from Ar Avatars by Hop on the Spiral and Reed+Rader

We love the fashion story Ar Avatars, the newest collaboration between photography duo Reed+Rader and Hop on the Spiral’s Ryan Dye. Move over Inez & Vinoodh. Thanks to hair auteur Saya Hughes, who created the tresses for this project, for bringing it to our attention!

Tags: Ar Avatars, GIF, Hop on the Spiral, POP, Reed+Rader, Ryan Dye, Saya Hughes.

The Totam never expected to discover San Francisco-based jeweler Alix Blüh’s workshop and gallery, Modern Relics, tucked away on a sleepy residential street in the heart of the Richmond district, but after spending a recent afternoon hearing the stories behind her wares, we’re delighted that the secret is out.

Located in a former jewelry school, Modern Relics’ high-ceilinged, spare loft houses Blüh’s studio upstairs and the showroom below, partly camouflaged by a whimsical, curtained window display. It took the better part of a year to transform the space to reflect the artist’s exacting standards, with walls paneled in recycled fence timbers, stenciled floors, turn-of-the-century glass display cases, old-fashioned bare-bulb lighting and a vitrine constructed from a cast-iron sewing machine pedestal. The resulting effect is at once ornate and austere, a curio parlor of fanciful oddities balanced by the weathered utilitarianism of a schooner-captain’s quarters.

Alix Blüh, named for family friend Alexander Calder, was formally trained as a painter at the University of Massachusetts and at Oxford, where she developed her passion for collecting and dealing in antiques in London flea markets. Raised among avant-garde artists in rural New England, Blüh creates sublime pieces of wearable sculpture inspired by the forms found in nature and historical objects of remembrance.

Alix Blüh jewelry

Using a meticulous wax carving technique, Blüh’s pieces are hand-wrought in precious metals, with a signature rough hewn texture. Lacy, carved coral and honeycomb forms are studded with pinhead-sized jewels. The artist’s variants on the cross, anchor and heart- symbols of faith, hope and charity that many sailors and their wives wore in Victorian times- have a medieval touch to them, and figure prominently in her latest collection. Blüh hopes her jewelry will function as personal talismans for the wearer:

“I have always been so moved by the stories found in nature, in time worn objects, in mourning jewelry and religious reliquaries…I want to create heirloom pieces that are not about fad and fashion but art and timelessness.”

Blüh’s reverence for beautiful mementos with sentimental value extends to her own collection of daguerreotypes, tintypes, mirrors and books, found throughout Modern Relics. She has been quietly showcasing a mix of handpicked antiques, reproductions, her own jewelry, and the work of like-minded creatives in her tiny atelier for the past year or so.

Clockwise from top left: Suga necklace on antique handmirror, Swallow thorns, tooth and jackalope, Swallow painted glass with 22K gold backing, reproduction scrimshaws

We love that Blüh views Modern Relics as a platform for more than just her own work; Blüh feels such kinship to the work of Brooklyn-based artist Ria Charisse, whose Swallow line of cast-metal creatures, woodland letters, and paintings of whales on glass layered w/ 22K gold leaf, that over half the space has been given over to Charisse’s creations. Swallow’s pairs of bird feet and pewter tooth are Totam favorites. An additional case features the dainty jewelry of Blüh’s assistant, Soojo “Suga” Rocereto.

Modern Relics is located at 771 Cabrillo Avenue between 8th and 9th Avenues in San Francisco. Gallery hours are Thursday-Saturday 12-7pm. Contact (415) 422-0477 or relics@alixbluh.com

Alix Blüh will also be exhibiting jewelry at the NY International Gift Fair this August- look for her at the Jacob K. Javits Center, Booth 535.

(All photos by Aileen Tat except where noted)

Tags: accessories, Alix Bluh, antiques, artist, jewelry, Modern Relics, reliquaries, Ria Charisse, San Francisco, sculptor, Suga Rocereto, Swallow, Victorian.

Vintage clothes shopping can be extremely satisfying or exceptionally frustrating. The hopes of stumbling upon an ’80s Alaïa miniskirt or pristine Charles Jourdan heels from the ’70s at the local church thrift has become increasingly difficult. Enter curated vintage - where hard-to-find designers and amazing pieces are sourced and presented under one roof or website. Brick and mortar vintage stores can be a great introduction to finding designers that fit your body type and to also research and understand vintage sizing. Ebay is still the go-to source to find vintage online, however vintage e-boutiques have become more popular as well, allowing store owners to create an entire aesthetic that eBay cannot provide.

A couple of newcomers to the online vintage scene:

Vagabond NYC is like V magazine come to life. Slick studio fashion photography highlights special pieces each month in editorial spreads with a very downtown aesthetic. Vagabond’s goal is to find pieces that illustrate current trends while staying away from items that are too retro. There is a focus on very current designers (Alexander Wang, Marni, Balenciaga) while uncovering many forgotten designers of the near past (Kansai Yamamoto, Stephen Sprouse), many of whom have directly inspired the very current designers. The current drop-crotch pant craze is one such example - Vagabond has uncovered the originators of this trend, Yohji Yamamoto and Issey Miyake, respectively.

With a more upscale bent, British site Atelier Mayer’s aesthetic is more glamorous day dresses, sparkling costume jewelry and one gorgeous Bob Mackie evening gown. Pieces are presented in a visually clean way with pop-up “style sheets” detailing the fabric, and editor’s notes discussing the fit and even the time period of the piece. Also, for a brief history of each period in fashion (from 1900-2000), visit the Decades in Fashion editorial section.

Tags: Alaia, Alexander Wang, Atelier Mayer, Balenciaga, Bob Mackie, British, Charles Jourdan, downtown, ebay, fashion photography, Kansai Yamamoto, Marni, online boutiques, Stephen Sprouse, thrift, V Magazine, Vagabond NYC, Vintage Fashion, Yohji Yamamoto.

Websites have reached a pinnacle of being over-produced, hi-tech pieces of work nowadays. Fashion sites especially have become complete sensory overloads. Screens move, sound engulfs, movies beg to be watched. However, less is more, as in the case of these following sites who have embraced the seemingly mundane for a back to the future browsing experience.

Elusive Belgian designer Martin Margiela’s website has the look of a backend or index area of a site, complete with pop-ups, which remind me of my first Commodore 64’s prompts. Upon visiting, a dialog box reads cleverly, “This site is not under construction.” Many people have left the site, thinking just the opposite, only to return to realize the joke. Once inside the “index” area, it feels as though visitors are privy to files that they should not have access to: the secrets of Maison Margiela. The look is seemingly basic, yes, but the site does a brilliant job at elevating the everyday which is exactly what Margiela’s fashion is also known for: a twist on the ordinary (i.e. the bow wallet or the faux-money pumps). Even the video pop-up recites the names of the garments in English and then repeats them in French to mimic a language tape.

Creative studio Surface to Air’s website has the feel of a Windows desktop circa 1995: a cheeky calling card for a company who is responsible for the surrealist ad campaigns of fashion designer Tsumori Chisato as well as commercials for mega-brands like Louis Vuitton and Sony. As with Margiela’s site, the pedestrian transforms itself into a witty marketing tool. The retro look combines a slightly out of focus pixel resolution with ancient looking folders and fonts. However, most of this site has been disbanded for a more functional home. The old site still remains though, possibly as a sly reminder of simpler times.

Further reading:

Surface to Air’s Apple Profile

Tags: Commodore 64, Fashion, Louis Vuitton, Martin Margiela, Sony, Surface to Air, Tsumori Chisato, Websites, Windows.