Wynn Hall Jewelry - My exclusive bio of this must-see New York jewelry designer
Read below for a bio and insider facts of Wynn Hall, an up-and-coming jewelry designer,
in her words! She's an amazing jewelry designer and her pieces are truly unique... be sure to check out some more of her jewelry at the links below!
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One of the first pieces of jewelry I made was a flower ring. I would make a thin, vertical slit in a clover flower’s stem and loop the bottom of the stem through that opening. Slip it on my finger and done. They were sweet smelling, easy to make, and very special, even without exclusivity. Pretty much everyone I knew made and wore them.
I was also into, well, I still do it, wrapping seaweed around my wrists, balancing small shells on my hands and fingers, twisting thin branches into rings. So much of what’s already there looks beautiful on. It’s hard to beat gorgeous flowers tucked behind an ear.
I don’t try to compete with nature, but I do get a lot of inspiration from it. Sometimes I recreate an object, and sometimes there’s a mood and a story I want the jewelry to have, so I’m interpreting something I’ve seen. The shell bracelet and ring came about because of a family trip to the beach. Most of my family is in New Orleans, and I’m in New York, so we decided to meet in the middle, North Carolina, and spend a week at the beach. I wanted to make my mom a birthday present about the trip, something to do with shells, so after lots of sketches I came up with a smooth, curved bangle that had a little secret interior. I like contrasts, even contradictions, so I made the interior rough. And since that looked cool I decided to have the interior plated in black rhodium, which added more contrast, more significance, and an amazing look to the pieces. Now I’m plating the interiors with gold, which is blowing my mind, it’s so pretty.
My first art is acting, and as much as I love being an actor I was looking for what I created. Like, literally. Acting doesn’t produce a product that you can hold and feel and lick, smell, taste. Films, taped performances, etc. don’t count for what I’m talking about. It was personal, really, maybe not for everyone to understand. There is a funny similarity, though-castings! I had no idea.
A few years ago I took a beginner jewelry-making class, working with sterling silver to make a ring, a keychain and a pair of earrings. After that I took an intermediate class and then went to Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina for a two-week concentration in metals with Kiwon Wang. Since Penland I’ve continued my studies in New York, and now also study and work with wax to produce my pieces. Having a metals background is very useful, because I like to continue the design of the jewelry after it’s cast.
I’ve got a signature piece, called the Two-Finger Flower. Starting where I started! The flower’s bud rests in a way that allows the petals to drape over two fingers. The ring was inspired by hip-hop two-finger rings that I wanted to put my own spin on. And I love old-school glamour too. So it’s an unexpected but unique and beautiful mix of styles. Which is how my line is developing so far, and it’s fun and exciting to create more.
Next up is my Rock Roots collection, starting with Louisiana. I’m rocking my home state, y’all. The pendants are in sterling silver, and one is oxidized so that it’s a blackish grey (a political statement- how could I not, with the awful oil spill) and the other is plated in gold, which is how is dear my home is to me. More states to rock coming soon!
For more on Wynn Hall Jewelry, please visit these sites:
WynnHallJewelry.com
http://www.wynnhalljewelry.com/
Wynn Hall Jewelry on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wynn-Hall-Jewelry/336332221240
Wynn Hall Jewelry on Etsy.com
http://www.etsy.com/people/WynnHallJewelry
Wynn Hall Jewelry in Ready Made Magazine
http://readymade.com/blogs/extras/2010/02/04/who-do-you-heart-sweepstakes/
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One of the first pieces of jewelry I made was a flower ring. I would make a thin, vertical slit in a clover flower’s stem and loop the bottom of the stem through that opening. Slip it on my finger and done. They were sweet smelling, easy to make, and very special, even without exclusivity. Pretty much everyone I knew made and wore them.
I was also into, well, I still do it, wrapping seaweed around my wrists, balancing small shells on my hands and fingers, twisting thin branches into rings. So much of what’s already there looks beautiful on. It’s hard to beat gorgeous flowers tucked behind an ear.
I don’t try to compete with nature, but I do get a lot of inspiration from it. Sometimes I recreate an object, and sometimes there’s a mood and a story I want the jewelry to have, so I’m interpreting something I’ve seen. The shell bracelet and ring came about because of a family trip to the beach. Most of my family is in New Orleans, and I’m in New York, so we decided to meet in the middle, North Carolina, and spend a week at the beach. I wanted to make my mom a birthday present about the trip, something to do with shells, so after lots of sketches I came up with a smooth, curved bangle that had a little secret interior. I like contrasts, even contradictions, so I made the interior rough. And since that looked cool I decided to have the interior plated in black rhodium, which added more contrast, more significance, and an amazing look to the pieces. Now I’m plating the interiors with gold, which is blowing my mind, it’s so pretty.
My first art is acting, and as much as I love being an actor I was looking for what I created. Like, literally. Acting doesn’t produce a product that you can hold and feel and lick, smell, taste. Films, taped performances, etc. don’t count for what I’m talking about. It was personal, really, maybe not for everyone to understand. There is a funny similarity, though-castings! I had no idea.
A few years ago I took a beginner jewelry-making class, working with sterling silver to make a ring, a keychain and a pair of earrings. After that I took an intermediate class and then went to Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina for a two-week concentration in metals with Kiwon Wang. Since Penland I’ve continued my studies in New York, and now also study and work with wax to produce my pieces. Having a metals background is very useful, because I like to continue the design of the jewelry after it’s cast.
I’ve got a signature piece, called the Two-Finger Flower. Starting where I started! The flower’s bud rests in a way that allows the petals to drape over two fingers. The ring was inspired by hip-hop two-finger rings that I wanted to put my own spin on. And I love old-school glamour too. So it’s an unexpected but unique and beautiful mix of styles. Which is how my line is developing so far, and it’s fun and exciting to create more.
Next up is my Rock Roots collection, starting with Louisiana. I’m rocking my home state, y’all. The pendants are in sterling silver, and one is oxidized so that it’s a blackish grey (a political statement- how could I not, with the awful oil spill) and the other is plated in gold, which is how is dear my home is to me. More states to rock coming soon!
For more on Wynn Hall Jewelry, please visit these sites:
WynnHallJewelry.com
http://www.wynnhalljewelry.com/
Wynn Hall Jewelry on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wynn-Hall-Jewelry/336332221240
Wynn Hall Jewelry on Etsy.com
http://www.etsy.com/people/WynnHallJewelry
Wynn Hall Jewelry in Ready Made Magazine
http://readymade.com/blogs/extras/2010/02/04/who-do-you-heart-sweepstakes/