All photos by Helveta VyotlagA while back, I met the jewelry designer of Helveta Vyotlag, Jocelyn Shipley, who obviously also shares with us a penchant for obscure and unpronounceable names. While ruminating over how exactly to pronounce the vaguely Swedish sounding "Vyotlag," I'm reminded of how tripped up everyone gets when I tell them that my jewelry line is called Triskaidekaphobia. Ah well, the jewelry is meant to speak for itself right? The collection, which mostly consists of hand carved wood pieces, look somewhat like children's building blocks or beads, restructured with architectural angles and exaggerated jewel facets to form chunky cuffs and jaw-breaker sized rings. Since I have no idea how to work with wood, and doubt I would have the patience to hand carve, sand, finish, and color a single piece, much less an entire collection, I am extra impressed. Each piece is obviously unique, and I would love to stack a dozen of the surprisingly lightweight wooden bangles on my arms in a bunch of different colors. You can find Helveta Vyotlag at International Playground, and on Jocelyn's Etsy store.
-Tiffany