See the Antique Pieces Behind Erica Weiner’s Fine-Jewelry Collection 1909
The designer and this project? They go way back.
Google 1909, and you’ll learn that that marked the year Robert Peary and Matthew Henson became the first explorers to reach the North Pole (um, awesome). It also happens to be the year Erica Weiner’s grandmother was born—and the name she chose for her fine-jewelry line. “We had this incredible access to antique jewelry. We would get so attached to certain pieces that we’d feel sad when we sold them. That’s how the collection 1909 started—my business partner and I had a dozen pieces that we weren’t willing to part with, and we thought, ‘Let’s reproduce them,’” Erica explains. Here, she dishes on the old inspo behind her new undertaking. —alisha prakash
Old!
New!
“The inspiration for our bow ring came from this Victorian piece. The decorative engraving on the band had worn away badly, so we recreated it all the way around on our version. The multi-colored turquoise was something we loved and really wanted to incorporate into our own version, but we found it to be really hard because the color variation occurs from contact with your skin’s oils over the years. The turquoise we use on our version is reclaimed from old jewelry from the 20th century, but that’s just not old enough to get those really weird green and yellow hues.”
Old!
New!
“Our Roman earrings—we’re still developing them!—were inspired by a pair of 23-karat yellow gold ancient Roman earrings I bought from an antiquities dealer. They’re 2,000 years old. They were, I think, meant to be put on by a jeweler, so they would be in your ears permanently. Our version of simple, circular hoops have similar twisting wire decorations. This picture is a work-in-progress.”
Old!
New!
“I’m not totally sure what era these atomic rings are even are from—they look like fifties or sixties. For our version, we wanted to lighten it up completely, so we made this double band with thin wire.”
Old!
New!
“Our arrow bands were inspired by a totally cheap-o 1970s ring we found at a Brimfield Flea Market. The ring was literally five bucks. We thought the design was so perfect—we saw a lot of possibility in the shape. Here, we’ve done it in white gold with diamonds and yellow, 14-karat gold with turquoise.”
You’re not gonna want to miss out on Erica’s latest edition! This one will go FAST.
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See the Nuttiest Pieces in Eve Tobolka’s Vintage Jewelry Collection
Open your eyes—sparkly or otherwise—to this goodness.
Eve Tobolka of the bold, metal-fueled jewelry line Alynne Lavigne has been collecting jewelry since she was a kid. Though she’s honed her radar to detect vintage Dior, her personal collection, housed in dozens of lucite boxes, is filled with pieces that resonate on a more personal level—which is to say: some of them are borderline crazy. In a good way! More on her favorites below. —jackie varriano
“This piece is made of glass and stone beads, and it was given to me by a good friend. She bought it in Paris in the eighties, and she’s had it in her closet forever. I’m obsessed with it. I’m sure I get looks when I wear it, but I don’t care. I’m also really into Game of Thrones right now, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t wear it while watching it.”
“I’m really into things that look back at me. And I really like jewelry that’s funny. I wear the Barbie face, and I wear the seal—a seal in French is phoque, and I call that my fat phoque. Like, who the hell makes a fat seal brooch? That is the funniest thing ever.”
“All of these look like little, weird sea-creature robots. I guess I’m attracted to some Industrial Age kind of design. I’m so building toward being one of those fabulous old ladies who always wears red lipstick with huge eyewear and is totally covered in baubles. I can’t wait!”
“Real enamel is made with lead, and they banned it because it’s toxic. It’s not too hard to find pieces, but they’re not necessarily popular. A lot of the designs are also very seventies. I’m super-attracted to how they feel.”
“I love mermaids; maybe that’s why I love fish things. This ring is going nowhere, except my jewelry box and my hand. I like to tell people it came to me in a dream.”
Speaking of jewelry collections, come back tomorrow for something to add to YOURS. Yaaaay.
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6 Spots Hillary Taymour Says You’ve Gotta Hit in Joshua Tree
Girlfriend goes there at least twice annually. So she knows what she’s talking about.
Hillary, hiding behind a friendly cactus.
“Joshua Tree is such an amazing place. The energy there is something I have never felt anywhere else,” says Hillary Taymour, the mastermind behind the rad bag-and-apparel line Collina Strada who makes her way from Brooklyn to J-Tree for the holidays and post-Coachella every year. So where are the best places to get your hike on, catch some stellar views, soak up live music, and score vintage? Hillary gives us the lowdown. —alisha prakash
The best room around, in Hillary’s opinion—that floor!
“I stay at this room that you can rent through the Joshua Tree Inn called the Fox. It’s on this amazing artist compound. I’ve been staying there for years. The Fox is off a dirt road, so a lot of people have dune buggies. You’ll wake up and there’ll be coyotes in your backyard—it’s really magical.”
“Hospice Thrift Shop has some truly amazing finds. I got these really amazing, old photo books from the seventies there.”
(61675 29 Palms Hwy, Ste. B, Joshua Tree)
How amazing-looking is The Integratron? Like, whoa.
“The Integratron is this amazing place—with a wild story—that’s built entirely of wood. It’s a big dome where they do incredible sound baths, which are this amazing experience where they play crystal quartz bowls to heal each individual chakra. It’s a cleanse for your whole body and mind.”
(2477 Belfield Blvd., Landers)
“Natural Sisters Café has great juices and smoothies. It’s one of the better places to get all-organic juice. Joshua Tree is a hippie town, but you can still find Applebee’s and Taco Bell—this is a better place to go.”
(61695 Twentynine Palms Hwy, Joshua Tree)
If this isn’t inspiration to plan a trip…
“Split Rock is one of my favorite hikes. It’s a big loop and really beautiful. You can see for miles.”
“Pappy & Harriet’s usually has a good live gig going on. It’s a real fun local place to go for dinner and drinks. Monday is open mic night. There are these locals who are total rockers and singer/songwriters. They just jam for hours, playing great cover songs and original music—it’s pretty epic. Pappy & Harriet’s is also in Pioneertown, which is a little fake ghost town. It’s a tourist attraction—there’s always something going on there.”
(53688 Pioneertown Rd., Pioneertown)
Now’s your chance to scoop up Hillary’s Joshua Tree-ready tote! SO GOOD.
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The 3 Pieces of Vintage Jewelry Leeann Molinari Can’t Stop Thinking About
Wherein this Portland designer demonstrates a whole lot of self-restraint.
The hardest thing about having a line of reworked vintage jewelry? Well, sometimes you want to keep the goods for yourself. “What I’ll usually do is put a piece I want for sale online anyway, but I’ll put a high price on it,” says Leeann Molinari, who collaborates with Alyson Fox on the locket line Verabel + Fox. “If it sells, it sells—and if it doesn’t I’ll keep it for myself. But it usually sells.” Here, Leeann shares the scores that she cherishes (or misses) the most. —raquel laneri
“This delicate piece was one of my most treasured vintage finds! I love that each little heart opens, and the detailing is so intricate. And it combines two of my favorite things: hearts and four-leaf clovers.”
“I found these amazing vintage glass cabochons at an estate sale. I instantly fell in love with the deep turquoise color. I had just enough beads to create a bib necklace. I received so many requests for this piece after it sold, and I’ve yet to find anything quite as unique.”
“This is probably my favorite estate-sale find and was the hardest one to part with! It’s an antique coin holder. It is solid sterling silver and is marked with the date 1903 inside.”
Come back tomorrow to see the reworked-vintage goodness that Leann and Alyson crafted for us.
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Joshu+Vela Unearths 4 of the Coolest Vintage Bags Around
The puppies have survived decades.
“A big part of making something new is figuring out what worked in the past,” explains Noah Guy of the S.F. bag line Joshu+Vela. So his old-school inspo is always close-at-hand, Noah keeps his favorite vintage satchels on display in his studio—allowing he and his cohorts to look back as they move forward. Here, a quartet of stars. —carrie neill
Eastpak duffel, from the mid eighties
“The shape and proportions of this eighties Eastpak duffel were the inspiration for my Of a Kind edition. When I started out making bags, I made something a bit bigger and sent it on the road with my friend who was touring through Europe with his band. His feedback was that it was too big, too heavy—so I went back to this size. The handles are really great, and the spacing and placement of them is nice.”
Filson duffel, from the early eighties
“I love the colors on this and the leather details. This is a higher-end version of what the Eastpak was—it’s definitely a West Coast bag.”
French linen backpack, from the forties
“This is from another era. I got in in Alameda at an army-navy store and scrawled my last name on it, which you might be able to see. The details are great—there’s felt and wool on the back, and it has this great steel hardware, too.”
Bass split leather tote, from the seventies
“This is one of my favorite bags. It has sort of a Connecticut-Northeastern vibe—maybe for a fly fisherman who has a house in Manhattan but is actually quite country and rugged. This is totally a bag my grandfather would have had.”
Now’s your chance to score Noah’s exclusive, crazy-cool denim weekender, inspired by these classics.
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How Lisa Salzer Gets Down With Vintage Materials
She makes the 1860s feel not so far away.
Sustaining a jewelry line with its roots in insanely unique vintage items can’t be easy, but Lisa Salzer acts like it ain’t no thang. And girl knows how to get creative. Watch how the so-talented whiz behind Lulu Frost turns Art Deco dress clips and Victorian shoe buckles into wear-it-now magic. —carlye wisel
“These Deco Earrings used to be dress clips from the Art Deco period—around the 1920s or 1930s—and they range in size because women used to wear them on the straps of their gowns or sweaters. I love the transforming the classic into something new.”
“The Victorian Cuff started off as Victorian shoe buckles from the 1860s. We select them, curve them, and file them down. Each one is totally one of a kind. They are delicate but tough at the same time because they’re made of steel.”
“These 100 Year Necklaces are comprised of elements from the 1860s up to 1960, so they’re kind of a century of jewelry in one piece. In terms of making each one, it’s very much an intuition thing. I basically start with thousands of vintage pieces on trays around me, and I start to collage them together until it feels right. It’s a process of removing and replacing until it has the right harmony and balance of materials, texture, size, shape, and color.”
”Code Fine Jewelry is a collection of from-scratch designs that I’ve done that’s based on the font from the Plaza Hotel. I’ve heard some interesting stories from people about why they like to get certain numbers—I think people really grow attached once they think about what their own personal number is.”
“I was so inspired by these fantastic, geometric triangular vintage Art Deco pieces—so inspired, in fact, that I decided to single them out and use them as the basis for my exclusive Deco Cocktail Necklace for Of a Kind. I love the way the differing sizes of the triangles create a nice rhythm and the varied choice of chain keeps the necklaces interesting. It’s what I like to call ‘the midsize statement necklace,’ which, in my opinion, is the perfect kind—not so big and bulky that you won’t be able to wear it comfortably, but still substantial and cool enough to give you that amazing complement to any look.”
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Lauren Wolf Takes Us On a Tour of Oakland’s Coolest Neighborhood
Get yourself to Temescal ASAP, everybody.
In 2010, Lauren Wolf and her boyfriend moved from New York City to Oakland, California. And though the designer behind the gritty-but-elegant jewelry line loved her old neighborhood in Brooklyn, she immediately fell for Temescal—so hard that she decided to open a shop, Esqueleto, there. “It’s sort of hidden,” she says, “but it’s a real community.” Here, six of her favorite local haunts. —raquel laneri
Crimson Horticulture Rarities
“Our store’s in a unique space: It’s an alley of old horse stables that have been converted into commercial retail spaces. This horticulture store is just a stone’s throw away from us, and they do a lot of our plants.” (crimsonhort.com)
Ali Golden
“Ali Golden is an Oakland-based ready-to-wear designer, and she basically hand-makes all her clothing in her store here. She does really contemporary basics, and they’re awesome. She just started a handbag collection, so I bought a bag—black and white striped canvas with brown leather handles. She’s also making a black silk top for me now.” (aligolden.com)
Pizzaiolo
“Esqueleto’s alleyway connect back to this place called Pizzaiolo. It has been in the neighborhood for about eight years. It’s all local food. The chef who owns and runs the place used to work at Chez Panisse, so it’s really high-quality food and a really interesting menu. Get the pizza, obviously.” (pizzaiolooakland.com)
Mind’s Eye Vintage
“The owners are great girls. They stock the shop based on themes—last month was baseball, so they had a bunch of vintage Oakland A’s pieces. Now they have a ton of vintage bathing suits.“ (mindseyevintage.com)
Doña Thomas
“This is a sort of upscale Mexican restaurant, and the food is very traditional—I should know, I lived in Mexico! When you walk in you feel like you’re in old-world Mexico: high ceilings, bright colors, tables covered in that plastic floral print. We like to go there for margaritas.” (donatomas.com)
Pacific Ring
“I love the boxing gym. They offer Muay Thai boxing, an all-over strength conditioning boxing, and it’s really intense. Pacific Rim has been around for a really long time. Before work, I either do boxing here, or I go for a hike in the Oakland Hills, which is just 10 minutes from our house.” (pacificringsports.com)
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Rachel Albright’s Insider-y Guide to Richmond
If you didn’t have a reason to head to Virginia before, now you have six.
Rachel Albright has lived in Virginia her whole damn life, and, though she felt a little style-starved growing up, she’s come to really embrace the local spots that fuel her line Academy Jewelry, which has its roots in Richmond but has gained a much broader fan base. These half dozen spots qualify as her haunts. —olivia seely
Score the super-cool, straight-from-VA necklaces that Rachel made us right here!
Lamplighter Roasting Company: “The best coffee in Richmond, hands down. I think almost anyone here would say the same. It’s the place to be any weekend morning—everyone you know will be there with their dogs in tow. The dark roast is my favorite, and they deliver anywhere in town on bikes, rain or shine!” [Ed: Oh, hey! Rachel’s wearing Dusen Dusen!] (lamplightercoffee.com)
Halcyon Vintage: “This is an absolutely amazing locally owned vintage shop here. Angelica is incredible and totally gets my style—she’s always pulling out things that she knows I’ll love (usually weird pants), and she knows so much about clothing, it’s ridiculous. I’ve been eyeing this floor-length sequin gown for months, I’m just waiting to get invited to a fancy soiree!”
VMFA (Virginia Museum of Fine Arts): “This is actually one of the best places in Virginia, I think. There’s such a great art scene in Richmond. I’ve been known to squeal and cry in art museums from excitement and emotion, and this one is no exception.” (vmfa.state.va.us)
Chop Suey Tuey: “Chop Suey Tuey is a small, locally owned, new-and-used bookstore in Carytown, the coolest part of Richmond. Plus, there’s a cool gallery room with work by local artists.” (chopsueybooks.com)
Need Supply Co.: “I spend most days in the studio here, and absolutely love being part of such a cool, creative team. Everyone is so inspired—it’s a little family of really funny, stylish, and smart people. And, there’s always a steady supply of snacks—Need Supply Co. loves snacks.” (needsupply.com)
The Roosevelt: “It’s my favorite restaurant in Richmond, and not just because my man is occasionally in the kitchen. The best part: my favorite drink, called The Shrub, made of gin, apple cider vinegar, blackberries, and cherries and served with a little love from T, the man behind the bar (who has the best beard in Richmond).” (rooseveltrva.com)
Photos courtesy of Cameron Lewis.
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Lauren Moffatt’s Personal Wardrobe Faves
These are the five pieces she comes back to again and again (and again).
“The things in my closet are there for years. There’s something about the lived-in-ness that I love,” says Lauren Moffatt, the cultish designer known classics with just a dash of quirk. Here are her go-tos, some from past collections of her own line—she’s been at it since 2000—and some from her highly skilled thrifting missions. —alisha prakash
Check out Lauren’s edition—a striped linen tank that’s bound to make its way onto her most-worn list.
“These jeans are from a thrift shop in Kansas City. I didn’t realize they were called Willie Nelsons. They’re highwaisted, funny, and comfortable.”
“After years and years, I still live in this weird dress. I never even sewed buttons on it. You’d think I would have at least finished it, but I never did. It’s probably from 2003. I wear it a ton.”
“My perpetual favorite is this flannel floral wrap skirt that my mom got as a gift in the early seventies. I wear it in the summer; I wear it in the winter.”
“I wear this little vest all the time. I can’t say why some things are the things I end up living in, but this is just one of those things. And, it’s denim so it just gets better with age. I actually wear it a lot with the wrap skirt.”
“This top was also from my mom’s closet—she gladly gave it to me. It’s from who knows when—it has to be from the sixties or seventies.”
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Nathan Gryszowka Shows Off His Favorite Vintage Accessories
This designer knows that leather just improves with age.
Nathan Gryszowka, who started his wallet line Maxx & Unicorn based on a vintage bi-fold he found, is someone who firmly believes the older, the better—well, at least when it comes to his collection of worldly accessories. From old-fashioned felt hats to jackknife key cases, the guy has sourced some real specialness. So you can imagine our excitement—nay, delirium—when he offered to give us a peek into his collection. —alisha prakash
“I got this great felted wool cap on a trip to Italy with my wife at a vintage dealer. He gave this to me as a gift. I had one just like this in college and my wife used to love when I wore my hat.”
“This is my absolute favorite bag in the world. I picked it up from a vintage dealer—Melet Mercantile—and I’m quite sure that the price tag on it was missing a digit. It’s probably circa the twenties or thirties. It’s got an elephant skin texture, a beautiful cognac color, and great hardware and patina. It straps comfortably around your shoulders, which is a rare find in a vintage bag. Usually vintage bags are uncomfortable and clunky—they just look good.”
“I found this at the Brooklyn Flea last summer. I don’t think people think enough about every little thing like, ‘What do I carry my keys on?’ One of the most unattractive things you could probably pull out of your bag is your keychain.”
“I’m a shoe guy. These John Lobb shoes were probably 10 to 15 years old when they were given to me by Mickey Drexler—the CEO of J. Crew. They’re handmade in Paris of spectacular leather.”
“I picked up this transistor radio at an estate sale in Massachusetts just before I moved to New York. I thought it was really cool that it was a leather product and a radio at the same time. Every once in awhile, I bring it out to the yard on a really nice summer’s night—it reminds me of being a kid and rolling through the dial on the radio.”
