Happy New Year! We hope 2021 is treating you well so far.
We’ve been spending a lot of time in the atelier creating new pieces for Valentine’s Day ❤️ and we thought it’d be fun to take you behind the scenes of our Lace jewelry making process.
A lover of lingerie, haute couture, and vintage finds, Camille spends hours scouring flea markets or rummaging through her grandmother’s trunks to find pieces that not only inspire her, but can be made into jewelry. The ideal strips of lace feature an interesting pattern in a thick enough fabric that’s not too tightly woven.
Then comes the process of selecting, organizing, and preparing the fabric. Repairing little snags, ironing it, and examining each piece in detail to figure out what it would be more suited to: a cuff, a pendant, a pair of earrings…
Next, the fabric must be sealed so that it becomes thick and non-porous. This involves applying a kind of glue with a sponge, then letting the strip dry for 24 hours, before applying another layer. This process continues over many days, until we achieve the ideal level of thickness.
We then spray the hardened piece of lace with a conductive metallic paint, and then dip it in an electrolysis bath. This coats the fabric in layers of copper and nickel, and renders it both flexible and unbreakable.
It’s now almost ready to be molded! But before then, we need to cut the piece into shape. For a cuff, that would mean a long strip. For pendants, we look for the most interesting part of the pattern to carve out circles or ovals of various sizes.
Next up: the prototyping process, featuring gummy pink wax and working with some of New York City’s most talented artisans.
Stay tuned!