‘I found discarded brass in the factory that produces the metallic component of my jewellery,’ says Maria Sole Ferragamo of jewellery brand So-Le Studio. ‘I was there to work on some other project and my attention was suddenly captured by these large bins full of these shiny, beautiful, metal shavings.’ They pointed the way to the next step for the Italian jewellery designer who, while used to working with leftover leather, had been keen for a while to incorporate new leftover materials.
The new collection, Trucioli – a thin, curly piece of material shaved from a bigger piece – takes these brass shavings, coats them in gold and hand paints them in epoxy resin for joyful and sustainable designs. Six unique styles of earrings, some in vivid fluorescent hues to light up the dark, make for a joyful jewellery collection.
To achieve the right consistency for the resin, Ferragamo embarked upon a long period of testing and research. ‘The resin couldn’t slip down the gold plated brass shaving,’ she explains. ‘There was also a lot of effort involved to find the perfect pigments, in terms of colours, luminescence and quantity to balance with the resin.’
The end results are bold, fun to wear and – most importantly for Ferragamo – consciously produced. ‘Working with upcycled materials, looking at what’s already there instead of adding something more to this world is, first of all, my natural way of thinking as well as a big creative stimulus. I am lucky to have a creative mind, which allows me to look at the reality from different perspectives, seeking opportunities hidden behind problems.’ The jewellery may be unconventional, but Ferragamo calls her aesthetic a purist one. ‘There is no decoration for the sake of it, but each element has its own raison d’être.’
INFORMATION
so-le-studio.com
