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PrintBaubles, bangles, and beads: Three women and their jewelry designs
STYLE
Dana Saylor (at left) wears some of her vintage jewelry.
kc kratt
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A selection of vintage jewelry from Moda Vintage, located on Hertel Avenue. |
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A selection of Lisa Hunter Jewelry’s elegant offerings. |
Interest in vintage jewelry has never really gone away, but today, designers and consumers are embracing the idea of vintage in more varied and more creative ways than ever.
Dana Saylor’s jewelry is a case in point. Saylor, who studied both art history and studio art (painting and drawing), is a self-trained jewelry maker. She has a passion for vintage materials, repurposing pins, buttons, chains, and beads into her variously glamorous and funky pieces. She groups her works into three collections.
There is “streamlined vintage,” which she describes as “fairly simple in look.” Like her other lines, they’re made with vintage elements: crystals, pendants, lucite, pearls, and beads. This line starts at around $10 for a ring made with an antique button, and the high end might be $48 for a more involved necklace with a stronger centerpiece element, like a vintage brooch.
Her “bridal occasion” collection is mostly custom-designed; many brides will either bring in or choose a vintage piece, which becomes the center of what Saylor calls her “brooch-bracelets.” Her website shows pictures of many happy brides and bridal parties wearing the versatile earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. The special occasion line is also reasonably priced, with necklaces in the $38 to $199 range, and the brooch-bracelets in the $130 to $160 neighborhood.
The last line that Saylor offers is her “art” pieces. Here she lets her imagination go, and comes up with funkier, slightly more bold or wild offerings.
The appeal of vintage for her, says Saylor, comes from its connections to people and culture. “I feel drawn to things with a story, a past, a meaning,” she says. “I’m into genealogy and culture; I like to know how people used to live. I get some of my material from estate sales and online, but it’s nice to get pieces from customers. My favorite is working with people I know—or people who know where the jewelry came from.”
Dana Saylor Designs
315-525-7474
www.danasaylordesigns.com
Also available at 464 Gallery, 464 Amherst St., Buffalo
Lucy Perrone Mancuso is the owner of Moda Vintage on Hertel Avenue, where she showcases vintage jewelry. She has been collecting it since she can remember and has had a storied international career in the jewelry and accessory biz—after studying jewelry design at Buff State, Mancuso traveled the world, living and working in Italy and New York for over twenty years.
In her shop, which also carries some clothes, accessories, and home décor, she focuses on several different jewelry styles. One of her favorites, and always popular, is costume jewelry from the 1940s and ’50s.
“This type of jewelry is known for its quality, workmanship and design,” says Mancuso. “In the ’40s and ’50s, makers applied the same skill and design to glass or crystal jewelry as they did to that made of precious or semiprecious stones. They used the best plating, which prevents them from tarnishing. The stones were Swarovski crystal, and French, Italian, or Czech glass. It sparkles in a different way.” It can also be incredibly glamorous. Just check out the goods in old black and white movies, and see how they shine.
Today, women are wearing things differently, Mancuso says. “Not everyone is going to buy big glittery things, but they may choose a special pair of earrings, or mix a big necklace with a real gold bracelet. It works. Customers will come in with their dress, and find something unique to wear with it.”
She also notices that nostalgia and sentiment are part of the draw. “Many will say, ‘Oh, my grandmother [or mother] had that pin.’ They like the idea of having something that reminds them of family.” For these pieces, the range is $35 to $950.
She is currently smitten with modernist designer works, those from the 1930s to the ’60s. Her collection features a stunning array, all in excellent condition. Made of many different materials, some futuristic or sculptural looking, they start at $50 and range up to around $1,100.
Mancuso also searches for and loves fun ’60s jewelry, like huge flower pins ($10 to $45). Another classic is Bakelite, which was first introduced around the 1910s. An array of colored bangles, especially the high-quality carved ones, and figurals, like an iconic cherry necklace, can run from $15 to $1,200.
Moda Vintage
1509 Hertel Ave., Buffalo
725-6636
Lisa Hunter Jewelry has been in business under that name since around 2000. Since 2006, it has been owned by Barbara Maira. Maira, who is a former banker and a trained gemologist and jewelry designer, says that the bulk of her clientele comes to Lisa Hunter for custom-designed jewelry—sometimes bringing their own stone to be reset, or looking for a piece with the special meaning that comes from having work done specifically to their taste.
Her elegant salon in Williamsville offers a haven where you sit in a private nook with Maira and view her and Hunter’s designs, or works by a select few professional jewelers whose pieces Maira carries.
She is about to launch a new project, whereby she will offer a line of signature pieces—simply designed rings, earrings, bracelets, and necklaces—in silver, gold, or platinum, with pearls or other stones, to her customers via her website or her store. Several of them are in a lovely lily shape, with clean lines, classic yet modern.
Women these days, Maira says, are looking for pieces that will multitask and that aren’t necessarily only “special occasion.” She calls this style “dressy casual.” “People are looking for jewelry that they can get a lot of use out of,” she says. “If they are going to invest in a piece of jewelry, they want it to be flexible.”
Maira loves what she does and says that she comes from a long line of jewelry lovers. She understands the market, her customers, and the culture we’re living in. Her prices reflect this attitude. “At the low end, we’ve got things for $75, like a silver ring with little pearl,” she says. “And at the high end ... the sky is the limit! We don’t keep these things in inventory, but if someone wants to commission a piece valued at $25,000 to $50,000, we will make it! We try to have something for everyone.”
Lisa Hunter Jewelry
350 Main St., Williamsville
634-5353
lisahunterjewelry.com
Thanks to her wonderful mother-in-law, a woman of exquisite taste, Jana Eisenberg is lucky enough to own several bakelite bracelets.
