Riding their aesthetic

“Paper gives me a lot of inspiration because of its malleable and ephemeral nature that lets me create any forms with my own hands. I love to create pieces that are visual for the eye and tactile for the touch. Movement and interaction with the body, clean lines, repetition and the contrast of masculine and feminine forms are all elements in my design aesthetic,” said United Kingdom-based designer Sarah Kelly, who started her paper jewellery label “Saloukee” at the end of 2008.

 

To Ms Kelly, paper jewellery is just as precious, if not more so, than jewellery made from diamonds and precious metals. The work takes time, craftsmanship, tender care and patience; thus her paper jewellery is made to treasure.

 

Regarding patience and care, Elisa Ridolfi of Rely Designs could not agree more. Her background in interior design may have paved the way for this Italian designer to get to know more about structures and shapes.

“I am fond of simple, neat and elegant designs with geometrical shapes. I was very amazed recently to see paper jewellery form part of an exhibition in a contemporary art museum in Milan. Paper gives me plenty of patterns and colours to use. Even when mingled with other materials like beads or crystals, they just make my pieces complete,’ she explained.

 

Lotus Flower@Rely Designs	Malikia Collection@Keza	Disperse Ring@Saloukee

 

 

Saloukee’s paper jewellery is renowned for its intricate folding and layering. Ms Kelly applies her signature rivets in her pieces, so as to hold their form and structure. “Obverse Collar” is her favourite; as she stated, the shape of the piece conforms to the wearer’s unique neck shape, and the concertina effect of the folds can display more movement. “Normally, heavyweight papers are the easiest to deal with, as it is more difficult for the lighter ones to hold their form, while the functionality is also bothersome. Also, it is always more difficult to work with paper combined with metal, a far less delicate material, and it usually takes more skill and care to achieve the perfect outcome,” she further explained.

As for Ms Ridolfi, her paper pieces appear more fragile and delicate. From a technical point of view, the origami technique requires a high level of concentration and patience and good manual dexterity. Take her favourite piece, “Lotus Flower,” as an example. She particularly loves the flower shape and the possibility of creating two different pieces from the same model; one a flower shape, the other, turned upside down, like a little umbrella. “Recycled paper is more fragile in texture than any other kind; I have to be really careful when I fold it. There is a best paper for the construction of each piece. The ‘Lotus Flower’ works very well with recycled paper, and that is what caused me to be so attached to this collection,” Ms Ridolfi said. Apart from paper, she also uses beads, charms, vintage buttons and seeds to deck out her art pieces.

“Magazine papers or light papers are too thin to work with, we usually pick the thicker cardboard to hold the jewellery form; sometimes we will use cow horn, camel bone, recycled brass, textiles (all made from eco-friendly materials) to create our jewellery. In general, long necklaces are more difficult to make than small rings or earrings; necklaces are technical and difficult to assemble as there are many parts involved. Each piece must lie perfectly on the body, therefore it does take plenty of time to finish one necklace, i.e. up to three days,” Mr Angaza said. “Menewa from the Malikia (‘Queen’ in Kiswahili) collection” is Keza’s signature piece, featuring the colourful spiral paper beads which took the paper beads trade to a higher level of design.

Obverse Collar@Saloukee	Lotus Flower@Rely Designs	Kindu@Keza

Eco-fashion has been in vogue for the past few years; does it provide any inspiration for the paper fashion jewellery practitioners? Ms Ridolfi expressed her views: “The concept of eco-fashion does inspire my collections! I love using recycled materials, from tea and yoghurt boxes to magazine pages, city maps, flyers etc to re-create my precious jewels.” Her recycled “Lotus Flower” collection is very well received among customers, especially the pieces made of music paper. She foresees pink honeysuckle being the hot colour for this summer.

Mr Angaza continued, “There is much paper waste in East Africa; we always want to put it to good use and turn it into something beautiful. We love to see a clean and green world, especially in developing nations.” Keza’s paper bead business created many job opportunities in paper collecting, cutting and sorting for the local community.

On the other hand, despite Ms Kelly not seeing eco-fashion as directly inspiring her paper collection, she does consider ecological credentials when she creates Saloukee pieces; and she believes all designers should have their eco credentials in mind when they create. She expects to see more advanced technology for paper jewellery, such as laser cutting and rapid prototyping, in the near future.

On top of the eco-fashion trend sweeping in, these paper jewellery designers from three countries are confident of a flourishing paper jewellery industry.

 

Revolution Necklace@Saloukee	Keza	Rely Designs