Name and Year: Lyndsey Wheeler, C’14 Hometown: Alexandria, VA Major: International Relations, Journalistic Writing minor Medium of Choice: Anything that can be made into jewelry Website: www.flickr.com/photos/designsbylyndsey
Street: When did you start making jewelry? What drew you to the craft? Lyndsey Wheeler: I’ve been fooling around with jewelry for as long as I can remember. When I was eight years old I was playing in the backyard and found a pine tree twig. Carefully twisting the bark off of the branch, I discovered that the intact bark tube could be a bead. So I ran inside to my mom, got some dental floss, and started making tree bark necklaces. I’ve been experimenting and designing ever since.
Street: What is your designing process like? LW: When I’m at home, my bedroom becomes my studio. I’ll lock myself up there for hours and listen to music or watch TV episodes and just go to town. During the breaks I can be pretty prolific but during the school year I just create when I can. In terms of designs, I’ll go through phases where all of the pieces I create are stylistically similar. When I see something cool online, in a store, or in nature, I’ll take a really long time creating the first piece. After I create the prototype though, I’ll create ten more that day.
Street: What makes your jewelry unique? LW: I would say my style is pretty experimental in that if I see a new material, I love to try and create something with it. For example, I go to thrift stores and antique stores all the time and repurpose any old clip–on earrings or brooches into jewelry that my generation would want to wear. The theme of my most recent designs is comic book. Last year I walked into a comic store on South Street and found all of these vintage comic books for $1 a piece. I bought a few and started cutting strips and rolling them into little beads that originally became parts of earrings and necklaces. I’ve also done a lot with shells and sea glass, twigs and scrap chiffon fabric. I also usually put my jewelry in signature boxes. I have a print that I draw on all the boxes — I have a doodling problem so it gives me the opportunity to channel that somewhere.
Street: Do different collections reflect different stages in your life or different moods? LW: I’ve definitely gone through design phases as I’ve gotten older. This evolution partially has to do with my maturing aesthetic preferences because I never make anything I wouldn’t wear myself. In general my ideas have gotten more creative over the years since I get tired of making (and wearing) the same thing.
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Street: What designers inspire you? Does your work draw from theirs? LW: I don’t have one designer that drives my actual designs but I was really inspired by Monique Pean when she visited Penn last year. Pean is a Penn graduate who started her career at Goldman Sachs and then quit her job and became a successful jewelry designer. She now designs jewelry for Michelle Obama and Natalie Portman. I admire the element of nature in her designs and the fact that all of her pieces are sustainable.
Street: At what kind of occasion do you imagine people wearing your jewelry? Do you make it for a specific type of person? A specific age? LW: My designs are youthful, colorful, funky, bohemian and I create for people who appreciate those qualities. I give my jewelry to my friends as gifts so when I’m designing I think about particular people and what they like. My designs range from casual, everyday essentials to dramatic pieces for special occasions.
Street: Of your pieces, which is your favorite? LW: My favorite piece is my “Divining Rod” necklace. It’s a forked twig that I found outside, wound with sterling wire and put on a chain. It’s one of my simplest pieces but that’s why I love it. There are only two in the world right now — my best friend from home has the other.
Street: How can we get a signature Wheeler piece? Do you sell your work now, and do you plan to continue after college? LW: I do casually sell my jewelry when people approach me for it. I do it because I love to create things but I definitely want to turn it into a legitimate business in the future. I’m in the process of opening a shop on etsy.com but in the meantime, people just contact me at designsbylyndsey@gmail.com.
