‘Over the past couple of years I’ve seen myself focusing increasingly on two jewelry ideas: the primary being animal earrings comprised of discovered objects, in “Misplaced & Discovered”, and the second being upcycling classic plastic to create timeless, trendy jewels, in “Plastic Unbelievable”,’ says Tessa Packard, who has constructed on this playful historical past with vibrant additions to those strains.
‘Each these collections discover the topic of sustainable jewelry in numerous methods, which as a theme is one thing I’ve been giving loads of thought to lately. I like what I do, however I additionally respect that I work in a luxurious business, which by its personal definition isn’t actually a necessity, so how can I’m going about reconciling the 2? I feel this query has strongly influenced my general artistic course of and has seen me shift in direction of producing jewelry with a extra upcycled coronary heart.’
Tessa Packard jewelry: embracing upcycling
Magic unicorn earrings, from the Misplaced and Discovered assortment
(Picture credit score: Tessa Packard)
Whimsical touches and daring strokes of color characterise the brand new items, which rethink acquainted motifs in 18ct gold, valuable gems, upcycled lucite and porcelain. ‘I’m far more involved with design integrity (utilizing supplies that appropriately replicate the story and inspiration behind a theme) than carat weight or materials worth as a way to justify my place on the jewelry desk,’ Packard says. ‘Plus, I like the chance that jewellery-making provides as a medium. Only a few different disciplines enable for such experimentation in materials and I actually wish to benefit from this.’
Tallahassee earrings, £2,300, from the Plastic Unbelievable assortment
(Picture credit score: Tessa Packard)
Creating the items in a juxtaposition of textures was not with out its challenges, with Packard conducting numerous experiments to find the bounds of the extra unknown supplies. ‘One of many extra out-there concepts we had was to make use of liquid resin to set gems in classic plastic, due to this fact negating the necessity for conventional steel collets within the physique of the “Boca Bonita” and “Key West” earrings. It took fairly a couple of iterations to work out which gems might be efficiently combined with resin and the way greatest to do that in order that the stones appeared to “float” within the resin, versus settle solely on the backside of the mould.’
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(Picture credit score: Tessa Packard)
French bulldog earrings, £1,800, from the Misplaced and Discovered assortment
(Picture credit score: Tessa Packard)
