Posts tagged technical innovators award

Point 88: Technical Innovator Award

Gorilla Glass “Cells” Collection

Interview by Kristina Outland

There is beauty in the complexities of nature. Gorilla Glass has done an incredible job capturing those complexities in their limited edition 2019 collection entitled “Cells”, winner of this year’s Technical Innovator Award.With this design, Gorilla Glass celebrates the building blocks of life; the creation of their jewelry is even environmentally friendly.

“The process used to make this collection involves up-cycling our waste glass to create a high quality, limited edition jewelry line. Reducing our impact on the environment is a major concern for Gorilla Glass, and the new techniques that we are developing are showcased in the ‘Cells’ collection. The ‘Cells’ line is a way to acknowledge and celebrate life on the most basic level,” Jason Pfohl, owner of Gorilla Glass, remarked.

Jason went into an in-depth description of the creation process, and it is incredibly fascinating. “The concept always comes first. In this scenario I wanted the technical innovations that we are developing at Gorilla Glass to be reflected in the design and theme of the collection as well, so the design is married to the up-cycling process. The ‘Cells’ collection is a contemporary version of a very ancient technique that the Venetians perfected, called murrini. The core elements of these pieces are made through a pattern bar technique, where stacks of different strips of colored glass are grouped together somewhat randomly and fused into blocks in a specialized fusing oven. You never see or touch the glass after it is shut in the oven. The result depends on the viscosity of each color, and how gravity manipulates the stacks. Afterwards, the pattern bars are picked up on a steel rod (punti) and dipped in a crucible full of molten recycled glass, creating an even layer of color around the bar. Using gravity, the encapsulated pattern bar is stretched into a long rod using heat as well. Later, the rod is cut into sections and reassembled in a mosaic pattern. The mosaic design is fused again and then cut up, ground, carved, and polished into the final forms. It is a very labor intensive process.”

The process of up-cycling even helped determine the color scheme for this beautiful line.

 The designs include understated off-white tones, with an intense black for contrast. Jason mentioned the hidden transparent blue pictured, can only be seen when the pieces are backlit.

“I enjoy when the colors shift and are revealed, creating a surprise discovery for the viewer. The colors were also chosen from stockpiles of waste glass.”

Twelve different specialized artisans have their hand in this process, and usually work in teams. Jason is personally involved in the hot working of all the murrini up-cycling designs. He mentioned he definitely enjoys being a part of the production process.

“I remember in high school looking at slides through the microscope.  There  was  an amazing feeling of discovery looking at these incredibly beautiful alien and hidden worlds surrounding us and inside us. Cells are the building blocks of life, creating the basic structure, functional, and biological units of all known life. The word ‘cells’ come the the Latin ‘cella’ meaning ‘small room’. Every element in the ‘Cells’ designs are encapsulated in one or two layers of up-cycled glass, creating random geometrical designs in the finished jewelry. I do not try to control the designs, but allow the glass to find its own patterns. The artwork of the German zoologist Ernst Haeckel was also an inspiration for this collection. Haeckel documented thousands of new species as a marine biologist, including many microscopic organisms. His book Art Forms in Nature, has been a big influence for me over the years. What I love about the cells theme is that on the microscopic level everything becomes disembodied and abstract.”

In summary, much time, consideration, curation, and research has gone into this line, making this an award-winning experience jewelry fanatics can wear and enjoy.

“I would like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of my team at GG. I would also like to thank all our great customers and the body modification community at-large, for their long and ongoing support that made this innovation possible. Thank you!”

Point 84: Technical Innovator Award: Auris Jewellery

by Kendra Jane B., The Point Co-Editor

Auris Jewelry was a first time vendor on this year exposition floor and as a new Gold company from Russia, it was great to see that they had entered the Magdustrial for an innovators award. What is even better as first time attendees and entrant is winning the technical award for this year.

Kendra Jane B: Can you introduce yourself and tell us what brought you to APP this year?

Auris Jewelry: Auris Jewelry’s core is three people. Myself and Vlad-1 are the owners of St Scalpelburg Piercing Boutique, with the intention of creating a new piercing jewelry line for its customers, and Vlad-2, who is a jeweler and owns a goldsmith manufacturer. Together we want to make this world more shiny. Where to start if not APP, the world’s biggest and best.

KJB: How long has Auris been a jewelry company?

AJ: We started looking for a jeweler to make our designs in 2014. We found Vlad-2 in 2015, so we can say we’ve done piercing since that time. But series models only started in 2016.

KJB: What was it like breaking into the gold market in Russia? Tell us about your company.

AJ: Besides the Advanced Journal of Surgical Pathology (AJSP), there is nothing high end in Russia. Only cheap gold designs from the ‘90s which are externally threaded, wrongly sized, and not even nickel free. Since 2013 St Scalpelburg has offered Russian people jewelry from BVLA, but long wait times and higher price points were very difficult in our market. We decided to build our own brand which can fulfill our customers’ demands in about one month and it works. As you can see, not only for our shop customers, but for other shops all over the world!

KJB: Why is it so important for piercers in your area to have access to high end jewelry?

AJ: Well, besides safety and quality, selling good jewelry is crucial for our industry. The more money we make, the more money we spend on advertising our professional industry ideas, and the bigger educational conferences we can hold, etc.

KJB: What inspired you to create the Magdustrial?

AJ: Well, the idea belongs to Vlad-2, our jeweler. He says that when you are focused on a specific area, you try to project onto this field everything  you  encounter—whether   those are rocks from a specific place or technological newcomings. One day Vlad got his hands on a pair of neodymium magnets, they were small enough to be feasible for applying to piercing and strong enough to keep tension. Some time after, he discussed the idea with Vlad-1 and me. We decided that it might be an  interesting idea to upgrade our existing chaindustrial with magnets instead of separate chains. The idea was so fresh and fascinating, so we started working on the design. You’ve all seen what it became!

 KJB: Tell us about the process of creating this piece?

AJ: It was pretty much the same as any other piece. Interactions, one by one, until we found a design suitable for magnets and it looked bright enough.

KJB: What are your future plans for your company?

AJ: Ohoho, there are tons! We’ve got a number of ideas for new jewelry styles we want to introduce to the public. We want to cover all countries where people work with high end, so we are pretty much on the road all this year.

Of course, we are quite a young company now, so we are establishing business processes first. But the biggest dream is to move all the manufacturing, employees, and facilities to a nice warm place like Thailand or Bali.

KJB: What is the piercing industry like in Russia compared to North America or European markets?

AJ: It is only just starting to grow. We have only 10–15 shops ordering high end titanium on a regular basis at the moment. The  general  public is still not ready to pay that much for a piercing; although we did a huge educational job by mass-advertising with St Scalpelburg the past five years and now people are starting to  believe that they can sell high end  jewelry  and  earn money from it.

I would say it is pretty similar to South America at the moment, but we are growing fast.

KJB: Can you tell us a bit about your involvement with the RuAPP and the conference you just had?

AJ: Of course! Auris Jewelry, along with Industrial Strength Russia, became corporate and administrative sponsors of the first and second RuAPP conference in Moscow. The first was held in January, second in August and this time we involved foreign speakers and attendees. Thanks a lot to APP who generously sponsored Brian Skellie and Cody Vaughn coming to RuAPP! The conference had 105 attendees which shows us that piercers in Russia are eager to learn and make Russian piercing all it can be!

Regarding involvement, RuAPP, Auris Jewelry, St Scalpelburg and the Russian piercing industry in general are mixed into one because we (Vlad Bodmodov and I) are doing all these activities at the same time.

KJB: Can we hope to see you next year?

AJ: You kidding? We would love to be there again! Next time we will be better prepared.

KJB: What is one piece of advice you would have for aspiring jewelry makers?

AJ: I’ve got a little bit different type of answer for that. After APP and RuAPP we went to Brazilian GEP where we met RARO jewelry who had their debut at the Conference. Lukas, their designer, told us that our jewelry along with Charly Pastrana’s Sacred Symbols, has become an inspiration for them.

I was so happy to know that we inspired those people to create a neat product! For me, inspiring people is one of the best things in the world.

Therefore, if I wanted to give advice to people who want to make jewelry themselves… well, do what you want to wear for yourself and don’t copy. When it comes from your heart you can easily see the difference. That’s why I love what Charly from Sacred Symbols does. The rest just takes time.

Hope to see you soon at Conferences all over the world and have you in the Auris Legion one day. Together we can wipe styleless jewelry from this world.

Point 80: Technical Innovator Award

Buddha Jewelry Organics for the “Halo” Design

Chloe DeSimone for Buddha Organics Jewelry

Buddha Jewelry Organics took home the Technical Innovator’s Award for their “Halo” design. I had the opportunity to interview Katrina Wickersham regarding the history of their company and their inspiration for this design.

Marina: Tell us a little about the history of Buddha Jewelry Organics. Your website has a synopsis, but it sounds like quite a journey. Tell us more.

Buddha Jewelry Organics: In 1991 Rion began piercing and in 1998 began designing and carving wood jewelry for the original Organics company. During a trip to Bali in 2002, Rion started collaborating with local artisans and Buddha Jewelry Organics was officially established! In 2004 Rion and I partnered personally and professionally. I have always had a love for piercing and jewelry, but came from an international business/fashion background. We quickly realized that our design aesthetics both contrasted and complemented the others in a unique way, and thus the Buddha Jewelry Organics design perspective was born. We have three piercing and tattoo studios in the Seattle area, which give us a unique insight into the studio owner/ jewelry buyer perspective, as well as the end client’s experience. Between our studios and traveling often for our jewelry, Rion and I stay pretty hands on. When Cassidi joined our team in 2013, she elevated BJO to new heights. BJO really is a team effort and that collaboration has a wonderful impact on both the direction of the company and our jewelry designs.

Marina: How has that unique history influenced the company you are now?

Buddha Jewelry Organics: We express who we are as people and what we love about life through our jewelry. We love to travel; we love to study cultures both traditional and modern, people, architecture, landscapes, art. We find inspiration everywhere, and love translating our experiences into new designs. Nature is an element that strongly influences our jewelry. Rion and I initially connected over our shared passion for outdoor activities like snowboarding, surfing, and hiking. We have a huge respect for the inherent beauty of natural materials and often our jewelry is about showcasing that in a progressive, wearable way. I design jewelry that I want to wear, usually from a more couture point of view. Rion is definitely more innovative and comes up with the most amazing ideas. We definitely inspire each other. Cassidi has also brought a new perspective and has had a great impact on our designs as well. There’s definitely a synergy, we’re super blessed to have the small team we do.

HALO

Marina: What was the inspiration behind the “Halo” design? What makes this design unique?

Buddha Jewelry Organics: We are slightly obsessed with stones and crystals… shocking right? I have a very edgy, high-fashion point of view and Rion is insanely creative. Our goal was to showcase the raw beauty of the crystal- line structure and the stone, but in a very modern structural way. We played around with different variations and combinations until we just knew that we had something we wanted to wear every day. For us, that’s the win.

Marina: Buddha offers a diverse collection of styles. Do you all have any personal favorites?

Kat: I have so many personal favorites, when you design something and see it brought from an idea to a physical creation it’s a sort of birth, and I get attached to those designs. I’m a nerd, I can’t help it. Right now I’m really into our Osiris weights for everyday and of course my pair of Halo weights.

Conference attendees checking out the award competitors.

Rion: I wear the Idol plugs almost every day, or the Luxe weights. I also really love the Deco fans.

Cassidi: I love the Muse hoops, I’m obsessed with the crystalline rawness mixed with the streamline metal.  I also really love the Deco weights, I can wear them to work and a fancy event, they look great anywhere. I really love anything vintage inspired.

Marina: As a well-known and established jewelry company, do you have any words of wisdom you’d like to share with up-and-coming manufacturers in our industry?

Buddha Jewelry Organics: Stay true to yourself and your style. The wonderful thing about jewelry is that each designer brings a unique perspective and adds a new dimension.

Kat and Ryan Wickersham and their Technical Innovator Award

Marina: Is there anything else you’d like to share with The Point readership?

Buddha Jewelry Organics: We’re just really grateful for all of the continued support! We’re excited to see our industry evolving and look forward to sharing our new collection with everyone!

Point #64: Innovator’s Award Winner for Technical Innovation: Jimmy Buddha – Diablo Organics

SONY DSCInterview by Shanna Dickey

Shanna Dickey: Congratulations on winning the Technical Innovator Award this year.
Jimmy Buddha:
I appreciate it, and a big “thank you” to the APP community and everyone who was a part of this year’s Conference. We couldn’t be happier to bring home the Technical Innovator Award. In a craft that has been around for thousands of years, it is difficult to come up with new, innovative concepts, and to be recognized among a community of trail blazers is a great honor.

SD: How do you come up with your ideas?
JB:
As a piercer for more than 15 years, I have insight into body jewelry function and design. When I work with people who have specific body modification needs, I love the challenge; that’s what gets me going in the morning.

SD: What is your design process?Point64-Buddha Award Winning Jewelry 2
JB:
It’s really organic and depends upon the materials around me. I just start playing with a design and incorporate function for that specific material. If I like something, I run with it.

SD: Who inspires you?
JB:
I get inspiration from our industry’s wide array of individuals. That’s what keeps me here: the independence and originality.

SD: What was your new technical innovation?
JB:
I designed spreader hooks for JP. They were created from 28-million-year-old megalodon teeth unearthed in the deltas of the southeastern US. They took about eight months to complete, from sourcing the material to designing the piece.

SD: How are spreader hooks innovative?
JB:
People with large stretched lobes want to wear heavy weight without permanently damaging their ears. Heavy weights can leave sore spots and even cause thinning of the lobe itself. The spreader hooks help to distribute the weight over a larger surface area than traditional hooks. It also turned out to be a pretty sexy design element for the piece overall.

SD: Do you create custom orders for a lot of people?
JB:
I put a lot of time and energy into custom orders and try not to overextend myself. Sometimes they can take a year to complete. A lot of the designs we create have limited availability, so we have to reshape and transform to stay current. That way even our “classic” products are limited and have a custom feel.

SD: How is working with an individual different than designing for your new lines?
JB:
Everybody’s needs are different. With regular catalog designs, I have to compromise. With custom orders, I have the opportunity to really focus on their specific modification needs.

Point64-Buddha Award Winning JewelrySD: What did you think of this year’s fashion show?
JB:
I was really excited to be a part of the fashion show. I think it was a great success and an important direction to move in for body modification, fashion, and jewelry. Everyone really stepped up to the plate, and we made each other look good.

SD: What was most memorable at this year’s APP Conference?
JB:
The APP Conference is a family reunion of sorts. I have built some really strong relationships over the years, and APP gives me the opportunity to visit with friends I don’t otherwise get to see. It’s also my chance to make connections with our new clients and continue to build those relationships.

SD: What are you currently working on?
JB:
I want to make sure our designs stay fresh and relevant. We are a wholesale company and customers have a lot of different shopping options today. We want to keep our clients in the loop and remain competitive. I have assembled a great team to help with every step of the way.

SD: Tell me a little bit about your team?
JB:
Jenny and Shanna are holding down the fort in Austin five days a week, always willing to answer any questions. Lauren is traveling around the States in “La Diablita”—our little red Diablo Organics’ car—and heading to a shop near you. We are really focusing on customer service and providing a good product to our clients. Our designs have been really well received, and we continue to evolve as a company and team.

SD: What do you have in store for the next year?
JB:
I’ve been focused on creating a strong infrastructure in Austin. I feel like now I can really begin to search for different raw materials, and continue to look for new methods, techniques, designs for that next big thing. I’ll let you know when I find it…