Photos by Satomi Shirai

Jessica De Lotz is a jewellery designer based in London. I have been in her studio in north london 3 months ago and I took some photos of her while she was working. After the jump you can read her exclusive interview for livincool.com.

Tell us a little about you…

Which methods do you use to create your jewellery?

My wonderful workshop is my 2nd home and enables me to hand make all my pieces, largely myself. My workbench is adorned with all my trinklets and it is here that i spend the majority of my time. Sealing, assembling, filing, designing….

Specialist equipment such as a watch makers lathe is available to me in the workshop. This means that i am able to turn materials such mock ivory ( my favourite) to create a crisp, symmetrical forms or i can settle myself at my workbench to hand carve it. My workshop provides me with the opportunity to experiment and communicate a completely different language, with the same material, providing me with alot of scope to design.

What artists have influenced you and why?

Surreal artists Joseph Cornell and the ‘poetic theatres of memory’ that he created have continually crept back into my sketch books. His universe of found objects and images, displayed within a miniature world to create whimsical, sometimes fictional narratives and tributes have served as a great inspiration to my work.

What the word design means to you?

Design is not only about creating something that is aesthetically pleasing, this is sometimes secondary in fact but I am interested in creating new objects, be it wearable or not that serves a function and in some way they eases your life. When i am designing my strongest work, combines the elements of functional concealment, a narrative and provides its owner with a an object of preciousness and sentimentality. My Light Switch rings ( see image 2 attached) integrate all these features.

What inspires your work?

The house in which i was brought up in, was basically a bookshop. My father is a military historic bookseller and used it as his trading post. Every wall, nook and cranny was cramped with antiquarian books and as a result, the thing that inspires my work most (besides my dad), is age, nostalgia, the beauty i see in the imperfect, the rust, the tea stained photographs, the social life of objects and creating narratives about their previous lives and their owners, as i did so for my degree about Daisy Hooper. And where do i source this all from? car boots, antiques fairs, i am now a member of the ‘Ephemera Society’ so i get invited to specialist fairs and leave feeling like a contented closet train spotter. Yes, ultimate geek!

Where do you take energy and creativity from?

I have too much energy, that’s my problem! i put it down to a cod liver oil tablet a day ( it’s less gross than it sounds) and a ridiculously enthusiastic mum to look up to. Observing objects around me and all my collections of tricklets empower my creativity. I am a sorcerer and have been scouring antique markets, fairs, charity shops for far too long, well ever since my older sister Em was prepared to bear the brunt of a ‘tag – along.’ From the age of 3 maybe?

Who are your style icons?

Dandies with tailored tweeds and plus four’s, ideally waltzing up Saville Row? Rupert’s the bears dad maybe? Schiappareli. To be honest, I have never been one to aspire to be anyone or look up to anyone i don’t already know. My older sisters, have been a great influence to me. I’m the baby of 4 older siblings so i never had to far to find a muse.

Which is for you the best place in London to buy clothes?

Vintage fairs, my favourite being held monthly at Cecil Sharpe House in Primrose Hill. I’m the model for the event, and this gives me a great opportunity to show off my jewels in my favourite of settings.

When you are offered Victorian lace the has lasted the hardship of over 100 years and is near to pristine, very few things in the high street are worthy of the hype, let alone cost!

Who would you says the best dressed musician nowadays?

My boyfriend, Nathan obviously, especially when i adorn him in my jewels. He is one of the few men who can off my, ‘Lipstick on your collar’ wax seal pins.

What’s up next for you?

As a result of the success of my hand stamped wax seal jewellery from the collection ‘A love story. Paris 1946,’ my brother and I have launches a bespoke, modern day crest service called Jeweller for Life. I was getting inundated with requests to design personal monograms for individual customers, like my small tag a the back of my necklaces. This was initially designed by my older brother Ben. He now works closely with the customers to design them their crest or monogram and then i, magically transfer this into jewellery. Luckily my brother is a graphic designer so this collaboration works perfectly for the 2 of us, plus…. he understands me and my ‘nostalgic/vintage’ style. I put it all down to our dad! ‘Jeweller for Life’ encapsulates all the jewellery elements that are most important to me. First and foremost preciousness, longevity and recreating new heirlooms of the future.

More info here.

Handcarved mock ivory light switch ring and silver, plated 18ct. rose gold.

The light switch case ( Mock ivory base turned on a lathe, silver and inlayed rose gold. (22ct)

TRON LEGACY coming to theaters 2010 in Disney Digital 3D.

Great  composition of style  in this short story by Craig McDean for ITALIAN

VOGUE.

Miu Miu, Burberry,Vuitton,Prada and more put on Natasha Poly in a sporty way only because influence of style that comes from the sport have led to a trend for next spring?yes of course, for this reason so work well done for the fashion photographer Craig McDean and all his team.

Many fashion designers take inspiration from the world of sporty competitions in the spring summer collections 2010 from Pucci to Hermès and more……

Enjoy the style.

Well deserved Oscar prize to this short cartoon.

Today in London we have got a copy of Yvan Rodic book “Face Hunter” with a special dedication for livincool.com. I really like this book and his philosophy. Rodic traveled the world taking pictures of the coolest figure that he found on his way. More info after the jump.

The book is aviable worldwilde, click here for understand how get your copy. Also if you want a dedication of the author you can meet him in different part of the Europe.

Follow him around the Europe and check his blog daily here.

A woman-child who plays to be adult with a glamorous styling this is the girlish Hana Soukupova for  Marie Claire photo shoot.

Nice preview of a big revival of the 80s for the next winter.

The opulence ‘ll be protagonist: Accessories in Gold to show off with confidence. Women who become stars.

Great composition of clothes for the Stylist Nina Sterghlou.

Velour presents the new Fall/Winter Collection 2010 with the right soul and style. I really like the clothing that they shown and i love also the matchings used for the photoshoot. I would that the readers could focalize their attention on the fit of the clothing. So cool. More pictures after the jump.

Staple, superbrand giapponese presenta la sua nuova collaborazione con New Era Caps. Per la collezione Primavera Estate 2010 vengono “lanciati” 4 modelli di cappelli dai materiali che variano dal classico cotone fino alla lana. I colori invece sono anch’essi classici, infatti si parla di toni come il nero, il blue e il grigio. Disponibili da Hall of Fame per tutti i collezionisti.