shopping trip: linhardt

Linhardt, the new jewelry shop and design studio on 1st Avenue
in the East Village will catch your eye and draw you right in.


One of the floating display cases, designed by Wary Meyers, shows off
Lisa Linhardt's own silver cuffs, made from re-purposed and recycled flatware,
creamers, water pitchers, and other assorted tableware.


White pendant lamps, designed by Wary Meyers.
Each lamp is made from two garden shop plastic planters. So clever!

My eyes flash as I run along 1st Avenue in the East Village on my way to an appointment. New jewelry store! Wow, nice font. Great store design. I must investigate on my way back.

I meet Lisa Linhardt, jewelry designer and owner of the eponymous studio and shop which opened May 2. She is gracious, humble about her many accomplishments, and passionate about using design to make human connections with artisans from other cultures. Lisa works with artisans from Colombia and Africa to craft aesthetically pleasing, economically viable pieces of jewelry, using their own indigenous renewable materials. Linhardt's "Seed Rings" are a case in point, made from sustainable tagua seeds, shaped to her specifications by Colombian artisans. Earlier this year, Lisa participated in a 100-mile walk across Kenya to help raise funds for Beads for Education. While there, she got to work with Maasai women to make special beaded bracelets for her collection. She now showcases the pieces in her store.

The store itself, custom-designed by Maine-based Wary Meyers has a calming, organic flow, and the rusticity of a New England shoreline. Design details, such as wall-mounted floating display cases, are all made from salvaged re-purposed materials. The door handle is taken from "a 70s wingback sofa which washed ashore on a Maine island." The various planks are rescued from an old church, schoolhouse, and barn in Maine. The pendant lamps are each made from two garden shop plastic planters.

Another facet of the Linhardt design studio is custom orders. Lisa and I had to cut our conversation short when an architect from L.A. made a beeline for Lisa's "Signature Ring," pictured here, on a recommendation from a New York friend. When Lisa said she could make the ring in her size right in the store, and have it ready in an hour and a half, the customer's eyes lit up. An hour and a half? Now that's service. I let Lisa get to it.

Be sure to visit this hidden gem of a store soon, before Linhardt is deluged with press, and the wait for a "Signature Ring" is 4-6 weeks.


Linhardt
Design Studio NYC
156 1st Avenue (9th & 10th Street)
East Village, New York
917.748.9000

Lisa is inspired to work with furniture designers because "they see jewelry in materials
that aren't typically used," such as this cuff in cork.


"Tagua Rings," shaped to Lisa's specifications by Colombian artisans.
The tagua seed (shown whole in foreground) is a sustainable natural seed from Colombia.
Lisa sees jewelry in everything, especially in nature. She is a natural sculptor.

Lisa Linhardt's own faceted "Ice Pixel Ring" in white jade, $135.
Doesn't this scream Barneys Coop? Lisa does not wholesale as of yet,
but perhaps in the future.
Available in additional colors and materials, only at Linhardt.


Linhardt also features work from several other designers,
such as this necklace, made from found vintage beads, by Joann Scully.

This post is featured on Coutorture for June 17, 2008





And also featured on Racked for June 18, 2008