5.19.2013

Why do you stay in prison when the door is wide open?

 





||Cape Dress : Lenni | Villager Lace up Boots : Vintage Frye ||
 | Jewlery : Vintage|


“She would consider each day a miracle - which indeed it is, when you consider the number of unexpected things that could happen in each second of our fragile existences.”

― Paulo Coelho


Fashion Photos by: Tessa Barton + random found photos.


Peace, Love & Good Chocolate
Instagram @CharcoalAlley


PARIS <3 


5.15.2013

From dust we came, to dust we return . . .

Photography: Agustín Fallas  + Jimena Mateo


I believe that the whole universe is a projection of all the aspects contained in our very Self.  Everyone and everything is here to teach us - about who we are and what is possible.  Does it feel like the spiral is tightening?  Like time is speeding up?  Like our cosmic connections are as close as a heart beat away?  The idea that I have connected with two of the most incredible, creatively engaging, cosmic sisters on the planet, Ana María and María Fernanda Gavilán , who live and create thousands of miles away, is testament to these questions.  I love the way they think, and that they are creating some of the most authentically, emotional jewelry that I have yet to encounter.  And in that encounter, I have discovered and expanded into yet another, greater piece of myself.  


Names:  Ana María and María Fernanda Gavilán of  De Polvo y Viento  

Website:  De Polvo y Viento

INSTAGRAM: @depolvoyviento 

In five words describe De polvo y viento? 
Whimsical, nostalgic, soulful, dreamlike and poetic.

Star sign:  Pisces.

Where are you from? 
We are twin sisters,  Ana María and María Fernanda Gavilán, from San Jose, Costa Rica.

Tell us about De polvo y viento. How did it all begin?
We have always been driven by the idea of connecting and transmitting emotion through creativity. Because jewelry and metalwork have always intrigued us,  in 2011, we decided to start our own business, called De Polvo y Viento”.  It’s all based on this idea: From dust we came, to dust we return.  We began making accessories with chains, cloth, wire, stones,  feathers and other materials, as a hobby, while we got our degree in Interior Design.  Later,  we applied into intensive courses of jewelry design at a little school called, Escuela Crisol,  here in Costa Rica.

There is a great connection between us, which encouraged us to embark on this project together to communicate our vision.  Being twin sisters is not always easy; sharing almost every second of our lives together makes us have our little bumps, but in the end, nothing comes between our special bond.  The fact that we share the same passion has made it easier to work together and to complement each other.

The story of our pieces begins with our fascination with the dead nature and the connection to the unknown.  Bones and their crudeness have always intrigued us - the way a nature dies and leaves a story behind;  so combining bones with the whimsical beauty of metals transforms, dead nature, into a divine treasure.

Can you explain your design process -- materials, technique etc.? What inspired your current collection?
We have worked together as a team since the beginning of De Polvo y Viento.  We work together in every aspect of the business: concept, design, image, jewelry pieces and production.

In our latest collection, Espíritu de la Tierra (Spirit of the Earth), we worked with bones and semiprecious stones and metals (silver and brass).  Every piece was hand crafted, some polished and others with different texture finishes.

The collection was inspired by the poem “Fausto” by Goethe. Espíritu de la Tierra (Spirit of the Earth) comes to embrace and treasure death and its crudity as Divine (the spirit rises from dust, but the memory still lives).  By believing in nature, in all its forms, and how each force participates in infinite variety,  there can be an integration of man with nature. The collection represents the poetry, in the memory,  of a once living creature.   Nature is expressed in all the deep feelings of man - upon contact with human emotions,  dead nature transforms into immortal poetry.

Do you have a favorite piece of jewelry? (Your design or someone else’s)
It would be pretty hard to choose our favorite piece of jewelry of all times, but if we had to choose from our collection, it would be the brass bone crown, or the bone ear cuff.


What is your idea of happiness?
Experience,  accept and grow.  Happiness is to enjoy life at its fullest.  At the end, to be happy, is all that matters, so we have to make every day count and appreciate every moment.

Best advice you can share?
Love and enjoy life;  believe in yourself and follow your dreams - no matter what.

If you could travel on a magic carpet where would you go?
We would go to the parts and places that mind cannot perceive.  Our magic carpet would travel to a parallel universe and to unknown dimensions.  Through an extraordinary experience,  we would travel through time and space.

Shop their line here 
. . . ⇢ De Polvo Y Viento . . . 



Peace, Love & Good Chocolate
Instagram @CharcoalAlley

PARIS <3 


5.03.2013

Fall In Love . . .





| Fall In Love T-shirt: High Heel Sucide | Sequin Skirt: Vintage  
| Jewelry: Vintage + Necklace Vanessa Mooney + Unity Ring 

"I want to do to you what spring does with the cherry trees."
 - Pablo Neruda - 

Hey Everyone, I'm obsessing over this 'FALL IN LOVE' t-shirt from High Heel Suicide / Luxla Collab.  It's SO soft, and the color is perfect on any skin tone.  I'm currently in Thailand , and I have been wearing it non-stop. PEACE & LOVE ~ I can't wait to share with you photos from my a latest adventures.

Fashion Photos by: Tessa Barton + random found photos.


Peace, Love & Good Chocolate
Instagram @CharcoalAlley



PARIS <3 

4.23.2013

Bones and Feathers Collective . . .











  (Designers  Natalie + Cole -- Images of Fall 2013 collection)


 “In the end, we are all just bones and feathers.” 
                                               - Bones and Feathers Collective -

Yes, it’s true . . . every girl needs a “fox and chain necklace” by Bones and Feathers Collective.  I’m blown away and totally inspired by their fall, 2013, jewelry collection. Two amazing women, Natalie and Cole, started this Los Angeles company in 2010, and the collection just keeps getting better and better.  The vibe of the line is impeccable - hand crafted, magnetic, real.  I love their creative concept of combining indigenous styles with a modern day twist.  It all, perfectly, taps into the contemporary zeitgeist; like true artwork, it pushes the boundaries of what is acceptable in society.  For instance, their cast snake and fox vertebrae, create marvelous designs that are unique, beautiful and unexpected.  I love jewelry that holds a deep statement; that feels increasingly rare in today's mass produced world.  These talented ladies were kind enough to share, with us, a bit more about their creative process.  I hope you find it as refreshing as I do.  For me, It was just the spark that I needed to get excited about life again. 

Name(s): Natalie and Cole of Bones and Feathers Collective

Online Boutique: www.bandfcollective.com 

Instagram: @Bones_and_feathers

Five words that sum up Bones and Feathers Collective? Wild. Macabre. Ethereal. Raw. Elegant.

How did Bones and Feather Collective begin? 
Natalie: I was driving in the car with a designer I was interning for at the time and he told me that he thought I should start an accessories line. I texted Cole, asking her if she wanted to start one together, and she said, "Yes! We'll make things out of bones and feathers!" We liked the way the words flowed together, so we decided to keep it.

Tell us about the inspiration behind the current collection. What is inspiring you lately?
This collection's inspiration is 90s supermodel meets Rihanna meets your Sicilian grandmother, but in a good way. As of late...we've been inspired by Run DMC, the Beastie Boys, black panthers, collared necklaces, and our Sicilian grandmothers. 

 Fill in the blank . . . Every girl needs . . . our fox and chain necklace!

If you could travel on a magic carpet, where would you go? To various islands in the South Pacific.

What is your idea of happiness? Being artistically and emotionally fulfilled.


Best advice you’ve ever gotten? Work smarter not harder.




Peace, Love & Good Chocolate
PARIS  ➸♡➸

Instagram @CharcoalAlley
 
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