I have been a huge fan of Elisa Solomon’s jewelry designs even before Leighton Meester sported a necklace of hers on the cover of Lucky magazine back in August of 2008. Since then others have noticed how her designs bring back the once ephemeral symbols of history, particularly the 1960s, and capture them in a piece of jewelry. Motifs like peace signs, feathers, guitars, hearts, daisies and butterflies occur in many designs. I also really like how Native American spirituality inspires a few pieces from her collection as well.
Elisa has been busy busy creating some new pieces for Spring/Summer 2010. I had to catch up with her before the new jewels are set to launch. Check out what she had to say below in our latest Q & A:
Elisa Solomon: The most popular 18 karat piece is the tie dye band. The beautiful rainbow of colors is very appealing because it takes the stone-set stack ring and includes all sorts of incredible stones. In sterling silver, the most popular item is the guitar pick necklace with white diamonds. It is super cool and musician or not, it is a great shape with sweet little sparkly diamonds!
Elisa Solomon: I loved the University of Michigan. My mother attended and I always knew I wanted to follow in her footsteps! My first course happened to be Jewelry/Metalsmithing Level 1 and I pretty much immediately decided Jewelry and Metalsmithing would be my major. I entered the program at a time when there was a lot of artistic flexibility, so I was free to create and play. I also had fantastic internships in NYC during the summer, so I was learning the business year round. I created my first formal collection my senior year of college for Steven Alan Tribeca.
Elisa Solomon: My favorite pieces are my 18 karat yellow gold 3-flower ring with multicolor stones and my 18 karat yellow gold red diamond and pink sapphire guitar ring. I love the 3-flower because it incorporates so many different stones into the petals and band, which makes it very pleasant and fun to look at! I love the guitar because of the vivid colors and the funky guitar that wraps around the band! It is a special touch.
Elisa Solomon: Recently, I have made several one of a kind band rings. I love mixing unique stone combinations and carving interesting settings for them to rest in. I used to carve more symbols into my bands. I still do, but lately I’ve been playing with color more and twisting up classic ideas and stones to make them modern, chic, and fun!
Elisa Solomon: For Spring/Summer 2010, I felt inspired by dreams. Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” came out and I fell in love with the color palette and themes. In the film, Alice asks, “Did I ever stop dreaming?” I think it is facsinating that we fall asleep or daydream and come up with these amazing “worlds” and ideas. With this theme, I wanted to infuse a soft, luminescent, fantasy-like color palette into the dream symbols such as moons, stars, and eyes. I believe all our eyes see impacts where our imaginations travel once they’re shut!
