15th July - 31st August 2004

A Celebration of Jewellers working with textiles

CRAFTSMAN

MARCH 2007 (A retrospective review)

MATERIAL GIRLS

by Valery Garrett

Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but for a wow factor that's a whole lot cheaper and a lot more cutting edge, look no further than Kath Libbert's gallery in Salt's Mill in Yorkshire. It's here that collections from the UK and Europe have been brought together in a celebration of the creative talents of jewellery designers working with a wide range of textiles and other natural materials. The result is jewellery that's best described as wearable art with a definite twist.
Into the Felting Pot

Lynsey Waiters is a textile designer based in Edinburgh. While a student at the Royal College of Art, she developed some unique felting techniques, which she applies to much of her collection. Giving traditional methods a modern look, and using natural materials like merino wool, linen, silk tulle and organza, Lynsey creates wonderfully tactile pieces using combinations of hand felting and embroidery. All her pieces are designed and handmade so that no two are the same. How about a felt brooch with fat juicy cherries hanging from a branch? Or a choker with little felt flowers like Smarties spilling out of the box? Here is jewellery with a simple charm and an instant draw.
Euro Style

Also working with felt is Karin Wagner, who hails from Switzerland. Karin became a textile and handicrafts teacher, and then a fashion designer and artist. Since 1998 she has her own textile design label, designing pieces for television programmes and for fashion designer, Christian Lacroix. Karin makes the felt from scratch and fashions it into jewellery so that the wool retains its softness and strength. Her merino felt flowers, some in pale yellow tinged with hyacinth blue, are so natural looking you want to smell them. The trailing rose vine with its felt buds and blossoms can be worn as you wish, around the neck or wrist, or over the head, party style.
Nature at its Best

Pressed paper is the medium favoured by Ana Hagopian from Barcelona. Ana's vibrant necklaces are crafted from a mixture of pressed paper and brightly coloured gauze in striking colours of lime green or fire engine red, and resemble water lilies floating on a pond. Ana says, "Since I was a little kid I liked to cut all types of materials with my favourite red scissors, and to play in the forest taking home all kind of leaves, seeds and stones as treasures. I'm still fascinated how nature makes incredible shapes and colours that people can never create as perfectly. I believe we should never stop playing and that's what I keep doing in life."
It's All in the Mix

Henriette and Martin Tomasi are a design duo from Munich, well known for their fine silver wire mesh brooches that use a special technique they developed for 'felting' metals such as gold, silver and steel. They create sumptuous, fanciful rings and bracelets from plush velvet, some in shades of soft lilac, grass green and pale yellow, using precious stones like tourmaline and peridot, and their trademark 'felted' silver mesh. The results are jewellery creations which are airy, but with a surprising stability and elasticity. Tomasi say, "The light shining through the treetops in a forest captured us during a walk. We were surrounded by a roof of leaves which appeared like a net. Space and foliage, light and shadow, life and transience seemed to form one simple, transparent entity. This was an impression of 'fascinating silence', a moment which lets one forget time, a moment in which we begin to dream. All this inspires us."
Watch This

For something completely different, and much more down to earth, Julie Arkell from London likes working with scraps of fabric, wool and paper that have been worn, torn, used and read. She says that such remnants - frayed, faded, stained or coming undone - have more meaning than an object perfectly put together. Other finds such as old buttons, discovered fastenings, hidden words and lost feelings are combined in her enigmatic 'dear friend' brooches. These are all given names, and made with cut-out faces from old magazines, the frames edged with sequins, rhinestones and beads. The straps on her 'tic toc' wristwatch bracelets are made from 1940s floral fabrics, with cut-out dress watch faces from old catalogues, and fasten with buttons. Julie says, "I use all the pieces I gather carefully. They live in my studio long before I use them in my work. In that way they become part of my life and I make up my own stories around them. I respond to the imperfection of things: something frayed, faded, stained or coming undone has more meaning for me than an object carefully put together." So, this stylish jewellery, with its combination of the familiar and the unexpected, goes to show you can make a statement without breaking the bank.

Telegraph & Argus, July 2004 review of *Material Girl*

TELEGRAPH & ARGUS
JULY 27, 2004

Dazzling jewellery for Material Girls
by Sally Clifford

Diamonds may be a girl's best friend but try stepping out in style in textile jewellery inspired by travel.
Material Girl featuring pieces in felt, velvet, wool, silk, wood, wire paper and paint, is the latest exhibition of distinctive jewellery and accessories at Kath Libbert's gallery in Salts Mill, Saltaire.

The show, which runs from July 14 to August 31, is a collaboration of collections from UK and Europe celebrating the diverse creative talents of jewellery designers working with a wide range of textiles and other natural materials.

"Material Girl features work I have discovered and admired on my travels over the past few years - the collections are all textile-based, yet vary greatly - and the exhibition is an exciting opportunity to show them all together," explains Kath.

"Some of the pieces challenge the definition of jewellery, blurring and, in some cases, crashing through the boundaries between art, jewellery design and fashion, But above all, this is a collection of beautifully crafted, tactile jewellery that cries out to be held, touched and worn."

One of the show highlights is the eyecatching orange dress created from raw wool by the talented Swiss designer Karin Wagner, whose stunning brooches and rings made from merino felt flowers also form part of the Material Girl collection. Karin, who has worked with famous designer Christian Lacroix, offered to make the installation piece as a promotional tool, but a potential buyer has already taken details of the £3,500 limited edition piece. "It's such a striking piece it glows and for Karin to dedicate herself to doing this for us is such a privilege," says Kath. "It's a welcome to the show."
Other features include colourful neckpieces crafted from gauze and paper and created by Barcelona jeweller Ana Hagopian; Amsterdam jeweller, Beppe Kestler's crystal and bead creations; Londoner Julie Arkell's vintage fabric and wool brooches and wristwatch bracelets; and Liverpudlian Suzanne McCulloch's embroidered merino felt chokers and cuffs in pastel shades.

Findings, September 2004, review of *Material Girl*

FINDINGS- The Association for Contemporary Jewellery's quarterly newsletter.
September 2004

MATERIAL GIRL

A bright, tangerine-coloured felt dress hangs in space at the front of this exhibition at Kath Libbert's gallery in Saltaire, arresting the eye and teasing the palate in anticipation of more to come. Material Girl is a testament to the borderless area of jewellery and applied arts, showing the world for all its worth about diversity, talent and virtuous material handling.

I found myself drawn, through sheer colour and exuberance to the garden of delight offered by Karin Wagner; the dress for starters, made especially for the exhibition, was followed by a Babylonian collection of felted flowers, fabulous, fun and colour-rich as you might imagine Tanzania or Brazil to be, the places of her upbringing. Traditional felting techniques but in wire are also used by Tomasi, an intriguing German duo whom Kath discovered at Schmuck: "The fine metal threads barely resist the working hand" they write, "We are always on the brink between creation and destruction." Their work, though based on terrestrial influences, look like they have been grown in deep ocean beds, formed by moving currents and deposits of colourful, microscopic life.

Liverpool based Suzanne McCulloch takes us into the innocent world of childhood memories, using fragments of blankets, dyed wool and all things pastel and woolly. Remember hand knits, thick socks and woolly tights? You get the sensation straight away, except these neckpieces are, thankfully, not as scratchy. Similar feelings of distant past and Granny's cupboards came with Julie Arkell's work which carefully gathers "old buttons, fastenings, hidden words and lost feelings" which live in her studio long before they are made into three dimensional stories.

I was delighted to see the two Catalan artists again: Ana Hagopian creating colourful neckpieces using egg box material and scrim, edges left to fray slightly, as delicate as old lace around the neck and Sylvia Waltz, a Massana school classic. Sylvia is well known for her complex mixed media brooches but her new departure offers an intimacy we can all identify with: ''The pillow is place where you put your dreams. It is a white place between today and tomorrow". Minute fabric details on little pillow shapes, feather light, hold fragments of dreams. What continues to amaze me is the lengths to which artists go in the search of the right answer. Beppe Kassler, despite claims of having a love hate relationship with jewellery, shows us her peculiar style of sewn glass beads on balsa wood, a balance of weight and colour, heavily influenced by her surrounding landscape. The focus on material manipulation, so impressive in the present digital environment is clear evidence of persistent experimentation and I imagine laboratories industriously forging ahead in search of new technical expertise, making these artists fascinating research.
Sarah O'Hana

LEEDS GUIDE

JULY 2004

Material Girl @ Kath Libbert Jewellery
Becky Taylor finds a new best friend in fabric accessories

Diamonds are a girl's best friend? Not any more, as Material Girl challenges jewellery lovers to break the mould and adopt a new best friend: textiles... as jewellery.

We've all plunged ourselves into this season's hot vibrant colours and just about got to grips with what can be classed as vintage and what really looks like it's from Oxfam. But now there's one extra ball to juggle as accessories hit the catwalk with so much force you may have to rethink the size of your jewellery box. Material Girl is a celebration of the talents of some of the best jewellery designers across Europe and the UK. Made purely from textiles, the work brings together art, jewellery and fashion, forming a brand new concept of wearable art.

The work on show will appeal to all tastes: from the more down-to-earth and quirky felt designs of Swiss Karin Wagner's flower-inspired jewellery, to Beppe Kessler's intricate balsa wood based necklaces and brooches studded with Swarovski crystals and glass beads from Amsterdam.

Each designer brings their own sense of style and direction in the pieces produced, drawing upon memories and life stories. London-based Julie Arkell works with used scraps of fabric, wool and paper; she believes pieces which have experienced wear and tear hold more meaning than new materials. Like a treasure trove hidden in the deepest depths of your grandmother's wardrobe, Arkell's pieces jumble together old buttons and past-their-best fastenings. 'Dear friend' brooches and 'tic-toc' wristwatch bracelets have hidden words in their complex design.

For girls who like pearls, German design duo Tomasi bring their own award-winning collections to Saltaire. The delicate designs of wire mesh brooches and rings are dazzling, and would perfectly complement any hat and gown outfit at Ascot.

If quirky is your middle name but you aim for a little luxury rather than the abundance of bangles and badges from the high street, the designs by Lynsey Walters from Edinburgh will keep you from ever taking a stroll down Briggate again. Combining merino wool, silk tulle, linen and silk organza, this is a cocktail that will leave you feeling more uplifted than a good cosmopolitan. Using hand embroidery, the collection of bags and brooches make you want to reach out and stroke them.

Yorkshire Journal, Summer 2004 review of *Material Girl*

YORKSHIRE JOURNAL
SUMMER 2004

Material Girls
Diamonds, sapphires and pearls are all very well, but for jewellery that will really get you noticed. how about felt, velvet, wool or silk? Material Girl at the Kath Libbert Jewellery Gallery, Salt's Mill, from 15th July to the 31st August, is an exhibition of quirky jewellery and accessories by designers from the UK, Barcelona and beyond. Ana Hagopian is showing colourful neckpieces crafted from gauze and paper. and Karin Wagner's merino felt flowers make distinctive rings and brooches. Natural fabrics and embroidery are used by Lynsey WaIters in her tactile jewellery, whilst, for Julie Arkell. scraps of fabric and wool. along with vintage buttons and bits, are given new life as quirky 'dear friend' brooches; and childhood clothes and memories inspire Suzanne McCulloch's embroidered merino felt chokers and cuffs in soft pastel colours.

Material Girl

Czech It Out

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