Revel with a cause

I’ve always had this image of jewelry designers in my head: pretty, dainty, soft-spoken girly-girls who are impeccably dressed and cultured beyond compare. After all, to create such decadent pieces requires constant exposure to everything worldly and rich, right? Jewelry designer Kristine Dee fits the bill to a T, with an added and unexpected surprise: she never meant to get into jewelry design but, rather, stumbled upon it, while taking up Industrial Design at Pratt Institute in New York. Yes, she was all geared up to produce and design furniture when a silversmithing class beckoned. Next thing she knew, she was staying up in the metal shop until the wee hours and finishing pieces from scratch. It was a light bulb moment, and before she knew it, she was en route to her first exhibit.

“My training and aesthetics as an industrial designer really is the backbone of all my jewelry ideas. The industrial design training truly gives attention to function, form and proportion (and in this order, too). When I came home to Manila in 2003, I was invited to put up my first solo exhibit in Izukan Gallery in Salcedo Village, Makati sometime in March 2003. The show was called “Metals in Motion,” because all of my pieces were moving and /or involved movement in its construction and design.” Since then, she’s had three other shows, including “Revelry,” “Standstill” in October 2006 and “Emotions” in November 2007 where she worked with Bantay Bata Foundation.

Dee’s work is indeed a very candid expression of her Industrial Design background, as seen in her last exhibit last Feb. 6. Her “Elements” collection, with the use of cubism with diamonds encrusted on it, is architectural in theme but still maintains its femininity. The modern shape and form is a refreshing take on the usual frilly pieces. It is a work of art and architecture through and through. In her own words, ”This type of art should not be confined to your house but should be worn and shared for everyone to enjoy and appreciate.”

Each piece is lovingly produced by hand so exclusivity is kept. She also makes pieces on commission, including bridal jewelry, where her customers value its uniqueness.

Asked where she gets her inspiration, Kristine names flowering buds, bolts and joints and even a child’s drawing. For her latest collection, “Revelry,” it comes from everyday life. “I imagined the tiles in the bathroom start to rearrange in my head, which is the inspiration for the Elements line. The beautiful roof shingles I see allow me to put together a circular rose form on a ring and earrings. Even The Sound of Music, being played over and over again for my two-year-old, moves me to draw the hills my son imagines himself running to, while singing his favorite song, Do-Re-Mi, which produced the Solstice ring and bangle. I pay attention to the graffiti I see while on the road. Some of them are beautiful and it inspires me to develop them into earrings, rings and pendant. Vanda is taken from the orchid’s delicateness and transferring it into a form that doesn’t wilt and still remains beautiful.”

Such simple yet wise words from a woman whose work clearly comes from the heart. And she does not forget that there should be a cause to benefit from such beauty, thus producing her latest show for the benefit of Under Thy Wings Christian Academy and Bahay Pag-asa Foundation. She states that ever since her son was born, she has felt that each child deserves the very best in life, thus making it her personal pledge to support children’s foundations.

I found it extremely rewarding to have met the “jewelry designer” of my imagination: a pretty, soft-spoken, impeccably dressed girly-girl, with an added bonus. She is kindhearted, too.