Hasta La Ideas

East meets Wests meets rope in designer Rodrigo Almeida’s new foray into jewelry

Already known for colorful furniture and art pieces reflecting his homeland’s diverse culture, Brazilian industrial designer Rodrigo Almeida recently designed his first jewelry collection called “Caligrafia” for São Paulo jewelry shop Aria Joalheiros. The collection, consisting of seven one-of-a-kind bracelets and necklaces, explores the theme “East meets West,” as interpreted through a visual exploration of language.

Drawing on the calligraphy and brushstrokes of written Eastern languages, Almeida sets actual brushes against Western references, such as Latin letters. Although some of the references to language are abstract, all of them address the constant evolution of language. “They have the same meaning but are expressed in different ways,” said Kim. “It’s almost as if they had been written by the same designer on different days, under different moods. The letter/caligraphy changes daily.”

While the linguistic symbolism (inspired by Aria Joalheiros owner Leo Kim’s Korean-Brazilian heritage) is the focus, the designer’s aesthetic remains at the forefront.Yellow and red cords, a familiar theme in Almeida’s furniture design, lend a modern sporty feel—a look recently popularized by Proenza Schouler’s bracelets and necklaces that incorporate climbing rope.

Contact Aria Joalheiros directly for prices.

Biomimetic lamps created from leaf-based algorithms

Design studio Nervous System‘s new Hyphae lamps uses a complex 3D computing process to mimic the naturally beautiful and unique structure of plant leaves. Each lamp is grown through a controlled process based on the Auxin Flux Canalization theory, positing that vein formation occurs from the growth hormone auxin which flows “where it has flowed before and cells with high levels of auxin differentiate into vein cells.” The two MIT grads behind Nervous System translated this computer model (devised by the University of Calgary’s Algorithmic Botany group) into an algorithm for creating physical objects, with no two pieces ever the same just like veins on a leaf.

To produce the computer-generated pattern, the techniques are just as high tech. Starting each lamp with a base volume and a set of root points, they are then “grown” through an iterative process in an auxin-filled environment. The pieces are then printed by NYC-based Shapeways, who minimize waste by only using the nylon material in the final form and by using Selective Laser Sintering, a process that creates extremely involved geometries directly from digital CAD data without a mold. Three Cree LED lights, using only 3.6 watts of electricity, generate the mesmerizing reflections on the walls surrounding the lamp.

In addition to the elegant lighting, Nervous System previously used the Hyphae algorithm to create a collection of intricate jewelry that appears delicate but is super-strong, grown from one end using a hierarchical network.

Hyphae jewelry and lamps sell online from the Nervous System shop. Accessories vary in price depending on style and material. Each lamp is $600.

Australian jewelry designers band together to creatively promote their works

More than an online boutique, Melbourne Metal Collective is an artist-run retail concept for Australia’s up-and-coming jewelry designs with a strong focus on the community of craftspeople who make them. MMC hosts exhibitions, pop-up shops and more to highlight the fresh roster of bright minds currently making up their site, which includes Estelle Deve, Hamish Munro, Henson, Polly van der Glas and Young Hunting.

Alchemy—MMC’s first exhibition and pop-up store—reflects the consortium’s sophisticated earthy vibe, recalling the ancient Greek practice of melding metals. For the opening, the Collective commissioned a short film by South African director Michael Matthews, highlighting pieces and adding to the collective’s overall creative atmosphere.

Working primarily with raw materials (at times including hair and teeth), together MMC designers evoke a strong sense of mysticism and urban simplicity. Each offers their own style, but through a seemingly shared interest in the past, the collective creates beautiful pieces that transcend time.

Select works from each of the designers are available from the MMC shop, where you can also find out more about what the Melbourne-based collective is up to next on their blog.

A designer, artist, marketer and cultural catalyst finds inspiration in sound and pattern

by Meghan Killeen

In a corporate world of sales and strategies, marketing maverick Ivy Ross opts instead to chart success with an approach that has pioneered paradigm shifts in advertising. From spearheading covert creative operations for Mattel to stirring up merchandising mojo for Gap’s iconic ‘Black Magic, Black Pants’ ad campaign, Ross fuels concepts through ‘mental grazing’; a term coined by Ross to describe a creative diet of inspiration and rumination. “I believe that, just like a computer doesn’t give us output without input, we as creative people need to take new information in before we can generate something unique.”

To innovate change in marketing methodology, Ross turned to her own experience as a jeweler. Influenced by her father—an industrial designer who worked for the famed Raymond Loewy—Ross began to notice geometric patterns in lighting fixtures; an acute awareness, which later translated into many of her custom, crafted pieces. “[My father] taught me to how look at things and see them for beyond what they appear to be.”

Initially attracted to fashion, Ross attended the Fashion Institute of Technology where she majored in Art and minored in Psychology. “I loved studying where society and fashion was going and figuring out the materials and the details that would be right for the times,” reflects Ross. Drawn to the versatility of accessories, Ross created eclectic jewelry designs that explored new ideas in jewelry-making, such as using interwoven threads of iridescent Tantalum to create a fabric-like effect. Ross’ designs quickly garnished attention, including that of a Bergdorf Goodman jewelry buyer who presented Ross with a $60,000 purchase order on the spot for one of her designs, financing her burgeoning jewelry business and leading to the eventual placement of her work as a part of the permanent collections of 12 international museums, including London’s Victoria and Albert Museum and the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York City.

Ross’ early entrepreneurial spirit and design savvy laid the foundation for her transition into the mass-market retail world as a brand development innovator spurning a fast-track career that included such formidable titles as Vice President of Design for Bausch & Lomb and President of Calvin Klein’s Men’s Accessories division. Channeling such diversified interests as sound vibration and quantum physics along with her own artistic leanings, Ross began to infuse her corporate roles with a creative sensibility and vision indicating that “often in companies we spend all of our time ‘anniversary-ing’ the realities versus thinking about the possibilities.”

In 2001, Ross began to create a new toy as Senior VP of Product Design and Development for the Girls Division of Mattel. For the toy to be compelling, the creative team behind it had to be equally dynamic. Inspired by the clandestine Skunkworks project of Lockheed Martin fame, Ross created a new species of guerrilla ideation called ‘Project Platypus’; a befitting moniker based on a creature that is described as “an uncommon mix of different species.” Ross assembled a 12 member team with varying skill sets from different departments and brought in outside speakers such as an improv comedian and a Jungian analyst. The team met during off hours in a separate studio space. Ross also experimented with sound vibrations, by playing music that vibrated at a custom frequency to induce heightened states of creativity during the meetings. “I find that if we can all be on the same wavelength, you can spiral to new ideas together a lot quicker,” states Ross.

Ross continues to turn corporate culture on its head as the current Creative Catalyst at Gap, Inc. following her position as the EVP of Marketing for Gap.

Ross will be speaking at Brand ManageCamp Conference in Las Vegas October 4-5 2011.

The Audi Icons series, inspired by the all-new Audi A7, showcases 16 leading figures united by their dedication to innovation and design.