Website Launch!

An ALL-NEW brand image and website for emiko o reware! At long last, a brand new website (hard to believe the previous site was designed way back in 2000 in Flash!), making it ever-easier to shop my line of reware products, explore the breadth of my artwork collections and learn more about what inspires me as a creative! Even though it took me over 6 years to get the nerve to really look at my branding and marketing, the magic was in hiring Creative Director and branding visionary, Brian Bergeron of b-havior that catapulted my business to the next level! 

In the redesign of the brand, as with the most striking art, it's about cutting away the excess and honing in to the essential. Simplify, less is more. As a jeweler, I'm trained to zone in to the details of things, and more and more I'm realizing the power of seeing in overview, allowing for space around things to breathe and have impact (the later emphasized by my yoga teacher training).

Collaborating with artists has always fired up my creative juices, going back to my moonlighting days as a theatrical costume designer. When I step back to view the final outcome, I'm always blown away by the power of what's been created, and this new website is no different. From start to end it only took 3 months to go live, including an inspired photoshoot (see images above of behind-the-scenes) with Brian plus friend and colleague Shana Astrachan of Fox and Doll.

All this and updated social media, so be sure to follow my latest updates on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest! I would love your feedback on the new site. Send me a note here, I would love to hear from you. 

London calling - it's a small world after all

For as widespread as the Art Jewelry field has grown over the years, I'm constantly surprised at what a small world it really is, especially with more and more artists and galleries active on social media. My recent trip to London is a prime example. Per my obsession with artwork by the sculptor Louise Nevelson, we discovered an art jewelry gallery in the antiques quarter that has one of the largest collections of rare Nevelson jewelry. She did not make many pieces and made them primarily for herself, so to come across a whole lot is quite amazing. 

Rewind about 6 months ago, one of my Nevelson inspired neckpieces, dawning 2, gets tagged on Instagram on the @artistjewel page, a gallery that primarily features vintage art jewelry from the 50s-80s. We have a short convo and that is that. Fast forward to a few weeks ago and I'm standing in said gallery space, Didier, LTD, walk in the door (appointment only) wearing my jewelry, of course, and the owner greets me with "You're wearing work by that San Francisco artist". HaHa! Glad to know that my signature style has crossed continents! As it turns out the gallery is also a member of the Art Jewelry Forum, so they own the exclusive reware LEGO pin that I created for AJF this year.

The next 90 minutes was a whirlwind tour of the history of Art Jewelry by famous artists, being able to view upclose and personal, even trying on a few pieces, like the spectacular kinetic earrings by Jesus Raphael de Soto. What a treat, my brain was chock-full and spinning by the end of our visit. Didier gifted us a few exhibition catalogs as we walked out, which I'm grateful for as a continued resource.

For anyone attending SOFA Chicago this fall, make a point to stop by Didier Ltd's booth, there are treasures to be discovered!

 

Body as Agent Exhibition

Well-seasoned travelers are my art pieces (perhaps more so than me personally), so I'm thrilled to have a selection of my conceptual, statement neckpieces showing currently at the Richmond Art Center's "Body as Agent: Changing Fashion Art" exhibition. This juried show of California artists showcases how wearable art has changed over the last 25 years and continues to document contemporary society and convey important cultural/social issues. And I'm in good company with fellow "Upcycling" artists Harriete Estel Berman and Charlotte Kruk, just to name a few.

Even more exciting, I'll be giving a presentation on my artwork on Sat, Oct 10th at the Symposium "Body as Agent: Fashioning Something Different", inspired and informed by the exhibition. 

Body as Agent: Changing Fashion Art
Sept 13- Nov 15, 2015
Sept 20, 1:30-2:30pm Curator's Exhibition Walk-Through

Symposium: Body as Agent: Fashioning Something Different
Sat, Oct 10, 10am-4:30pm
$35 / $25 for members

Richmond Art Center
2540 Barrett Ave
Richmond CA 94804

My Feature on Sticky Sundays!

I was recently featured on ADHESIVE&CO's blog, featuring creatives from all disciplines! If you're in a creative field and live in San Francisco, New York City, or Boston, and are inspired by meeting others who do what they love, you can experience the magic of an ADHESIVE&CO event firsthand. Check out the interview HERE

Huge props to their co-founder Brian Bergeron for the opportunity to expand my world (plus produce fantastic new headshots!)

emiko o in person at ACC SF this week

emiko o is back  to the American Craft Council Show SF after a year of focusing on the East Coast Market, ready to knock your socks off with a whole new approach to her store not to mention an expanded Summer Collection of jewelry! 

Teaming up with fabulous textile artist, Ealish Wilson of Design Bahn, we'll be bringing an interactive experience to the mix - stay tuned later this week for sneak peaks of the setup....(need I say there will be a new reware full-length mirror to admire yourself in that just may be for sale...)

Get ready to experience it this Fri-Sun! Come by Friday for Happy Hour - tickets are only $5 after 5pm, plus get dinner at the food trucks in the parking lot.

DETAILS:
American Craft Council Show
July 31 - Aug 2, 2015
Fort Mason's Festival Pavilion
Marina Blvd @ Buchanan
San Francisco, CA

Hours:  
Friday, July 31: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. 
Saturday, Aug. 1: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 2: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.

This is a ticketed event - save money by buying tickets ahead on Eventbrite.

Summer Collection Debuts at Smithsonian Craft Show

This April marked our return trip to Washington , D.C. for the nation's premier juried craft show, the 33rd Annual Smithsonian Craft Show. It really is the best retail craft show out there and quite the honor to be selected as one of 121 artists. Per my usual fashion, the booth went through a re-design as I'm always experimenting with how spaces create inviting environments to make customers feel welcome and ready to hang for awhile to share their personal LEGO®-related stories. My husband joined my sales team for this one, promoting my menswear accessories, sporting the new modular Tie Clips

We unveiled the Summer 2015 collection - infusing California sunshine into the line, and got such great response that we practically sold out by second day of the show! Nothing like taking pre-orders for the rest of the show, woo hoo! See what's NEW

Many kisses adorned the booth walls, from The Under Killing Moon series that was exhibited at The Outer Limits exhibition (Facére, Seattle, WA) to new Lips Like Sugar brooches. One of the brooches was donated to the Smithsonian Women's Committee Auction benefitting the Smithsonian Institution.

33rd Annual Smithsonian Craft Show
National Building Museum, Washington, D.C.
April 23-26, 2015