January 11, 2024 |
For jewellery designer Conor Joseph, the simplistic beauty of the human form has consistently acted as a spring board for his second-skin style jewellery designs. Cutting his teeth at CSM, Joseph graduated from his jewellry design degree in 2012 and has since expanded on the tapestry of his gilded world with a prestigious residency at Sarabande, numerous collaborations and innovative design practices in the face of a gobal pandemic.
Finger prints and viscerally human skin textures are cast in precious gold and silver, and rings that cover finger tips and gauntlet-style hand pieces are all key designs in Joseph’s truly mesmerising design archive. The magic of Joseph’s designs lays in the uber-meticulous creation of the pieces, while managing to look as though the wearer simply came out of the womb with shining silver finger tips, each crevice of their unique finger print honoured with sumptuous metal and preserved forever in jewellery form.
It’s no wonder that the ethereal nature of Joseph’s work has piqued the interest of equally ethereal figures such as FKA Twigs and the iconic Eryka Badhu. For the 2016 Met Gala, the former was adorned in a range of Conor Joseph jewellery, wearing a bespoke custom head piece and several rings including a silver thumb and finger cuff that had been beautifully moulded to the singer’s hand. The latter is also often photographed wearing a Bleeding Lip Grill which she donned at the 2021 Met Gala.
At the end of last year, Joseph collaborated with hair extraordinaire, Taiba Akhuetie (also known as Taiba Taiba to launch the collaborative luxury jewellery brand, HairWear. HairWear can be described as the welding of many things, minds, metals and craft, weaving together Joseph and Taiba’s disparate expertise, and the result is striking.
Crafted in both sterling silver and 24 karat gold, HairWear’s opulence is undeniable. The partnership wonderfully marries Taiba’s fantastical approach to hair art and weaves her extensive knowledge with Jospeh’s truly remarkable craftsmanship. The mundanity of everyday items, be it a hair clip, a comb, a hairspray nozzle and razor blades, are reimagined as opulent and striking pieces of luxe jewellery. For example, golden ear cuffs are fashioned as gelled down edges, chunky hoops are crafted from real moulds of braided hair and hair pins are looped together to make a delicate necklace.
Joseph’s designs and creative process itself is rooted in an appreciation for all things physical, be it skin (across his mainline), or hair (across his collaboration with Taiba). Sculpted with clients’ bodies in mind, each line, crease and strand of hair are honoured in all their individuality.
ON HIS SARABANDE RESIDENCY
Joseph: “Sarabande is like studying a master’s degree in your field of expertise, but they’re not teaching you how to make jewellery, they’re helping you develop your brand identity and create a better business structure for you to use once you finish your residency. It’s great being an alumni of Sarabande as they will always keep helping you and putting you forward for projects that they think you’re right for, or try to connect you to the right people, publications, etc.”
ON SCULPTING SKIN TEXTURES AND TAPPING INTO CAD
Joseph: “When I did my residency – it started during the end of Covid where it was like semi-lockdown still – we weren’t really allowed to have visitors or clients come to our studios. But some of my jewellery is made from taking moulds from client’s body parts, so the CEO of Sarabande suggested I find a way of making my skin-textured jewellery in a digital format so I wouldn’t have to physically touch a client. To me it sounded more like a concept project than a reality, but Trino [Verkade], the CEO, made me realise that this could be the direction that jewellery and fashion moves in; especially if this [a pandemic] were ever to happen again *God forbid*. This meant that I would be able to carry on with that style of work without having to worry that I would be losing clients or not be able to produce the range anymore.
“It was a lot of trial-and-error for a few months. I worked with one of my best friends who is an amazing CAD (Computer-Aided Design) developer. She helped me create a range of CAD rings and pendants covered in actual skin texture details from my clients that I printed in wax and then cast into metal.
“I’m not a very tech-forward person, I’m more hands-on, making things from scratch, by hand, and by myself, so this was a big jump for me to do, but I really liked working in this way for the range.”
ON HIS COLLECTION’S AESTHETICS
Joseph: “I would describe my collections as playful, fun, fetishized and even garish and kitsch, which I think are great describing words. I would be happy if people thought my work was a bit trashy and bad taste.”
ON FINDING INSPIRATION IN THE HUMAN FORM
Joseph: “[Something I’m always drawing inspiration from is] the human form. I think I’m more drawn to organic shapes than man made, uniformed structures. Anything with a naturally occurring design always draws my eye. But as my work develops into more Computer-Aided Design, my influence will probably change and grow as well. I say this, but I honestly love looking through product design [themed] Instagram [posts] and scrolling through beautifully made furniture and homeware; I guess that is more my age showing where I get excited about seeing a nice candle holder or a set of chic knives, haha.
“I [also] have a few favourite illustrators from the turn of the last century: Arthur Rackman and Edmund Dulac. They drew the most beautiful watercolour illustrations for children’s books but in these really muted, dark, earthy tones, so they had a more macabre aesthetic to them. There’s one illustration I have tattooed on my arm of a group of sirens or nymphs in a lake facing a soldier standing on the shore – it’s all very sinister the way they look at him, like they’re trying to draw him into the lake to drown him; their faces are so dark and twisted. There are a few others like this that I go back to look at again and again. I think I should make a collection directly inspired by them – or maybe get more tattoos in the future.”
ON HIS STUDIO SETUP
Joseph: “I currently work from my own home studio [in the] basement. My boyfriend and I have just renewed our contract for our flat and we luckily have a huge basement that is perfect for me to work in. In the new year I’m gonna go full ‘Changing Rooms’ on it and paint and decorate the whole space. It’s freezing and has no natural light but I actually love it as a space to work in.
“I don’t really listen to music [when I’m working] because it puts me in a different mind-set and gets me pumped for the weekend, so it’s more of a distraction. Instead, I mainly listen to podcasts or watch something on my phone in the background. My go-to watch is The Real Housewives franchise – something about grown middle-aged drunk women screaming at each other about nothing really helps me focus on my craft.
ON WORKING WITH CARVING WAX
Joseph: “I mostly work with carving wax that I then cast into precious metals. I really like carving shapes out of blocks of wax – it’s quite soothing sometimes to find the shape inside a dense block of wax that I need to slowly chip away at. It’s kinda cathartic.
“I’m really trying to incorporate more gemstones into my work now. A lot of what I do is just solid metal finished in gold or silver, but I want to add more vibrant colours by adding more gemstones. I source a lot of my materials from Hatton Garden which is the famous jewellery quarter in London’s Clerkenwell.”
ON (NOT) BEING AN ARTIST
Joseph: “I’m not an artist, I just like making nice things. I make jewellery – it’s not gonna save your life or bring you peace, but it will look nice and make you feel good, for a long while I hope. It’s just a nice, well-designed ring or necklace at the end of the day. Really doesn’t have to be more than that.”
ON HAIRWEAR
Joseph: “The collection is nostalgic, fresh and whimsical. A celebration of hair tools through artist designs that are bold but refined with a high glam energy.
“It’s inspired by Black hair culture and the tools used in the industry to create a style Black hair. It’s basically a celebration of Black hairstyling. We pay homage to the tools that are integral to hair styling, everything we have created will speak to you and create a sense of connection and nostalgia. A lot of the pieces are reminiscent of ‘90s era accessories such as the butterfly clip, ear cuffs, rings and razor blade hair slides.
“Taiba has been doing hair styling and hair art for many years. I’ve always been so impressed by her work and her ideas and methods of how she creates her pieces, turning actual hair into aesthetically pleasing shapes that transform into clothing or furniture. She also has the biggest selection of tools boxes and hair kit I’ve ever seen; it honestly never ends. We’ve been friends for years and I always wanted to work with her to create a collaboration inspired by hair. I remember pitching her an idea, but she literally cut me off and told me how many jewellery ideas she had relating to hair – I was blown away. I honestly thought I was being so original with my one idea and then she is rolling off one idea after the other to me, hahah.”
Taiba: “I am an artist and this collaboration is an extension of me and how I like to do things in my own little way whilst sticking to the theme of hair.
“In our first release we have pieces created from things in my kit that I gave Conor to deconstruct and cast. The Claw Ear Cuff was the first piece we made. It is such a used hair accessory. That idea came about after I literally decided to clip one on my ear. It actually hurt so I don’t recommend it but it worked out in our favour! The Fine Tooth Bangle is a key piece to me as it is my MOST use hair tooth and hugely integral in Black hair culture. It’s hard to not go on about all of them but I will end on the hair slide chain; I believe that was one of the newer ideas and again that tool is in every stylists kit!
“HairWear is daring, kind of random but not. It’s elegant and complementary. It’s strong, proud and almost regal! It’s a celebration of what tools we use in our beautiful hair and the collection pays homage to techniques we use to create protective styles. We want everyone and everyone to embrace it.
“I hope he [Conor] doesn’t mind me saying this but sometimes his work is a bit off-key and that’s so my vibe. I like looking at things that initially look a tad crazy but in a great way. I think Conor has so much fun whilst also creating things more suited for day to day! I like to think my crazy brain compliments his craftsmanship!
“The idea is so smart (if I do say so myself)! This collection has been made with so much love and care over three years; so we intend to keep building, designing custom pieces and unveiling even more incredible designs!”
Photography by Vidar Logi.
