I just had to share an arrival which was on my doorstep this morning. This stunning 1966 pendant by Finnish designer Elis Kauppi embodies so much about what I love about jewelry from Finland; bold scale, graceful geometric shapes, and a sense of fun.
It’s also remarkably fresh. It reminds me of the large luxury pieces from the new Tiffany Legacy line whose campaign appears in this month’s Vogue. (Karen Elson is also fabulous…)
A few months ago, I had the pleasure of acquiring two incredible sculptures by Canadian artist Guy Vidal. I sold them quickly, but not without a pang of regret. There are some things that you just know you will never find again. But I do have these pictures to console me – which I now share with you!
Both pieces are large pendants which are designed to sit upon a separate stand when not in use. Worn, they are incredible statement pieces, on their own, they become stand alone sculpture. To me, these are among Vidal’s best work. When I think about the whole design process, from creation to casting to finish, they become even more amazing.
I have just fallen in love with a beautiful cabin in Denmark. Those floors, that fireplace, the sleeping loft… yes, please.
New arrivals this week!
1 / Hans Hansen ring. Denmark, c. 1970. Such a beautifully refined piece.
2/ Kultateollisuus Ky necklace. Finland, c. 1970. Love this motif – you can never have too many snowflake necklaces, in my opinion. It reminds me of this fantastic piece we had last year around this time.
3/ Jorma Laine for Kultateollisuus Ky. Finland, c. 1973. So charming, all those long-necked figures.
I’m also currently working on putting together a Tumblr archive of all of Hopea’s past pieces. Stay tuned!
A few beautiful things that have inspired me over the weekend:
1 + 4/ Beautiful Nordic housewares from Danish design brand House Doctor. Their recently released A/W catalog, titled “Moments”, is chalk full of covetable objects and I just love the layout!
2/ A stunning bent plywood rocker. Love the rich tone of the wood.
3/ Hans Wegner’s “wishbone” chair.
5/ New Hannu Ikonen “reindeer moss” pieces that have just arrived. These gorgeous bronze designs are so very fall.
It’s such a treat when I stumble across original promotional material from the Nordic designers that I carry at Hopea. In seeing the original marketing ideas, you often gain a fuller understanding of the artist’s vision for his/her work. This week, a couple of Hopea’s latest arrivals correspond with original print materials that I’ve saved from various sources.
The first image above is a page from the Turun Hopea Oy catalog which details Jorma Laine’s pieces for the firm during the 1970s. I’m so happy to have one of his rare works in crystal (catalog number 3815) available on Hopea this week. (Thanks to this Tumblr for the catalog image).
The second set is from the Royal Bini series by Danish firm Anton Michelsen for ceramic giant Royal Copenhagen. The pieces explore the use of porcelain in modern jewelry design. The results are clean and sleek objects which merge two distinct realms of design; symbolic of the merger of the two firms in 1968. The “keyhole” ring pictured above will be available next week on Hopea.
A few inspirational objects with which to start your week!
1/ Amazing pots from TW Pottery. I love how the wooden weaves imitate the plant tendrils – both quirky and delicate.
2/ “Stump” by Kieran Kinsella. The artist creates these amazing stools from fallen trees around his New York studio. The new porcelain glazed collection is also amazing.
3 + 4/ Beautiful, minimal mugs by Line Rønnest + print by Lene Nørgaard – both available on Stillebenshop.com
I hope all of my fellow Canadians are having a lovely Thanksgiving Day weekend!
With Hopea’s new branding completed, I’ve been concentrating on photographing all of my back logged pieces and getting them online for people to see and enjoy. It’s one of the challenges of having a business which deals in vintage stock; where’s the balance between what you show and what you keep behind the counter for the moment?
Another big challenge for me has been attempting to photograph the pieces being worn. My past “selfies” have been pretty disasterous at times, but I feel that I’ve finally come up with an angle that doesn’t make me cringe (see above!). For anyone else facing the same daunting task, my advice is just to keep trying various ideas and set ups. Try to avoid kicking over the tripod in frustration – something is bound to work!
Above images:
1/ Sculptural tree bark ring by Anton Michelsen – so in love with this piece.
2/ coming soon – kultateollisuus ky bracelet. finland, c. 1970 (follow Hopea on instagram for sneak peeks such as this!)
3/ A lovely necklace by an unknown Scandinavian designer
Meanwhile, the first frost has come to Calgary…
A few weeks ago, I assisted with styling on the set of the fall fashion story for FFWD Weekly in Calgary. The location for the day is referred to by the neighborhood as “the castle”; an unusual, Spanish-inspired home complete with facades and turret. Stylist and art director Leah Van Loon, did an amazing job of creating a correspondingly whimsical shoot. The results are just so pretty. Hopea’s brooches add a touch of flair to the pastel pea coats. Above are the finished product and below are some of my own behind the scenes pictures from my day on set. You can also see the complete story on FFWD’s website.
HOPEA 