San Francisco Independent Fashion
Our very-visual, (almost) chatter-free snap judgment of the day: the juxtaposition of delicate, twig-like rungs and a tough-girl industrial base in the Under the Bower ring, $145, available in Sterling silver and rhodium from Bay Area jewelry designer Victoria Ruta Skirpa’s VRS by Victoria line.
More snap judgments…
Photography courtesy of VRS by Victoria
It might surprise you to learn that Bay Area jewelry designer Kate Ellen was never a girlie girl, which might seem like a prerequisite for success as a maker of pretty things women wear on their wrists, necks and lobes.
“I was always kind of drawn to the blurring of gender stuff. I grew up as a tomboy…The metal smithing end of [jewelry design] is something that girls aren’t traditionally taught to do. I get dirty. I’m wearing a mask when I work, and that’s part of the reason that I think it’s so much fun. It’s not totally over the top feminine. It’s somewhere in the middle,” says Point Richmond-based Ellen, who solders and shapes each piece of her silver, brass and gold jewelry ($80-$350).
The Bay Area native decided to pursue jewelry as a business only after intending to follow a career in public health. But the end of a relationship that led her across the country and back again sent her into reevaluation mode. That’s when the 28-year-old decided to take what had always been a hobby and turn it into a full-time gig.
“I felt like I really wanted to be doing something really creative and artistic. I basically just decided to just go for it,” she says.
Ellen may make it sound simple, but ask her more about her journey, and you’ll quickly discover that hard work and entrepreneurial spirit lies underneath. In addition to classes at East Bay creative hub The Crucible, Ellen took business and accounting classes and reads voraciously about entrepreneurship.
Her advice for budding designers?
“Even if you’re really, really talented, just prepare yourself that it’s marathon and not a sprint,” she says.
As for the pieces that Ellen makes for men and women, the frill-free designs mix hard and soft sensibilities and can often be worn in more ways than one.
Says Ellen:
“My aesthetic is sort of industrial, but very organic at the same time because a lot of the shapes aren’t perfectly symmetrical and a lot of the pieces are sort of androgynous.”
Want to peruse Kate Ellen Metals in person? You’ll currently find them at Wonderland in San Francisco. Custom orders are also available by contacting Ellen directly.
More San Francisco jewelry designers…
Are you tuning in for tonight’s American Idol finale? Yes, it’s Simon’s last week on the show, but we’re more concerned with this news: a Bay Area designer’s work will be hitting the red carpet and the stage.
East Bay designer Marrin Costello got in touch to say three of her high-drama, custom-designed pieces will be making their small-screen debut tonight courtesy of 7th season contestant Brooke White. So how did the local designer get her work on the singer?
“I know her stylist, Amanda Jones, from back home (Alameda, California). She ‘pulled’ a few pieces of my jewelry a few weeks ago, and Brooke liked them,” says Costello, who makes each piece by hand using materials from costume jewelry supplies to semi-precious stones and metals.
And while Costello’s jewelry may be star-worthy, her prices are not. Pieces start at an affordable $20.
To catch a glimpse, Costello suggests tuning in to the pre-show countdown on the TV Guide Channel at 7 p.m.
Photography by Jay Adams
More San Francisco fashion news…
