August 9, 2024 |
BLINGIN’ IT IS TEN’S ONLINE SERIES WHERE WE SPOTLIGHT THE INNOVATORS AND CHANGE-MAKERS OF THE JEWELLERY WORLD.
Imagine a swarm of otherworldly swords, vampiric fangs, flies encased in blood, aces and faces, heavy metal graphics, fragile love lockets, braces, spiderwebs, stars, hearts, horseshoes and predatory spikes. That’s the kind of off-kilter stuff Bitter000000 makes: intriguing, arcane, neo-punk grillz. Operated by Ava María and Anton Bitter, a visionary couple based out of Bushwick, Brooklyn – and their rat terrier Bully, who’s always sleeping in the studio when they work – the pair started their dental jewellery brand out of spite.
After losing a cap that Bitter had had from a pre-existing brand, he asked if he would be able to undertake an apprenticeship or at the very least, learn from them in some capacity. But, the brand turned him down and so, in an act of defiance, he taught himself the fastidious craft of making grillz, eventually launching his own label out of… well… bitterness. Bringing on María soon after, the autodidact pair fast found a community that chomped at the bit to get their hands on their odontal designs.
Describing their conceptual aesthetic as “alien, inside joke, dark web”, it’s clear that the couple don’t take themselves too seriously. They’re doggedly committed to their craft, and they’re good at it too, but there’s always room for a touch of mischief and an unfailing appreciation for the imperfect. With a design ethos rooted in non-jewellery references, often pulling inspiration from ancient history, the advent of hip hop, counterculture commercialism and malocclusion – the organically flawed positioning of the teeth when the jaws are closed – there’s a subversive angst to every abstract cap, flat, gap filler, open face, bar and floating letter they cook up.
Almost everything is hand-carved in-house. María handles the enamelling and fine detail work while Bitter specialises in the stonework. On the business side of things, Bitter is charged with tackling the “serious financial business” and María manages the special projects and collaborations that they undertake. Recently, for example, the pair designed a pair of molten-textured gold grillz for House of The Dragon 2 star and everyone’s new internet crush Emma D’arcy who donned the mythologically sculpted caps at the season premiere in New York back in June.
Bitter and María’s grillz, much like the couple themselves, refuse to fit neatly into any box. And so, what began as a defiant act of self-teaching has evolved into a haven for those who crave the unconventional. A creative exchange as sharp-edged and eccentric as the teeth it adorns, as Bitter000000 bites back at tradition, one thing is clear: it isn’t just a brand; it’s a rebellion with a smile.
ON THE BIRTH OF BITTER000000
María: We started making grillz with no jewellery background after losing a cap we got from another brand. Anton asked if he could do an apprenticeship or learn from them and they said “no” so he taught himself, slightly out of spite. And when he started making grillz it was supposed to be a hobby, but he got so many requests he had to make it a bit more efficient. He also has no art background (he’s very mechanical, working on motorcycles), but I do. I’ve also worked in and managed studios for artists, so it was a natural thing for me to join.
As for the name, Bitter is Anton’s chosen last name – he changed it when he became a US citizen (he’s originally from Ukraine). When we were coming up with a name for the business, we thought Bitter was funny since we started the business out of spite. I wanted to add the ‘000000’ since it reminds me of teeth, like six teeth on the top or bottom is one of the most common grillz pieces we make.
Bitter: I learned everything from scratch and I think that makes you a much better artist. It teaches you to be a problem solver and think more creatively. It’s like developing a muscle.
ON GOING FOR GRILLZ
Bitter: I started making grillz because I like the technical challenge; it’s maybe the most difficult type of jewellery making since it has to fit onto a tiny part of the body, it has to be perfect and there are tons of variables. So much labour goes into it even for the most simple cap. But there’s also a lot of uncharted territory in terms of design, as well as techniques that haven’t been implemented in grillz. We do a lot of portraits, for example, where I inlay photos into the grillz. They’re kind of funny, kind of cute, and always special. There are so many more concepts we’re excited to make come to life in the coming year.
María: Grillz have an allure and mystery in both how they’re made and how they’re worn. A lot of people have no idea how they work, or how difficult they are to make.
Ava María and Anton Bitter in the Bitter000000 studio
ON THEIR CREATIVE PROCESS AND CONCEPTUAL APPROACH
María: We work side by side at our respective desks. Anton is usually listening to a podcast and I’ve got some reality show or anime on. They both play out loud so it’s probably chaotic to anyone who comes into the room, but I think it helps us focus somehow. Our dog, Bully, is always sleeping in her bed wrapped tightly in a blanket in between us. (Bully is absolutely the main attraction at our studio. She’s a hairless rat terrier and our security/alarm system!)
Grillz are generally made either by hand carving the wax model, then casting it with a lost wax method, or it’s designed digitally in CAD, then 3D printed. There’s a lot of things that can be outsourced too, like casting, polishing, and stone setting, but we prefer to do it all by hand so we can keep costs low and quality high! We’re also able to better keep our style and identity intact, which is important.
Everything is a custom design (aside from the traditional full and window style) – we have a few pieces that we’ve repeated, but working on such a small scale, by hand, everything is naturally going to come out differently. We do a lot of abstract pieces, and try to tailor them to the individuals’ style as best we can. I think it’s a huge advantage to meet the client in person before making something for them – the piece then feels like the person.
And materials-wise, we source everything locally in the [Manhattan] Diamond District. We love working with 14k white gold with black rhodium, but our favourite stones are chalcedony or garnet. The couple we source stones from are always showing us weird and interesting stuff too.
ON COWORKING AS A COUPLE
María: Working together as partners has been really challenging at times, we’re totally opposite (Anton is pretty brash and boisterous, and I’m very quiet and sensitive) so often we clash. I think it’s also why we work really well together though, we’re able to do things the other would struggle with. And at the end of the day we have the same goals, and are equally committed.
ON WHAT INSPIRES THEIR GRILLZ
María: We’re lucky to live in a place that has so many creative people, so a lot of our designs come from conversations with our friends or just stuff we see around the city. I watch a lot of television so definitely am constantly consuming visual culture, which trickles into my subconscious. As for other designers, there are so many amazing grillz designers from around the world who’ve impacted our work. They helped us a lot in the beginning and we’re glad to be a part of the community.
Bitter and María: Brooklyn definitely impacts our style, it’s a place where people are always looking their best, experimenting with all elements of fashion, etc. It’s also one of the only places that’s truly inspiring to me in terms of working. The people here are trying to make something of themselves and I crave that kind of energy.
We’re also really into history, and the history of adorning teeth with precious stones and metal goes so deep. From ancient peoples like Mayans and Etruscans to Jamaican and West Indian immigrants in NYC, then their rise by hip hop artists to now.
ON THE BITTER00000 CLIENT
Bitter and María: We’re proud that we have a wide range of clients, from Bronx natives to Bushwick DJs to cowboys. It’s nice that we attract people with different aesthetics, it pushes us to make things we’d not usually think of. I think people come to us for our breadth of designs, as well as some of our more signature pieces.
Bully, the hairless rat terrier
ON EMMA D’ARCY, HOUSE OF THE DRAGON AND DREAM CELEB LINK-UPS
Bitter and María: The piece we made for Emma (D’arcy) was really special, they wore it for the premiere of House of the Dragon 2. Their team reached out while they were in NYC, so we took the mould and were able to make the piece within a few days. It was a textured yellow gold, kind of emulating molten metal, with a few abstract dragon motifs. We also watched a few interview videos so I could see what teeth are visible when they speak, and incorporated that into the placement of the pieces. It was surreal to see it on a red carpet, especially on an actor who we’re fans of. The whole styling was really great and we’re grateful to have been a part of it! The reception was also so positive, we’d love to see more celebrities in grillz that are a bit more avant garde, you know?
Bitter: We love the pressure that comes with working with celebrities, it’s usually a logistical challenge, which I welcome.
María: I would love to make a piece for Sha’Carri Richardson, Michele Lamy, and Chappell Roan – they’ve all been on our minds lately.
ON THE FUTURE OF BITTER000000
Bitter and María: We have a lot of projects in the works that are beyond grillz, we’ve gained so many skills over the past few years and would like to apply them to other metalwork. We’ve also just started a new photo ID project with our friend Jae Kim, which will be ongoing portraits of our clients that we turn into Bitter000000 ID cards. We’re excited to keep growing our collection and be challenged with more technical and conceptual projects.
Photography courtesy of Bitter000000.
Ava María and Anton Bitter in the Bitter000000 studio
