Punk Rock Party: Fashion Designer Shoshi Barbi's Collections

Designer Shoshi Barbi with model Tzvika Amit. "I believe that when we dress, we can take our style straight from our own fantasy world," says Barbi. "It has always been a way we can express ourselves."

Fashion designer Shoshi Barbi creates dynamic collections that manage to be both pretty and punk rock. Beloved of musicians, her clothes are hand-made and bristle with her original, graphic prints. DAM's fashion correspondent Limor Helfgott interviews the designer at her atelier in Tel Aviv

My creations always start with a magical moment ~ Shoshi Barbi

FASHION for Israeli designer Shoshi Barbi has always been a way to make her own visual statement using her unique, avant-garde style. A graduate of Shenkar College of Design, Barbi’s work is a favourite of not only Israeli musicians and actors but also international singers like Madonna.

Shoshi Barbi started her successful label eight years ago and is based in Tel Aviv. Her first major collection was called Plastic Doll ~ a mix of punk and pretty pieces. The recent J*U*S (Just.Urbane.Stars) is a more mature brand but still with the rock and roll edge. This year, she also launched a new children’s label called Plastic Jus inspired by her newborn daughter.

Looking at her collections, you can immediately recognize a very particular and special language that has become Shoshi Barbi’s signature. The designs have a certain graphic look that uses glam and pop symbols from our music and media culture. "It is always about the music and the music as a way of life," says Barbi.

One of the key inspirations for her collections is sheer escapism ~ using fashion as a way to leave the banal aspects of everyday life behind. "I believe that when we dress, we can take our style straight from our own fantasy world," says Barbi. "It has always been a way we can express ourselves." When you wear her designs you need to be ready to stand out and be bold.

Shoshi Barbi started her career as a graphic designer and you can see it clearly in her designs.  She was drawn to the fashion world, but she says it "chose" her. "If you are creative, fashion is a very visual way to present your ideas and have people identify with your vision," Barbi says. "In my case, life just took me on a path towards fashion.”

The process of creation is very important to Barbi. It starts with a moment when she is inspired by something. "It is always a "magical moment" when it happens," she recalls. "Thinking about something that instinctively takes me towards the point of creating  a new design. It comes to me naturally and is never planned. But as soon as the right inspiration happens, I just run with it.”

That magical moment that brings the new idea is then translated into Barbi’s next fashion creation. After the design is drawn, the real work begins. Everything from the smallest detail is created and monitored by Barbi: from the moment the fabric is created all the way to the printing of each and every design. "The way I see it," she says "every piece is my own work of art, so it has to be perfect."

As a graphic designer she is aware not only of the composition of a t-shirt for example but the overall look of an outfit. You can see the evolution and the growth of the brand by looking at the changing designs.

Barbi says the most rewarding part of the design process comes later, when the collection is ready and her clients see it for the first time. Her happiest moment is when one of her designs makes someone feel good and they let her know. "That just makes my day," she smiles. "It just makes it all worthwhile." She says her designs are not about making more money. "My creations, my way of doing my designs and the special niche I have created is more important to me than anything. Commercializing the brand is not my main concern or what drives me."

However, her collections are getting a lot of attention from international markets. The J*U*S brand is now being distributed in Europe. Another collection called Mister Rock Star was created especially for her collaboration with Universal Studios in the USA.  Barbi would like her designs to be available around the world and she plans on expanding into more markets.

"I hope that I can always reinvent myself and have a different story to tell,’’ explains Barbi. “I don’t want life's routine to influence my freshness and most of all, my creativity and that fire that keeps my ideas coming."

Click on photographs for full-screen slideshow

The designer's clothes are beloved of singers and musicians: "It is always about the music and the music as a way of life," says Barbi

Shoshi Barbi's collections are full of strong, graphic prints: "If you are creative, fashion is a very visual way to present your ideas and have people identify with your vision."

Shoshi Barbi's new Mr Rockstar collection for Universal in the USA. "My creations, my way of doing my designs and the special niche I have created is more important to me than anything. Commercializing the brand is not my main concern or what drives me."

In this picture Israeli singer Iggy Waxman wears Plastic doll. Photographer: Ohad Romano

"I don’t want life's routine to influence my freshness and most of all, my creativity and that fire that keeps my ideas coming," explains Barbi. 

A graduate of Shenkar College of Design, Barbi’s work is a favourite of not only Israeli musicians and actors but also international singers like Madonna.

Shoshi Barbi started her successful label eight years ago and is based in Tel Aviv. Her first major collection was called Plastic Doll ~ a mix of punk and pretty pieces.

"Creating  a new design comes to me naturally and is never planned. But as soon as the right inspiration happens, I just run with it,” says Barbi. 

The process of creation is very important to Barbi. It starts with a moment when she is inspired by something. "It is always a "magical moment" when it happens," she recalls.

"I hope that I can always reinvent myself and have a different story to tell,’’ explains the designer.

Barbi says the most rewarding part of the design process comes when the collection is ready and her clients see it for the first time. Her happiest moment is when one of her designs makes someone feel good and they let her know: "That just makes my day," she smiles. "It just makes it all worthwhile." Photograph by Michael Fisch

One of the key inspirations for her collections is sheer escapism ~ using fashion as a way to leave the banal aspects of everyday life behind. Photograph by Michael Fisch

Shoshi Barbi is able to combine hard-edged style with a leavening dash of humour and prettiness. Photograph by Michael Fisch

Shoshi Barbi was drawn to the fashion world but she says it "chose" her. "If you are creative, fashion is a very visual way to present your ideas and have people identify with your vision. In my case, life just took me on a path towards fashion.” Photograph by Michael Fisch

The designer's  J*U*S label (Just.Urbane.Stars) is a more mature brand but still with the rock and roll edge. Photograph by Michael Fisch

Looking at her collections, you can immediately recognize a very particular and special language that has become Shoshi Barbi’s signature. The designs have a certain graphic look that uses glam and pop symbols from our music and media culture.  Photograph by Michael Fisch

Everything from the smallest detail is created and monitored by Barbi: from the moment the fabric is created all the way to the printing of each and every design. Photograph by Michael Fisch

Interview: Designer & Made in Ratio Creative Director Brodie Neill

Brodie Neill with the Cowrie rocker, the curvaceous form is inspired by sea shells."The creative process is where the magic happens. A design can go from an instinctive idea to resolved concept quite quickly then the process of realisation begins.  Knowing you’ve stumbled upon something new is a very exciting time."

Australian designer Brodie Neill talks to Jeanne-Marie Cilento about his stellar international career. Based in London, he discusses his new work and inspiration ~ including the influence of listening to Swedish House music on his creative oeuvre in our DAM TV interview

SPEAKING about his new collection with his signature enthusiasm and gravelly voice, Brodie Neill sits amid his designs for his company Made in Ratio. Known for his sinuous limited edition pieces such as the muscular Reverb chair, curvilinear Glacier chaise longue and sculptural designs such as the E-turn seat and Scuba for Italian brands Kundalini and Domodinamica, the designer's Made in Ratio furniture range can now be found in The Conran Shop which has showrooms in London, Paris and throughout Japan.

The two collections of new designs are clean-lined and versatile and represent a new step forward for the designer into larger scale production in Britain which combines both digital technology and hand-finishing products. When Neill launched the Made in Ratio debut collection in Milan last year, Conran saw the show and they began refining the prototypes of the Cowrie chair and rocker and the Supernova desk. They went into production at the end of 2013.

This year, Neill exhibited Made in Ratio's second collection during Milan's Salone del Mobile and London's Design Junction and says more designs will start being sold in other countries around the world: “I am also working on new projects for Kundalini including a linear suspension light and a chair for Riva 1920. Plus limited editions for various projects around the world and two public, permanent installations in Australia.”

Neill has been based in London for nearly 10 years and today his studio is based in Shoreditch. "I still find London to be a surprising and inspiring city," the designer says. "I first felt its gravitational pull on a stopover between New York and Milan 12 years ago and I always enjoying returning to London no matter how short my trip away. It is rich in creative talent....and it's not just design but more the melting pot of fashion, architecture, art, food and lifestyle that make it so appealing."

The designer’s career began at the University of Tasmania where he says the course emphasised a fine art approach with hands-on training as designer-makers:"Tasmania has a strong heritage of craftsmanship that stems from boat building and furniture making, so I learnt early on that it was important to take pride in what you produce and I have continued to apply this thinking throughout my career." He was already interested in digital design and using animation to create new fluid forms at the University of Tasmania. But he experimented further and developed his design ethos when he did a Masters degree at the Rhode School of Design in 2004. After getting a job in New York at L’Oreal, he was convinced his creativity would be better served establishing his own studio in London and working on his own designs, which he did in 2005.

His breakthrough happened in the same year when he exhibited prototypes at the young designers' platform Salone Satellite at the Milan international furniture fair. His work caught the attention of Gregorio Spini, a founder of Italian lighting brand Kundalini, and he went on to develop the Morphie lamp and then the swirling, intertwined E-turn seat.

"My career has been a journey across different continents and countries with many amazing opportunities and experiences, passionate people and inspiring places," Neill says. "Of course my Tasmanian upbringing is critical in my foundation, sensitivity to form and disciplined approach. America taught me that there are no limits and that creative dreams can become reality. Europe provided the passionate industry that welcomed me with open arms and shared belief in striving for innovation and quality."

During the halcyon days of the limited edition market where art and design fused to become sought after contemporary collector pieces, Neill created sculptural pieces with prices starting from £25,000. His pieces for The Apartment Gallery in London include the curvaceous Remix and the Glacier, a chaise longue of 360kg of molten glass that is hand-cast and polished by craftsmen in the Czech Republic ~ it now has a six figure price tag. His crystalline Jet table commissioned by Nadja Swarvoski, also evinced his skill at creating dynamic forms with a contemporary edge ~ an aesthetic that informs all of his work, including the recent collections for Made in Ratio.

1. How has growing up in Tasmania influenced your creative design work and the decisions you’ve made in your career?

I’m learning everyday that my Tasmanian roots provide me with the skills and inspiration that sets me apart from other designers. For years, I have pursued the true European model of the Industrial Designer, but it’s my foundation in hands-on making that makes my approach unique. 

As a child I was always building things and eventually took up the challenge of building furniture when I was a teenager. I was always making something, redesigning it as I would go along. Tasmania has a strong heritage of craftsmanship that stems from boat building and furniture making, so I learnt early on that it was important to take pride in what you produce and I have continued to apply this thinking throughout my career.

2. Looking back since you first exhibited at Salone Satellite in Milan in 2005 after studying at the Rhode Island School of Design in America, how has your work and design philosophy changed and evolved?
Of course my work has matured but honestly it hasn’t veered far from the focus of form-orientated function. Material and process has always played a big part in the learning curve of each and every design, with technology being introduced where necessary to enhance a forward thinking approach whilst keeping in mind that the finished article is the main objective. Studio research alongside partnerships with galleries and manufacturers have allowed for more progressive ideas and opportunities in new and exciting fields.

3. Why did you originally choose design as your creative métier?
Probably due to the discipline of design and the need to perform. Art can be anything but design has purpose.

4. Do you find the creative process when you are designing more rational or instinctive? And do you have a set schedule of working creatively everyday or is it more fluid?
My process is definitely more instinctive though becoming more rational with time. The creative ideas are very spontaneous and appear in an almost ‘what if’ moment but then the long process of applying rationality to that idea begins. My designs are vivid and unique but also refined and pared back. The idea might be instinctive but the result is more rational.

Unfortunately I don’t have a set schedule for creative work as my working week just doesn’t work like that. I would like to find more structure but at the same time I cannot restrict creativity to happen at a certain time each week. Often I would take note of an idea whenever it may appear and research it further in studio at a later date.  

5. What do you find the most challenging aspect of your work? 
Juggling everything and finding the time to spend on what I really want to do and that is design. Fortunately I have found a balance but I would like that balance to favour the more creative side. 

6. What part of the design process do you enjoy the most?
Definitely the creative process is where the magic happens. A design can go from an instinctive idea to resolved concept quite quickly then the process of realisation begins.  Knowing you’ve stumbled upon something new is a very exciting time.

7.Your design studio is based in London’s Shoreditch. What does the city give you creatively?
I still find London to be a surprising and inspiring city. I first felt its gravitational pull whilst on a stopover between New York and Milan some 12 years ago and I always enjoying returning to London no matter how short my trip away. London is rich in creative talent, so I know I’m far from alone on feeling this attraction, but maybe that’s exactly what it is that is so attractive.  
It’s not just design but more the melting pot of fashion, architecture, art, food and lifestyle that make it so appealing. I continue to be surprised by London, finding something new just around the corner be that in a distant neighbourhood or the same streets I walk everyday.

8. Can you describe the experience, person or training that has had the greatest impact on your design career so far?
My career has been a journey across many continents and countries with many amazing opportunities and experiences, passionate people and inspiring places. I believe its all an evolution, rolling from one into the other making it difficult to single out individuals and instances. Of course my Tasmanian upbringing is critical in my foundation, sensitivity to form and disciplined approach. 

America taught me that there are no limits and that creative dreams can become reality.  Europe provided the passionate industry that welcomed me with open arms and shared belief in striving for innovation and quality. The world is becoming a smaller place on a daily basis and it’s these cultural cross overs that will bring something truly special.

9. This is the second year of your new company Made in Ratio, how have you found the experience of being a designer and manufacturer on a larger commercial scale compared to producing limited edition pieces? 
Made in Ratio is a collection of self-produced designs that are the result of focused research and development into process and materials. The designs also feature the perfect balance of form and function, craftsmanship, quality, design and efficiency. The collection is carefully considered and the coming together of my experiences both as a designer of editions and for production with some of my Italian based clients. Being both designer and producer on this collection has enabled me to take my idea from conception right through to completion making sure the designers vision is always achieved.

10. Art collectors buy your limited edition design pieces ~ do you consider them more art or craft?  Today, what do you think the relationship is between design and contemporary art?
Yes art and design collectors buy my edition pieces but many intend to use them rather than simply admire them or sit them in storage as investments. The design process of a limited edition is no less intense simply because there will be fewer of them available.  In fact, its all the more important to perform in order to warrant the price tag.  

I always consider my editions to be design as they are the result of a design process. They can be considered art due to their concept and also craft involved in the material and process, but its design that drives ‘what’ and ‘how’ I do something. Today design and art are as intermingled as they have ever been but this tussle has been ongoing for decades. It’s also a personal and cultural perspective or preference as to the divide.  

Watch DAM TV's interview with Brodie Neill in Milan, Italy here:

The 2014 collection for Made in Ratio shown in London including the Pleat bench, Prism table, Tetra modular shelving and Pik stool.

  

The designer in Venice, Italy overseeing the production of the Cumulus lamp that is hand-made by master glass blowers.

Brodie Neill at the workshop where his Cowrie Rocker is made in Britain. 

The 2013 Cowrie collection is inspired by the concave lines of sea shells and the chairs have a curvilinear form made of a single, folding surface.



The Cowrie rocker is another sweeping, curving form inspired by sea shells and made from a single, folding surface of Ash-faced plywood.

The 2013 Matrix stand is woven from a continuous thread of steel and works as a vertical web to hang coats, hats, bags and umbrellas.



The 2013 Supernova table has an elegant and versatile form with star-shaped trestles in brilliantly-coloured recycled aluminium.

Like a manta ray, the fluid curves of the Scuba sofa was designed by Brodie Neill for Italian company Domodinamica in 2009.

The  Reverb Wire Chair hand-made from polished stainless steel rods designed in 2010 for Patrick Brillet's The Apartment Gallery.

The Reverb's curvaceous elliptical vortex is inspired by the reverberation of sound. Made from nickel-plated aluminium, the dramatic chairs are hand formed and polished.

The intertwined E-Turn seat created for Italian design house Kundalini in 2007. 

Like flowing Japanese calligraphy, the @Chair designed was considered by TIME Magazine one of the best designs of 2008.

The 2011 Glacier chaise longue made of 360kg of molten glass that is hand-cast and polished by craftsmen in the Czech Republic ~ here exhibited at Mallet. 

The sinuous Jet table with a dark graphite finish and encrusted with crystals that was specially commissioned by Nadja Swarovski

The M Lights exhibited at Salone Satellite at Milan in 2005 where Brodie Neill was discovered by Kundalini co-founder Gregorio Spini.



The Clover light designed in 2011 for Italian brand Kundalini has a lilting sculptural from and is made from moulded polyurethene and aluminium with the light source concealed at the centre of three folds. 





Interview: American Jewellery Designer Andy Lifschutz in Rome

DAM Gallery presents:

New Renaissance man: Andy Lifschutz photographed at his atelier in Rome's centro storico where artisans have worked since the 16th Century. "I love ancient history, psychology, mysticism, spirituality, working with my hands....The canvas of the human form gives me the best response and critique of my craft. Cover photograph and portrait by Paul James McDonnell

American jeweller Andy Lifschutz has a studio in New York’s hip Bushwick neighbourhood but has recently opened a gallery and studio in the heart of Rome. An artist in metal and stone, the designer's richly-textured pieces are hand-crafted and full of whimsical metaphor and poetry. Jeanne-Marie Cilento talks to the tall, laconic Portland native at his 16th Century bottega in Via Arco Di Palma. Portraits by Paul James McDonnell

LEANING over his worktable covered in tools under a high, arched ceiling and an ancient map of Lazio, the bearded Andy Lifschutz could be a Renaissance artisan himself ~ apart from the small expresso in a stylish glass at his side. The jeweller describes how the sense that artigiani have worked in this same space for centuries is both an inspiration and reminder of the long history of his craft. The light and airy gallery at the front of the studio opens through an arched glass door on to a cobbled street that leads on to Rome’s famous avenue of antiquaries and art galleries, Via Dei Coronari.

Glinting golden in the afternoon light, Lifschutz’s pieces have a rough-hewn, organic quality that suggests his inspiration from the animals and wild forests of his Oregon homeland. A long brass cuff and collar have a sinuous texture of imprinted leather and tempt you to run your fingers over their surface to feel their lustrous curves. Chunky rings bristle with glimmering pieces of brilliant quartz that seem like a crystalline explosion ~ giving the natural stones an unusual sense of dynamism and life. Mixing artisanal techniques with raw materials such as reclaimed metals, wood, bone and stone, his pieces exude a natural spirit and form.

Andy Lifschutz' professional career is as original and complex as his pieces of jewellery, encompassing acting, wine making and working in politics. But he found his creative métier after being inspired by a piece of hand-made jewellery in the shape of a rose in London. He then passionately pursued learning all of the techniques and craft of jewellery design and making.

He began metalworking in Brooklyn with designer Kristin Hanson and then gained more experience in Portland, Oregon with Gunnar Adamovics. But it was under the tutelage of William "Billy" Thomas King at the Sterling Quest School of Jewelry Design and Creation in San Miguel De Allende, Mexico that set Lifschutz on his professional path after graduating in 2008.

Today, the jewellery designer's work has been featured in New York fashion shows and in top magazines around the world. He creates not only special custom made pieces but has his own collections of rings, bracelets and earrings.

1. After having been an actor, wine maker and working in politics how did you begin your career as a jewellery designer? 

Craft is a part of my framework. My grandmother is an award winning quilter and my father is a carpenter. Growing up I was encouraged to explore my creative aspirations to the fullest. After travelling the world, exploring a career in acting, wine making, and (yes) a brief stint working in politics I was called to a create objects of adornment. This happened while I was living in London with my then girlfriend, who introduced me to the amazing hand crafted work of a Roman jewellery designer. I fell in love with the detail and emotion that was shared through this artist's work in silver and gold.

Once I began apprenticing in New York all of the pieces of the puzzle started to come together. I was able to explore the human relationship to objects; the emotion behind something that is cherished, the value of creating something that will be treasured, loved and passed down. This process I found rewarding, and I possessed the ability to sit still for hours on end crafting one single piece of work. So it stuck.

Passion turned to obsession and soon I was up to my eyebrows in metal courses, study and practise. I didn’t really do anything else for a few years. It pissed my friends off at times as I was very much engulfed in developing my craft. There were a lot of months where I would only sleep three to four hours a night in order to get the most out of each day. That thankfully has got better now!

2. Why did you choose jewellery design as your artistic métier?

I’d say it chose me. I love ancient history, psychology, mysticism, spirituality, working with my hands, the continual search for what it means to be living here and now in 2014. All artists get to express the sentiment of what it means for them to be alive today, and express that in their own medium. I enjoy being able to see my work enjoyed by friends, clients and the general public. The canvas of the human form gives me the best response and critique: it helps me to refine and redefine my craft.

3. Can you describe the experience, person or training that has had the greatest impact on your design career so far?

I have been very fortunate to study and train with some of the best jewellers and teachers in the world (in my humble opinion). Of course, there is one that stands out more than others, mostly due to his larger than life approach and technique, William ‘Billy’ Thomas King, who runs the Sterling Quest School in San Miguel De Allende.

I decided to go to Mexico based on word of mouth that I needed to study with this guy. His website was down at the time, and all I had to go on was an expletive-laced 20 minute phone conversation on Boxing day of 2006. Billy’s method teaches you the technical side of metalsmithing, while insisting that your creative spirit is in charge of translating your design into metal. This approach allowed me the freedom I needed to build my creative set.

4.  Where did you grow up and does this place inspire your creative work?

I grew up in the Great Northwest of the United States in and around Portland, Oregon. I continue to be inspired by Oregon, with its unscathed natural wonders of forests, mountains, beaches and good people.

5. Today, you split your time between studios in New York and Rome. What does each city give you?

Well Rome is connected to all empires both current and former, so there is a similarity in a sense. For me, Rome now is more laid back and the pace of life is much more agreeable. However, in our current world New York offers so much to an artist and growing brand. There is no other place in the world that has so many wonderful and successful ideas being activated all at once. That synergy is magnetic.

Sure, it’s a tough place to live, but once you get the hang of it there is a real magic to being a New Yorker. So I’m grateful to have both for now. I can get out of town to the hot springs in Tuscany one month and next month I’ll catch my favourite flea market in Chelsea on Saturday. For this balance I am extremely grateful.

6. Do you find your creative process when designing jewellery is more rational or instinctive? 

Instinctive. If it’s a custom piece I want to study the hand of my client when designing a ring for them. So not just that the size fits, but also the actual design responds well with the shape of their fingers. For my collections I try to be as present-minded as possible and create in relation to what is going on in our world and how I feel about those realities.

7. What do find the most challenging aspect of your work as a jeweller?

Time!!!! I love creating my work and there are so many directions that I have yet to explore.

8. What part of the jewellery designing and making process gives you the most happiness?

When the perfect piece finds the perfect home. That smile on someone’s face when something that I have created really speaks to him or her.

9. Do you have a set schedule of working creatively everyday or is the process more fluid?

I have different parts of the year where I divide my time into separate camps. If I am finishing an order and getting ready to meet my deadlines then I am on a strict schedule. Whereas, if I am doing research for the next collection or working on a custom piece I ignore all clocks, timers, phones and immerse myself in the creative task at hand.

10. In our digital age, what does jewellery give us as an art form?

Trick question? Sadly, most of the jewellery that you see on the high or low streets today is at least partially designed by a computer program. I’m not completely anti CAD program, but I do feel that there is something very special about a truly hand crafted piece of jewelry. 

Given that you are choosing to put something on your living, breathing, conscious body, isn’t it nice to know that you are expressing yourself with a piece of jewellery that came from the process of someone else’s own creative spirit? I think that jewellery gives us a connection to a greater depth within ourselves. We are not reminded of how many apps we have, or what TV program we plan to watch by what jewellery we wear. Hopefully we are reminded of those we love, a special moment and the unique individuals that we all are. 

To buy Andy Lifshutz's work visit: www.DAM-Gallery.com

Click on photographs for full-screen slideshow

Andy Lifschutz working in his studio in Rome on his hand-creafted jewellery: "If you are choosing to put something on your living, breathing, conscious body, isn’t it nice to know that what you are expressing yourself with a piece of jewellery that came from someone else’s own creative spirit?" Photograph by Paul James McDonnell

The Caipora cuff from Lifschutz's Le Havre collection. Model Alisa Nadolishny. Photograph by Rudolf Bekker

A square of Andy Lifschutz's grand-mother's award-winning quilt hanging in the artist's Rome atelier that inspires some of his own work

Caipora Collar from the Le Havre collection that explores decay and reclamation. Lifschutz deconstructed a 1920's leather handbag and transformed the worn material into jewels of reclaimed bronze and sterling silver. Photograph by Jeremy Kirby

Andy Lifschutz working in Portland, Oregon at the short lived but successful Mercy Studios. He is pictured working on one of the pieces for his debut collection Love Letters.  Photograph by Basil Childers

Ice on Fire ring from the Nature Speaks collection hand-made by the jeweller in cobalt quartz and bronze. The quartz stones are from Arkansas in the USA and are set in their raw and uncut form. Photograph by Jeremy Kirby

The jeweller's chunky rings bristle with glimmering pieces of brilliant quartz that seem like a crystalline explosion ~ giving the natural stones an unusual sense of dynamism and life. Model: Alisa Nadolishny. Photograph by Rudolf Bekker  

Artemis Ring in Rose Silver with sterling silver prongs and set with rainbow quartz is an original piece part of Lifshutz's Nature Speaks collection. Each piece is custom made from by the artist using uncut quartz crystals and reclaimed metals. Photograph by Jeremy Kirby

From the Garbo Collection, the rings are made of yellow gold and set with sapphire's, rubies, emeralds, and diamonds. The collection was inspired by the intriguing actress Greta Garbo.

The Smoke on Water ring from the Nature Speaks collection is hand carved by the artist. The quartz stones are from Arkansas in the USA, are set in their raw and uncut form. Photograph by Jeremy Kirby

An original neckpiece created by the jeweller for Delphine Diallo's pictorial Faith. The leather was salvaged from a 1920's leather handbag and reconstructed into this wearable art collar. Photograph by Delphine Diallo

Custom brass knuckles created for one of the jeweller's clients. The hand-engraved rings read: Mina Mama. Photograph byTyler Kohlhoff