen Kreilich, J.Lux is a jewelry and accessories brand bred in the North with roots in the west. Kreilich describes her work as a little bit bohemian with a sophisticated edge and an easy demeanor. Each piece is handmade by Kreilich and typically one-of-a-kind or small batch. Her process is organic, ever-evolving and imperfect by design, the pieces reflecting the individuality and quirks that make us all beautiful.
Erin Smith, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: sterling silver, porcelain, terra cotta and natural fibers
Smith comes from a long line of jewelers and metalworkers (hence the name smith), but her degree in product design introduced her to a multitude of materials. She has spent the past five years designing for a nationwide retailer, while juggling her own interior and product design jobs on the side. Just recently she’s decided to delve into the world of freelance 100% allowing her to spend all of her time doing the things that she loves.
Emily Temte – Cassiterite, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: antique beads and natural materials
Each piece of jewelry Emily Temte creates is formulated to magnify the inner magic of the wearer. Scrying the essence of each, she carefully selects and combines each stone, bead, and bone. Balance and inspiration are sought through the combination of a variety of materials, textures, and colors. Antique beads and natural materials are incorporated into her designs in order to draw upon the magic and wisdom they offer. It is the artist’s hope that these pieces bring beauty and intention into the wearer’s life and that they serve as talismans for truth, love, healing, protection, and gratitude.
Helen Wang, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: semi-precious stones, mixed precious metals
Wang creates each deftly designed one-of-a kind or limited edition piece with the person who will eventually wear it in mind. Whether it’s a druzy quartz marquis earring or the vintage luxury feel of a genuine Swarovski crystal bridal choker, Wang’s hands create the jewelry to reflect her vision of you.