Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: I’m timeless. I live in the present.
Occupation: Jewelry designer
Instagram: @janedarensbourg
Hometown: New Orleans
Studio location: Brooklyn
Describe what you make: Glass and metal sculptural jewelry, glass sculpture, and lighting.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: Glass chain. I started making glass chain link for an installation I showed in college of life-size glass fishnet stockings hanging from glass chain link. I then started making necklaces and earrings out of glass chain for myself and friends and family. I never seem to tire or run out of ideas of variations of glass chain.
Describe the problem your work solves: Bringing art to a wider audience and making it more accessible. I think of my jewelry as miniature wearable sculptures. In wearing my jewelry, I aim to impart a unique experience unlike conventional jewelry.
Personally, my work solves my need to be working with my hands constantly. When I was making solely fine art, I was very prolific. No matter how many shows and how many pieces I sold, the work started to pile up in my studio. I love that I get to go to my studio every day and make work that I know has a destination which will eventually end up worn and enjoyed daily by others.
Describe the project you are working on now: I am working on designing my next jewelry collection for Spring/Summer 2020, which launch this September. Lately, I’ve been reflecting on my path to making jewelry and finding inspiration in some of the loose organic first glass and metal jewelry pieces I made. It’ll be interesting to revisit and reimagine the shapes of my early work.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: A few secret collaborations and custom pieces launching in September.
What you absolutely must have in your studio: Sunlight is an absolute must. In the morning the sunlight really pours in. I always drop what I’m doing and am inspired by the reflections and shadows cast throughout my studio I have a table near my windows with a rotation of things I am working on and various props like vintage lenses and colored glass vases. I love playing around and capturing these fleeting moments in photos.
Other than sunlight, I would say toast and cheese. I used to have a “sandwich maker” that I would make next-level tuna melts in, but my husband hijacked it to make shrimp toast in his restaurant.
What you do when you’re not working: My husband is a chef, so we love to have people over for dinner parties or go out to eat at all the amazing restaurants in NYC. I’ve been having fun making kombucha.
I often take my 7-year-old son along to art shows and museums. I love seeing what he is drawn to and hearing his perspective. Children are such pure critics. I learn from him daily.
Sources of creative envy: Hector Guimard, an architect from France that designed the Art Nouveau metro entrances in Paris. I remember falling in love with the metal work and blown red glass bulbs as a teenager. This may have been my first inspiration in wanting to work with glass and metal. I recently showed my jewelry in Paris and fell in love with his work all over again.
I completely admire and envy Louise Bourgeois. I hope I can keep producing and innovating my work as long as she did. I regret never meeting her when she was doing salons in NYC.
The distraction you want to eliminate: My cell phone.
Concrete or marble? I have always loved marble. I have a coffee table I designed with a piece of black marble that my husband’s grandfather brought back from Italy. I would love to pursue working with marble in the future. I could spend days looking at marble slabs getting lost in their patterns like paintings.
High-rise or townhouse? Townhouse. I actually live in a brownstone in Brooklyn. I love the charm and character of all the brownstone townhouses in my neighborhood. I grew up in New Orleans, so I feel at home in creaky old buildings.
Remember or forget? Setting numerous alarms to not forget.
Aliens or ghosts? Ghosts
Dark or light? Light
