First time I was ever given a velvetine jewelry case by a love interest I was afraid to open it for fear of what might escape my lips. It was a gold necklace banded in a heart of red-rubies, I held my breath and reluctantly choked out a 'ttttthank-you?' His face surprised, mine be-wildered, as if it were the TV perfect moment (usually depicting a man spending all of his earnings on a solid twinkling rock he presents to a most un-expecting lady lover whom embodies that of a contained firework after the box is opened) went all wrong. I mean I hate to disappoint in such an anticipated moment, but really, have you ever caught me browsing through the Sears catalogue, stopping abruptly in the jewelry section, gazing lovingly over the red-heart ruby necklaces, sighing out loud that I wished I could have one someday. Rubies are my birth stone, he got that, but if he knew me well enough he'd see all I wear is costume jewelry in a range of anything besides precious metals. The thing that makes other girls go coo coo over diamonds, makes me gush over finding the cutest piece of well-crafted design I can sling around my neck and cause even harajuku girls feelings of excited raging jealousy!
As of recent, I found this amazing gem entitled Vice & Vanity out of Singapore. Started by Former Club21 employee Vivi Masturah Lim and Fine Arts graduate Aaron Kao, their work of necklaces, bracelets and brooches are so finely tuned, its enough to make a seasoned jewelers craftsmanship seem second rate.
Initiating a Q&A with Aaron over an email interview, this is what he had to say for themselves:
me: Where does Vice & Vanity originate from? How did Vice & Vanity begin?
Aaron: V&V started about 3 years ago, nothing serious at first, we were just making stuff for fun and for friends. I remember the catalyst was actually my mom's beading hobby. We would often leech her tools and materials just
to carry out that 'fun' time. Then one day a friend approached us to do a line for his new shop. It did really well and we thought it would be a good idea to see how far it would go. It was pretty unexpected as we had
no formal training, planning or whatsoever that we were going to pursue this. I studied Fine Arts and Vivi was only a keen observer of fashion. However we discovered that we enjoy making things and had this common
aesthetic that we shared. So here we are, it's been a long struggle and still a long way to go but it's been a great ride, ups and downs but we're definitely proud of V&V!
me: How did you two meet and where did you attend school or be educated in the art of your work?
Aaron: Vi and I met through a common friend and we've been together about 4 years now. I was a so called practising artist before doing Vice and had my hand in various mediums like painting, video art blah blah blah...... somehow doing Vice has been more fufilling and I find it easier to connect with people. Vi has also dipped her hand in various interests, she was DJ-ing before and did make up and then into fashion retail. She has always wanted to start something on her own her and I'm really glad that this has been
an outlet for her creativeness. For us, it's been a journey of learning and will always be. I can't really put down a specific source of inspiration or style because we try not to restrict ourselves to a certain look. We like to work from sketches and doodles and hunt for materials concurrently, sometimes the end product might even look different from the drawing stage because we adopt a work in progress approach allowing the work to morph along its design journey.
me: Where do you get your inspiration for your pieces from? are there any styles, people, places, historic happenings that particularly influence you more than others at this point?
Aaron: We're still reluctant to label ourselves designers or makers because we still feel that we've a long way to go in acquiring more skills and coming out with better work. We still prefer to call our designs 'accessories'
rather than 'jewelry'. I think we would rather let people decide what we are. haha!
We would like people who see our stuff the first time to say 'hey that's special, it's different, it's crazy but yet wearable!'
More masterpieces in great textiles, these top my main hit list:
Mixko, UK : created by artists Nahoko and Alex, they offer clever furniture, cheeky tee's and cute wearbles out of wool & ceramic scraps.
www.mixko.net
Jane D'arensbourg, New York : See Jane transform glass. Receiving one of her rings one of Bears trips back from Miami, Pulse/ Basil/ Aqua, Jane makes everything mainly out of glass.
www.janedarensbourg.com
Beavaldes, London : Ornate, distinctive, delicate and six months of hard earned $$$, I am nearly starving, but it was well worth every penny!
www.beavaldes.com
In the words of Holly Golightly, "Diamonds look better on much older ladies, don't you think?"
