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Whether you want to say thank you, I love you or … something else entirely, Pretty Girl Paper has you covered in the most glam way possible. Glitter, gold foil and metallics abound in the current collection. (Photo by Megan Parry)
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Santelli recently had a design epiphany, and these geometric wall hangings are the result of her creative breakthrough. “I’ve always done jewelry, but I realized, ‘Hey, I know how to solder, I have all the tools — I can make way more than jewelry!’ ” She plans to expand her home design line with more wall hangings in the future. (Photo by Megan Parry)
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Each of Tanton’s pieces feel special; totems that are just as meaningful bought as a gift for someone else or yourself. The crescent moon is particularly lovely and would make an awesome birthday present for your most cosmically conscious friend. (Photo by Megan Parry)
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The current installation at Quirk, Volume, is a fantasy land of pink hues and varied textures. In other words, the perfect complement to the trunk-show aesthetic. (Photo by Megan Parry)
Here’s one fashion writer’s version of a perfect afternoon: when the temps top out at 82 degrees on a sunny Sunday in late October and there’s a jewelry and stationery trunk show on at Quirk Gallery offering pretty things and fresh mimosas. Heather Tanton Collier of Mother Daughter Jewelry invited fellow local makers Kristy Santelli of Drift / Riot and Beth Harris of Pretty Girl Paper to join her for a handmade wares trunk show, and you better believe I stopped by.
Mother Daughter Jewelry
Collier began Mother Daughter in 2003 after a stint studying jewelry making in New York City. Her “charm”ing line is full of mixed metals and stones with a raw, earthy vibe. If it’s possible for jewelry to be both simple and statement-making, Collier has found a way to do it with Mother Daughter.
Pretty Girl Paper
As all the best entrepreneurial stories go, Beth Harris started Pretty Girl Paper because she wanted a note card with gold studs on it, couldn’t find one and decided to make it herself. The rest, as they say, is history. Her line is cheeky, chic and full of personality — just like her.
Drift / Riot
Drift / Riot began in 2012 as a collaborative effort between Kristy Santelli and her husband, Evan Cotter, with Santelli as the jewelry designer and Cotter as the brand manager. The pieces in the line, a minimalist manifesto in clean lines and geometric shapes, are meant to be layered to create a personalized look.
Quick-fire Q&A with Kristy Santelli from Drift / Riot
Richmond magazine: What’s your design process like?
Kristy Santelli: Drift [Riot] is a reflection of what's happening around me. The last collection [“Free Form”] was a result [of my] being really free. I wasn't teaching anymore, and I just felt I was in an organic space.
RM: Where do you get inspiration for your pieces?
KS: EVERYWHERE — life.
RM: What do you love most about Quirk Gallery?
KS: Love Quirk! They are so supportive of local artists and the art community.
RM: Coolest professional moment of 2016?
KS: Building the store we are opening, Dear Neighbor, slated to open holiday 2016! Every day is a new learning adventure in the construction world.
Indeed, Santelli and her husband are in the midst of renovating a Church Hill duplex and garage combo into a gift shop. Santelli says the space has “lots of good vibes,” as it’s the spot where Ardent beer started and where Sub Rosa used to mill their flour.
Dear Neighbor will stock a curated selection of local maker goods and other independent designers with a “push to bring back the art of gift giving.” Mother Daughter Jewelry and Pretty Girl Paper will be available, as well as Little Barn Apothecary, Maslow Jewelry and Bear Ceramics (to name but a few).
Dear Neighbor, and this latest trunk show at Quirk Gallery, are but two examples of creatives in this city coming together to collaborate on something bigger than themselves. As Harris said, “That’s Richmond for you!”
