Being Creative Means You Can Create in Diverse Areas!

Mixtape Necklace © 2013 Ian Vandenberg Design

Our regular readers may have noticed that my posts lately have been a lot about creativity, and that's very exciting to me. Our courses at Sheffield School are all geared to creative professionals, and by that we mean anyone who would like to pursue a hobby or personal interest more seriously or possibly earn extra money through creative pursuits or open up a new business in a creative endeavor.
 

Arbor table © 2013 Ian Vandenberg Design

I recently ran into a young Toronto, Canada designer whose creations run into both jewelry design and furniture design. How exciting is that! Designer Ian Vandenberg wants to create more jewelry and more furniture in the coming year, and it's great that he doesn't feel the need to pigeon-hold his output into just one area. Here's how Ian sees his creative future shaping up.

Over the next few years I would like to continue to develop lasting relationships with retailers who appreciate good design and local manufacturing. 

Ian would like to have his own online store selling directly to consumers. Follow Ian and encourage a fellow creative professional! Right now, look for his work for sale at

•  Etsy and Ideacious

If you're interested in learning more about how to take your creative interests to the next level, we encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.

Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

Jewelry Inspiration: Nostalgia, Beautifully Wrought

Klimt02 is a website that provides an international forum for contemporary jewelry in a creative space that offers knowledge, information, debates, and exchanges - all within the artistic realm of jewelry. Based in Barcelona, Spain, Kilmt02 inspires everyone interested in the selection, quality, art, technology, and creation of art jewelry. Sheffield School has kindly been given permission to share works of global designers here on our website. Today's post focuses on a jewelry designer from the Netherlands, Malou Paul, and some of her beautifully crafted, wistfully nostalgic pieces. Click here for more samples of her work.

Malou Paul

Malou Paul
Ring: Oblivion – Walcheren 2013
Silver, old postcards, glass

Malou Paul
Earrings: Crown Jewels 2012
Zinc, steel

Malou Paul
Rings: Floral Stories 2011
Silver, glaze

Malou Paul
Necklace: Blooming 2012
Zinc, wool, cotton

Malou Paul
Necklace: Chain of Memories 2012
Zinc, steel

Malou Paul
Rings: Floral Stories 2012
Fair Trade and Fair Mined 14 Ct gold

Statement

The jewelry of Malou Paul distinguishes itself with a nostlagic feeling. On one hand this is reached through the (re)use of materials, such as old doorknobs, (old) zinc, old postcards, wool, combined with precious metals. On the other hand through the sources of inspiration, like mourning jewelry, victorian jewelry and traditional costume/folklore. Also nature, in all its different appearances, is an inexhaustible source of inspiration for beautiful shapes and colors.     Together, this ensures that the jewelry pieces of Malou Paul carry a piece of history within them. The jewelry looks lived in, each with its own story. In addition, experimenting with materials is important, as well as the search for new shapes and forms. The ultimate goal remains making an interesting piece of jewellery, without "overthinking."  On sale at Webshop www.maloupaul.markita.nl GoLDFABRIK www.goldfabrik.nl  Op Voorraad www.op-voorraad.com  mail: paul.malou@gmail.com

If you're interested in learning more about jewelry design, we encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.

Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

Jewelry Inspiration: I Am Titanium

Klimt02 is a website that provides an international forum for contemporary jewelry in a creative space that offers knowledge, information, debates, and exchanges - all within the artistic realm of jewelry. Based in Barcelona, Spain, Kilmt02 inspires everyone interested in the selection, quality, art, technology, and creation of art jewelry. Sheffield School has kindly been given permission to share works of global designers here on our website. Today's post focuses on the femine yet very industrial titanium jewelry creations of a jewelry designer in Treviso, Italy, Emma Francesconi. 

Emma Francesconi 

Emma Francesconi
Bracelet: Armor 2010
Titanium screws with Ti Color 65 surface finish

Emma Francesconi
Bracelet: Armor 2010
Titanium screws with Ti Color 65 surface finish
Detail

Emma Francesconi
Ring: Nose Vittorino 2011
Titanium

Emma Francesconi
Bracelet: Butterfly 2012
Titanium

Emma Francesconi
Necklace: Untitled 2012
Titanium screws

Emma Francesconi
Bracelet: Untitled 2012
Titanium screws

Statement

My pieces go from being a hard and unalterable material to becoming a soft and supple mesh like a fabric. I take handfuls of screws and washers and play around with them, attaching them in a multitude of ways, creating new shapes, going back and trying again until I find equilibrium of shape and overall smoothness. I tried to magically change indication of things and give them a new meaning. My objective is that of maintaining the essence of the material and of the shape, to take a handful of screws and make a piece of jewellery, limiting where possible my intervention.  Emma Francesconi On sale at Marijke Studio  Padova, Italy  Alternatives  Rome, Italy Emma Francesconi Piazza Crispi 8 31100 - Treviso Italy mail: francesconiemma@yahoo.it

If you're interested in learning more about jewelry design, we encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.

Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

Metal and Mesh Blend in Chic Jewelry Collections

The Carrotbox is a site dedicated to all those wonderful rings made of glass, lucite, resin, plastic, jade, wood, bakelite, metal, and even stone. Alice Matsumoto from Vancouver, BC, Canada has a ring shop and has kindly given us permission to inspire our jewelry lovers at Sheffield with her discoveries. In this post, Alice focuses on wonderful metal work.

Are you feeling this ring? You should be — it's the "tactile" ring by UK jeweller Carrie Dickens.

Check out her gallery for lots of interesting, organic metalwork.

Bonus

For more draping metal rings, see Brooklyn's Semi Jewels (Ren Ariel Sano), who likes to "emphasize the tactile quality of the materials."

Even more jewelry:

• Buddha to Buddha (Netherlands) - chunky chains
• Jessica Flinn (UK) - metal lace
• Jess LC (Illinois) - bright baubles

Sheffield School began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.

Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.