In celebration of our first Erebus Pop Up shop, I am launching a Behind The Seams series in The Journal so you can get to know the artisans and creative visionaries behind the amazing emerging brands on display in The Shop.
For our first instalment, we spoke with Lisette Fee, the craftswoman behind sustainable and ethical accessory label Eilisain Jewelry. I am so pleased to have a wonderful selection of her work in our pop up shop.
Erebus: All of your work is focused on and inspired by the natural world and its inhabitants. Can you tell me why this is so important to you?
Lisette: Without the natural world our species and many others would suffer immensely; I find that generally people love animals and they do enjoy the wonderful curiosity that occurs when we come closer to nature. Thus, taking these talons and found pieces and casting them brings us closer to their beauty.
Erebus: You’ve seen quite a lot of the world. How has this experience with all of these different cultures and surroundings influenced your work?
Lisette: I find that human expression is so varied and immensely beautiful in it's own way, seeing how colors and textures combined in unique ways from many cultures has given me a window into how I can do the same with my own work. Taking bones and transforming them with color and adding stones I create my own language.
Erebus: In a fashion industry that is so focused on inexpensive, trendy pieces, how important is craftsmanship and sustainability to you? How does this manifest itself in your work?
Lisette: There is a revival of the handmade in our world of mass produced objects and with that comes an intimacy with the creator and the owner. Craftsmanship and sustainability are the essence of what I do; I try to use recycled metals as much as possible and source my stones from local lapidaries; in addition bones and talons are all sourced locally and humanely, found in the wild.
Erebus: What does the term “inspired fashion” mean to you?
Lisette: I believe it means fashion that truly has sense of meaning and aesthetic drawn from intangible source.
Select pieces from Eilisain will be in the #ErebusPopUp at 278 Hackney Road in East London until Friday, November 18th, 2016.
