I'm a big fan of using ordinary, everyday materials and giving them a fresh new twist.
My second favorite materials of choice (after Lino of course) is cut up bits of
Laminex and
Formica (the brand names of bench and table top laminate).
I have blogged about my Laminex scores at
Lino Forest numerous times, but I'm not alone in my love of Laminex. Here are three jewellers who utilize the colourful and functional material and refashion it to create a small celebratory ornaments and amazing wearable artwork!
Alice Potter is an Adelaide based jeweller who works out of the
Gray Street Workshop.
Laminex sample chips are one of her materials of choice, and she shapes, layers and rivets them to form cool abstract designs and super sweet "Bye Bye birdie" brooches.
Stored Laminex off cuts on Alices workbench.
It's great to find a jeweller who is passionate about recycling and doesn't like to waste anything. When asked about her creative process
here Alice says "I reuse all of the waste product anyway (rework and refine the metals, keep all small scraps of paper and plastics for future projects, etc), so I am not fussed about getting my hands straight into the making side of things."
Alice Potter's simple, but effective Laminex disc earrings.
Victoria Matthew's 2008 exhibition entitled "The Tingate Family Caravan Holiday" at Studio Ingot was an ode to 50's nostalgia, family jaunts in the caravan with the kids and pets, and the fancy modern material of the time-Laminex!
Victoria's cut out silhouettes of housewives, working dads and well behaved kids remind us of the dated social mores and defined gender roles of the 50's.
Gorgeous sparkly and swirly Laminex caravan pins and pendants complete with matching poodle and family sedan/van combo earrings.
Victoria's perfect 50's cookie cutter family intricately cut from the popular bench top material of the era, Laminex.
Rebecca Hannon is an American born jeweller, living in Ithica, New York.
No prizes for guessing why her silver and laminate range of jewellery made my heart flutter. The bold colour palette ( the main reason I love using Laminex and Formica chips), the patterning, the layering and the general gorgeousnes of these pieces.
Rebecca says this about her creative process; " I work in a series and find each new grouping a challenge to create a tension between the story and the medium to evoke meaning. materials are endless; one must search and then concentrate to find the subtle message found in an object"
Victoria Matthew's 2008 exhibition entitled "The Tingate Family Caravan Holiday" at Studio Ingot was an ode to 50's nostalgia, family jaunts in the caravan with the kids and pets, and the fancy modern material of the time-Laminex!
Victoria's perfect 50's cookie cutter family intricately cut from the popular bench top material of the era, Laminex.
Check out these amazing recycled bakelite and timber "mini sculptures" by Kyyote. L.A. based designer Amanda Loos strives to utilize materials and methods of production that are kind to the environment. She reuses and recycled materials that would otherwise be put to waste.
Amanda's rings are made from pieces of exotic hardwoods left over from furniture manufacture and vintage plastic. And two trees are planted for every Kyyote piece sold.
Knitted rings by London designer Suzi Warren of Twisted Twee. They look so woolly and cosy, like a mini nana rug on your finger. While your visiting the Twisted Twee site have a look at all the "sometimes wrong but oh so right" cool, edgy and slightly twisted products .
If you have knitted rings it's logical that you HAVE to have a knitting needle ring from the "Plastic Girl" herself Liana Kabel. What do you do when you have a big collection of vintage plastic knitting needles? Make them into cool knotted needle rings (above ), needle nobs with stirling silver rings (below left) and twisted Knitwit needle rings (below right)
I particularly like this felted wool bag made from recycled sweaters made by Tasha Miller Griffith from Arizona. This bag is soft and cuddly, yet tough and washable. Tasha designs each bag one at a time based on what she can find.
This series of three hand-embroidered pieces "fly away home" by Amanda Jean Walker are stitched on vintage cross-stitched fabric Each hoop has a minor variation in size and are ready to hang in whatever flight pattern you see fit. Amanda says"Embroidery is special to me because it is something that takes time and patience, and is a medium that requires slow, methodical work, something I enjoy immensely. I buy most of my hoops second-hand and everything I stitch is on vintage and thrifted fabrics."
Melbourne designer Mark from Record Attemps cuts flying ducks from recycled Vinyl LP records. "Mark had too many records. He decided he had to stop buying them or do something with them. He knew he couldn't stop buying them so he thought he would do something useful with them. Now people give Mark records they are going to throw out and he turns them into things."
Prince Design UK ceramic Flying ducks
.jpg)
.jpg)
