Wolfum
Good style is in Annabel Inganni’s blood. “My mother was quite the hostess and set a beautiful table, always with cloth napkins,” she recalls. Growing up exposed to an eclectic spread of awesomeness presented by her mom and her cohorts—“from very classic, old-school New England prep to the more bohemian eighties flair”—Annabel really embraced this idea of creating a home that’s always ready for a party. And, in August 2011, she started a killer line of housewares—from bookends and pillows to coasters and drinking glasses—to bring her entertaining mantra to people who use the term crazy-busy all too often.
But how did she develop her now-signature light-hearted (but grown-up) vibe? “I accidentally stumbled onto the unique print technique that I use in my designs today. Once we saw how beautiful that was, we were done,” she explains. With the help of her husband’s woodshop, she took her bold motifs to FSC-certified wood, recycled polyester, and organic cotton twill—all eco-friendly. Her line’s biggest inspiration: “My daughter Birdie—I want her to remember her childhood filled with color and mommy’s crazy patterns.” —carly pifer
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Of a Kind
A wooden clutch, from the Tel Aviv line Tesler + Mendelovitch, would go nicely with a floral dress—very one-with-nature. —erica
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Of a Kind
You know those clear bra straps? The ones no one was supposed to see when you wore them under a halter top? Well, this PVC-and-wood belt from Eye of the World Designs plays on the same concept but is, you know, cool. —erica
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Sophie’s Dangerous Tools
If you thought jewelry-making was a delicate craft—well, read on.
Sophie Monet Okulick’s elegant wood-and-rock designs might be polished, but the process of making them is as dangerous and messy as it is intense. “I cut myself all the time—my hands are so messed up,” she L.A.-based phenom explains. “But I just really like to work with my hands. Getting that end result is really satisfying and makes me feel so good.” These are five of the awesome-scary tools she uses along the way.
To score one the amazing necklaces Sophie made for us with her badass woodshop gadgets, click here.
“That’s my dremel—it looks like fun, but it is a monster. I use that to carve out the settings in the rings and necklaces. I wear a mask because my face is so close to it, and it gets sawdust everywhere. It got stuck in my hair once—it was terrible. So now I have my rule: I always have to wear my hair up. I don’t know why that wasn’t the rule to begin with.”
“I cut all my forms on the band saw. The blades break a lot—so that’s a challenge—and you have to careful you don’t get your fingers too close to it.”
“The belt sander gets me the fine detail and the softness that I want the finished product to have. I experiment with it most often because you can change things the fastest. You can stand over a belt sander for an hour, making something smaller and smaller and smaller. When my friends come over and want to make something, I hand them a random scrap piece and let them go to work.”
“I use an epoxy to attach the rocks. It’s messy because if you use too much, it’s difficult to clean up the edges. I try to wear gloves, but I a lot of times I have to use lacquer thinner to get it off my hands.”
“The drill press is what I use when I make my rings, to make the hole for your finger. I pull it down and drill a clean circle into the wood. You really have to have a tight grip on everything.”
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Sophie Monet
Sophie Monet Okulick’s design career is even fresher than her college diploma—which, as you can probably tell from her smiling face, is barely dry. And though she’s a relative newbie, the work is in her blood: Her father, John Okulick, is a sculptor, and she grew up around his enormous woodshop. After graduating from the New School in New York, she moved back to Venice, California, and started to contemplate a way to make inroads into design. “I started scavenging, taking clothes apart and reworking them. My goal was to have a stand at the flea market in Pasadena the summer of 2009,” she explains. “But then I had a light bulb moment: I read a story about two sisters designing jewelry in their grandparents’ scrap-metal shop, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, what am I doing?’” (Ed: Turns out those sisters were the super-inspiring duo behind Anndra Neen.)
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Supplies & Demand: Sophie Monet
Sophie Monet, one of our favorite new designers in L.A., shares a wood shop in Venice with her father, a sculptor, and makes all kinds of amazingness, like the ring pictured below. Here, she shares the things she needs to get through the work day. —erica
“I love my vintage silver bicycle! It’s my trusty steed—and gets me to the hardware store and back. Sally Hansen’s clear nail polish is a must for me because it protects my nails from all the sandpaper I use. And, I’m usually covered in sawdust by the end of the day, so I always have a spare bag of clothes with me—just some comfy favorites like a pair of cut-offs that I’ve worn since high school, flip-flops, and a bathing suit (for a quick dip in the ocean).”
Said trusty steed
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Deer antler + turquoise + maple = this ring and tie bar from Sticks & Stones, a Portland, Oregon, company that’s all about using interesting materials in unexpected—but ultimately super-simple—ways. —erica
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Of a Kind
Wood frames—now for the seeing-impaired, in super classic shapes from Indie Nation. Sure, the material makes them trendy, but no more so than the clear plastic style you’re probably currently wearing.
novh:
(via apostrophe9, delayedepartures)
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Of a Kind
Wooden sunglasses. So good. And classic enough to not make you look like an insane person. By a French co. Waiting for the Sun.
