Sep 12, 2014

5 Questions For: Rachel Ravitch, jewelry designer


Name: Rachel Ravitch
Title: Designer
Company: Rachel Ravitch

Which of your designs or projects are you most excited about right now and why?
I'm currently collaborating with designers April Pride and Vanessa Lang. With April Pride, I have created a line of python jewelry. It was totally April's idea to use python. We are using unglazed python, which is less common. The scales create an incredibly beautiful texture and look like thousands of tiny gemstones on the surface of the pieces. With Vanessa Lang, I have incorporated porcelain with my classic lambskin jewelry. Porcelain, like lambskin, is both durable and lightweight. There is a sense of frailty and longevity in both. The silhouettes we have created really take advantage of the materials. 


Tell us three words that embody your design philosophy.
Function. Flexibility. Interaction. 


What's your favorite place in the Pacific Northwest and why?
I am in love with the northern part of the coastline in Washington. It's just a magical place. You have these old-growth forests running into the ocean. It's just breathtaking. I spend several days there in the wilderness camping every summer. 


Who or what are you inspired by right now?
I just moved into a new studio, which feels amazing. It has 10-foot ceilings, enormous windows, and fir floors. I'm so inspired by this space. I now have the space to make just about any project feasible, which is just about the most inspiring thing ever. 


What do you think of the color gray?
Gray is the meeting place between two extremes—white and black. White is the absolute absence of color. It needs light to be seen in its purest form. Black is a mix of all the colors. Its tone is unaffected by light. Gray represents the place in between these two states—it relies on both the absence of and presence of every color. 


Photo by Ayaka Tanabe.

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