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The Following is an article from the new Sustainability Fashion Magazine "ECHO," launching WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 8TH 2010.
Sustain-Ability: Entwined with Nature
“Best New Visual Artist” Prisha Brown shares with Dustin Enrique Larsen her passion for all things naturally and sustainably beautiful, the thread that is woven throughout her already highly successful jewelry line.
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| Paper Chains: New Crayons |
“Many artists are inspired by natural elements and there is definitely a reason for this in the Pacific Northwest. With each changing season we have a rich array of colors and textures all around us. It is so easy to just go for a hike or drive and take your camera and come back with so much new inspiration.” This organic act of receiving inspiration is what Prisha Brown has based her career as a jewelry designer on, giving birth to her very own line: Entwine by Prisha Brown. Organic also finds its way into her actual jewelry itself. “Sometimes my bead patterns in my bracelets actually look like a forest path or river stream winding through the bracelet. The organic elements of my gemstones and pearls offer a natural beauty that is easy to connect with and wear.”
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Brown started her journey as an undergrad at Central Washington University where she studied Apparel Design and Fashion Merchandising. Being in central Washington and fairly secluded from major cities, she was surrounded by the natural beauty that came with living in that part of the state. After building a solid background in textiles, as well as completing a course in metal-smithing, Brown set off for Florence, Italy to study jewelry design during a summer abroad program.
Upon returning back to the states she pursued two fashion design internships in San Francisco. When she had accomplished those as well, her fire for jewelry design began to burn even brighter with the desire to learn more. “I felt the longing to study jewelry design further while still wanting to incorporate the textile background I still found very fascinating and inspiring.” This led her to pursue her Master’s degree in Apparel Merchandising, Design and Textiles at Washington State University in Pullman, WA.
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| Turquoise Wave Cuff Bracelet |
Entwine; named for the techniques traditionally found in woven, knit or crocheted textiles and basketry that she uses to create her jewelry; was born out of all her hard studying at home and abroad, and the inspiration that she obtained from nature. The process in which she creates her jewelry, from the ideas formulated in her mind to the actual physical jewelry, is as organic and natural as the inspiration that drives her. “In the past I have done a lot of sketching out of ideas and designs, but now I really let my materials speak to me from the color, shape, size, and texture of my beads to the color and gauge of my wire. I lay things out and just play with bead palettes before I start, adding and taking away colors until I have a combination I am really excited about.” She uses fine gauge spool wire; usually .999 pure silver, which is a very soft and supple material to work with, and recently began enjoying using brightly colored enamel coated wire. “I begin my freeform crochet process by very randomly stringing each bead onto my fine gauge spool of wire. Once I have several feet of beads strung onto my wire, I start by making a slipknot in the wire, which becomes my very first crochet stitch. Depending on what I am making determines my starting width row of crocheted chain, from there on out everything is freeform as I work in all directions and delicately make spider webs around each bead. The lacy web-like look of my freeform crochet is very organic.”
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Brown has already accomplished a lot while pursuing her dream, but she is not planning on letting up anytime soon. She has many goals for her line that she would like to accomplish. “I think the idea of sustainability is really important and something I am currently researching and moving toward. I love the idea and want to support and share this whenever I can.” She finds that this state of mind and behavior makes it so that “everybody wins.” She has already chosen to live by these values in her everyday life by shopping in her community to support her local economy, reusing and recycling items as much as possible, and making sure that her jewelry maintains the cultural and social ideals that she acquired along her journey. She hopes that others will adopt this lifestyle as well and that it will grow to become the norm on a national and global level.
Having already been living with these sustainable values for most of her life, she feels that incorporating them and creating a sustainable jewelry line is “something that will be easy for me to get excited about moving toward.” She already has a mission plan that will help her accomplish this. “Ideally, I would like to use all recycled wire. I also love using reclaimed vintage beads in my work. I have taken apart some beautiful necklaces found at antique stores. Vintage beads definitely offer a unique source of inspiration that can easily be designed around. It is wonderful to give materials a second life!”
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| Forest Path |
Not only is Brown a talented artist, but she is also a savvy businesswoman. “I have also been thinking a lot about the idea of ‘scalability.’ For example, if I get an order for many pieces, how do I fulfill the job if I am a one-woman show? I need to plan for the growth of my business and more production capability along with the sustainability aspect. I would love to expand nationally. It would be an honor to have more work sold in galleries and museum gift shops across the country.”
She has also tapped into the innovation of social media and marketing; which now is becoming the most sustainable method of marketing and PR, to broaden her clientele. “Social Media is a new and very powerful way of marketing your business. It is so new that people are in the early stages of understanding it’s fullest potential. In my research, I have heard it called ‘Engagement Marketing.’ It is a very effective two-way channel. The product that you offer is no longer the whole story. People buy from an artist because they trust the artist and want a piece of that artist’s personal story. I enjoy regularly updating both my personal and business Facebook pages and believe that my new blog will also add another dimension to my jewelry…a deeper, more personal story of my journey as I experiment, learn, and grow as an artist.”
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| Watercolor Burst Earrings |
Please visit the following links to learn more about Prisha Brown and Entwine Jewelry:
Liked what you saw? Watch for the launch of "ECHO," The New Sustainability Fashion Magazine, WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 8TH 2010! Also watch for information on how you can get YOUR OWN FREE COPY OF THE VERY 1ST ISSUE!
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