When next you’re craving a taste of New York without hopping a five-plus-hour-flight across this great nation of ours, the latest from local designer Jene Despain may very well do the trick. It may not involve unbeatable cheese pizza and unparalleled bagels, but the Roaring ’10′s collection does draw upon something else we’ve always found quite inspiring on strolls through Manhattan: soaring buildings and Art Deco design.
With each piece ($54-$125) inspired by and named after a famous Art Deco New York landmark, the collection features mixed metal chains hung with details such as spikes, brass shields and tiny brass bullets and earrings that pair intricately designed geometric shapes with stones such as green onyx and red carnelian. Despain, a self-taught artist who splits her time between Manhattan and her apartment in the Mission, makes each piece by hand.
“I always have the San Francisco woman in mind when I’m designing…They are brave and not afraid to stand out,” Despain told us over coffee at the Dolores Park Cafe.
Despain recently relaunched a revamped web site with an online shop, but you can peruse her work in person in San Francisco at Circle & Square, Candystore Collective and Hello.
Photos (from top): Despain at Tartine in San Francisco; Despain perusing the racks at Candystore Collective; Metropolitan dagger earrings; Barclay necklace.
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