This October at the Walker, meet the makers while shopping for beautiful jewelry and stylish accessories as the perfect occasion to help celebrate the change in seasons. Bring a friend and enjoy this exclusive Walker Shop event. The Jewelry & Accessory Makers Mart features 26 jewelry and accessory designers, each presenting their original, hand-crafted designs.
Featured artists include: Claire Abitz, Emma Carroll (EMdsign), Yen-Ying Chee (Yen Chee Design), Bridget Clark (Bridget Clark Design), Jordyn DiOrio (MEND Jewelry), Desdamona Doolittle, Kaja and Zoë Foat (FOAT), Brittany Foster (BMF Jewelry), Juan Fried (Metalarchill), Karin Jacobson, Joe Johnson and Jeanju Choi-Johnson (ITSNONAME), Tia Keo, Emily Kisa, Jen Kreilich (J. Lux), Emily Madland, Julie Meyer (Julie Meyer Handbags), Meghan Nelson (Dottir Jewelry), Beth Novak (Beth Novak Enamels), Robyne Robinson (ROX Jewelry), Barbara Stellmach (Seventh & Stone), Laurie Sorenson (Les Bags), Maggie Thompson (Makwa Studio), Jeannie Trelles (Vikse Designs), Helen Wang, Megan Wiley (Solid Design Studios), and Linda Zimmerman.
All proceeds support the Walker’s artistic and educational programs.
Walker Art Center’s Jewelry & Accessory Makers Mart
Saturday October 12, 2019, 11 am – 4 pm
Skyline Room, Free
Member Mimosa Preview: Jewelry & Accessory Makers Mart
Saturday October 12, 2019, 10am–11am
Skyline Room
Members always shop first. Bring a guest and enjoy complimentary mimosas and preview the amazing selection of goods. Don’t forget—Walker members receive a 10% discount on all purchases.
Limited capacity. RSVP here or call 612-375-7655. Not a member? Join today at walkerart.org/membership.
FEATURED ARTISTS
All photos courtesy the artists
Claire Abitz – Hortonville, Wisconsin
Materials: leather, brass, walnut and oak
Claire Abitz is an artist and maker based in Hortonville, WI. Her background in sculpture has informed her work in accessories, furniture and interiors. Her practice focuses on the combination of salvaged materials, geometry and the history of trades.
Emma Carroll (EMdsign) – Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: Acrylic, sterling silver, gold plate
Emma Carroll is a jewelry and product designer from Southeast Iowa who currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 2012, she graduated with a Masters in Design from The Peter Behrens School of Art/FH Düsseldorf in Germany. After moving back to the US, she has taught at several colleges and currently teaches in St. Paul. Emma is designer with a sensitivity to detail, technology and material combinations. Her passion lies in connecting colleges with corporate sponsorship and bringing innovation out of the classroom and into society.
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, Chee’s 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.
Bridget Clark (Bridget Clark Design) –Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: Sterling Silver, 24-Karat Gold, Semi-Precious Stones
Bridget Clark came into jewelry design after a career in science. She had passions in art and science, which led her to study science in college. After graduating from the University of Minnesota with a degree in clinical laboratory science, she worked in toxicology for several years. In 1998, she decided to leave for a more creative pursuit and set up a studio in her home. Exploring metalsmithing through classes and mentorship, a complex, three-dimensional and asymmetrical body of work emerged. Clark recognized elements of science and biology in her work, noting a botanical and marine aesthetic with an industrial edge. Clark is currently a charter board member of the Minnesota Jewelry Artists Guild (MNJAG) and is working to build community within the craft and engage the greater public with their awareness of the work, value and satisfaction of being a collector.
Jordyn DiOrio (MEND Jewelry) – Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: Semi-precious stones, gold plate, sterling silver
Since the launch of her brand, Jordyn DiOrio has sold online at Nordstrom.com, launched a holiday store at the Mall of America and won three awards (Twin Cities Startup Award, Rising Young Professionals and NY Now’s Best New Product). She sells intentionally designed jewelry to women all over the country. She wants to blaze the trail for young women who aspire to run their own companies in the future. DiOrio currently lives in Minneapolis and is working on launching her sixth collection this spring. When she’s not full steam ahead on MEND, she mentors students at the University of Minnesota, listens to podcasts and indulges in macaroons.
Desdamona Doolittle – Burnsville, Minnesota
Materials: Repurposed Leather
Striving to keep leather out of landfills, Desdamona Doolittle is a unique accessories line handcrafted from repurposed leather. Made from scraps, remnants and other discarded items that would otherwise crowd our landfills, each piece is one of a kind. Desdamona Doolittle believes that small changes in our everyday choices can result in a significant environmental impact.
Kaja and Zoë Foat (FOAT) – Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: Sustainable fabrics
Twin sisters Kaja and Zoë Foat have shared a lot in life — a last name, a love of color and nature and a vision for a more ethical world. In 2002, at a time when women’s active wear was unflattering, environmental concerns were negligible and style was homogenized, they followed that shared vision to create FOAT. The goal was to offer a refreshing, eco-conscious alternative in women’s fashion, starting with yoga apparel. Since then, they have expanded their designs to additional lines of one-of-a-kind garments and wedding gowns. Every FOAT garment has a story to tell. Each piece begins as an idea, inspired by the unique fabrics and materials they source and salvage from sustainable suppliers and vintage shops. The Foats develop new designs almost weekly, based on the new materials they discover, to create very limited edition runs, each with a history and story all its own. All of the production work is then completed by hand—drawing, cutting, assembling and sewing every garment in studio.
Brittany Foster (BMF Jewelry) – Ely, Minnesota
Materials: Sterling Silver, Semi-Precious Stones
As a child, Brittany Foster spent a lot of time mucking around a little swamp she had in her family’s front yard. She learned to notice nature, and was a collector of shells and rocks. At 12 years-old she participated in her first jewelry class, which gave her skills with tools such as hammers and torches. After college, she built a business making custom projects and then moved to a small town near a swamp similar to her childhood. She describes her work as having elements of both her experiences in the city and swamp, architectural and natural.
Juan Fried (Metalarchill) – Northfield, Minnesota
Materials: Sterling silver, resin, polymer
Juan Alejandro Fried Ortiz de Zarate is an architect and artist whose work reflects the diversity of his ancestry, his urban experiences, and a new home in the countryside. He studied art history and architecture at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Minnesota. As an architect and urban designer, he completed award-winning designs for public agencies and community groups. As an emerging artist, he continues his study of form, space, and materials on a more intimate scale.
Karin Jacobson – Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: Sterling Silver, Topaz, White Quartz and other Lab Grown Gems
Karin Jacobson is committed to meticulously crafted, art jewelry and wedding rings. Each piece is hand-fabricated and focuses on ethically sourced materials. This collection was inspired by Origami and Kirigami, (a variation of origami that includes cutting of the paper). She wanted to try to take flat shapes and fold them into voluminous 3D forms. Metal does not fold the same way that paper does, but to Jacobson, these pieces capture the spirit of the form.
Joe Johnson and Jeanju Choi-Johnson (ITSNONAME) – Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: sterling silver, fine silver, gold and platinum
ITSNONAME (INN) is an American husband-and-wife design team. With over 30 years collective experience in the art, graphic design, jewelry, fashion, and advertising industries; the duo takes cues from nature, science, and culture to deliver intuitive work.
Tia Keo (Silvercocoon) – 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.
Emily Kisa – Wayzata, Minnesota
Materials: Synthetic thread, assorted beading
The story of KISA begins with its fearless leader, Emily. She studied abroad in Turkey and from the moment she landed, she knew her life was going to be transformed. It was sensory explosion of traditional crafts, history, colors, textures and food. She quickly fell in love with Turkish culture, art, jewelry, fashion and, eventually, her husband, Caglar Kisa. They lived there for 5 years then made their way back to her home in Minnesota, but she couldn’t erase the newly rooted love for Turkey. She brought together her passion for creating and art along with her husband’s entrepreneurial spirit to create her first jewelry line. The crocheted jewelry is inspired by the trim that bordered village women’s headscarves and is hand-crafted by a collective of women in Istanbul.
Jen Kreilich (J. Lux) – Golden Valley, Minnesota
Materials Used: gold toned brass, sterling silver, premium leather
J.LUX pieces are one of a kind or small batch handmade by Jen Kreilich in her studio in Minneapolis, MN. Constantly evolving, her collections reflect the minimal chic spirit of the modern bohemian woman.
Emily Madland – Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: Sterling silver, semi-precious stones
Emily Madland is a Minneapolis-based jewelry artist. She creates hand-forged sterling silver and gemstone pieces in her home studio. She is inspired by balance, how colors play together, shapes found in the natural world, and negative space. In addition to making jewelry, Emily loves being with her daughters, reading, bicycling, being outdoors, and works her other job as a school social worker.
Julie Meyer (Julie Meyer Handbags) – Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: Cowhide, Top-grain leather
Since 2008, Julie Meyer has been crafting bags in small quantities from her Minneapolis studio. Each bag is constructed with skilled workmanship using top grain leather, hair-on cowhides and finished with full interior linings.
She enjoys turning raw materials into functional items people love using. Julie Meyer Handbags are designed to be used every day and to last a lifetime.
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 wear ability and functionality. All elements of her jewelry are hand fabricated in her Seward studio.
Beth Novak (Beth Novak Enamels) – St. Louis Park, Minnesota
Materials: enamel on copper, sterling silver
Beth Novak grew up in an extremely artistic home believing you could look at just about anything as inspiration. She is originally from Wisconsin, where she attended the UW of Stout and got a degree in Studio Art, with a concentration in art metals. Novak has since lived in St. Louis Park for the last 17 years, and after experimenting with many different mediums, she has returned to her first love, metals. Her works include enamel on copper and sterling silver. She loves to explore texture and color and finds that both silver and copper allow her to do so. Novak often manipulates the copper before enameling it, to accentuate the layers and texture under the enamel. The patina she finishes her pieces off with is quite durable and has a wonderful depth of color.
Robyne Robinson (ROX Jewelry) – Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: semi-precious stones, pearl, sterling silver, brass
Exotic, one-of-a-kind affordable jewelry created with semi-precious stone, pearl, and artisan brass and silver for men and women for the environmentally conscious consumer. Sold at exclusive museums, jewelers and boutiques worldwide.
Barbara Stellmach (Seventh & Stone) –Two Harbors, Minnesota
Materials: metal, sterling silver, resin, spray paint, precious and semi-precious stones
Barbara Stellmach is a self-taught metalsmith who works primarily with sterling silver and incorporates precious and semi-precious stones, Lake Superior stones, laminate, resin, spray paint, Keum-boo, filament, and fiber into her designs. Stellmach draws inspiration from the materials she works with, mid-century design, and the great Northwoods that surround her. Clean lines, texture, color, and movement also play a role in much of her work. She currently resides in Two Harbors with her husband and their two little girls. There, in her childhood home, she owns and operates a small gift shop (Seventh & Stone) showcasing her work.
Laurie Sorenson (Les Bags) – Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: Wool felt, cotton canvas, leather
Les Bags are handmade by Laurie Sorenson, a maker with over a decade of experience in making bags, totes, purses, and jewelry. After her two sons moved out of the house, she began creating her signature line of waxed canvas tote bags and merino wool felt, experimenting with different styles, designs, and unique touches to create a bag that was beautiful to look at and hardworking enough to stand up to daily wear and tear.
Maggie Thompson (Makwa Studio) – Saint Paul, Minnesota
Materials: Wool
Maggie Thompson (Fond du Lac Ojibwe) was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Textiles at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 2013. As a textile artist and designer she derives her inspiration from the history of her Ojibwe heritage, exploring family history as well as themes and subject matter of the broader Native American experience. Thompson’s work calls attention to its materiality pushing the viewer’s traditional understanding of textiles. She explores materials in her work by incorporating multimedia elements such as photographs, beer caps and 3D-printed objects.
Jeannie Trelles (Vikse Designs) – Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: semi-precious stones, sterling silver, gold, leather and feathers.
Jeannie Trelles first began making jewelry in junior high school. What began as a hobby turned into a business in 2009, and Vikse Designs was born. Trelles’s work is influenced by her love of travel, nature, and fashion. As her business has grown, so has her desire to learn new skills to further her ability to realize her creative vision. Since taking metalsmithing and lapidary classes, her work has developed from the beading and crocheted work she started out with. She enjoys using a variety of natural materials in her work, including semi-precious stones, sterling silver, gold, leather and feathers.
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 the customer.
Megan Wiley (Solid Design Studios) – Edina, Minnesota
Materials Used: Semi-precious stones, gold plate, sterling silver
Designer Megan Wiley started Solid Design Studios after spending a decade in women’s fashion and accessories while covering style as a magazine editor and working for some of the Twin Cities’ most revered boutiques. Her jewelry and accessories embrace a refined yet playful aesthetic, translating seamlessly from day to evening. Each piece is made by hand in Edina, Minnesota, and is named after a street in this Minneapolis suburb.
Linda Zimmermann – Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: Upcycled cashmere
Linda Zimmermann, the youngest daughter of working class immigrants, learned early how to make lemonade from lemons, not only making due with what one has, but making better (and cooler). Armed only with a sense of style that skews a little off-center and a passion for cashmere, she finds inspiration in everything from nature to history to art. She has been repurposing cashmere, along with other fine/found materials, since 2001— hand stitching every one-of-a-kind piece.