Aw! Lovely article about Hexagon by Jenna Warnecke, an American expat novelist in Paris that I met this past spring. (Redhead writer girl-crush alert!) The oversized bag I have in the photo carries lunch, since Jenna and I were on our way to a picnic in a small park by the Canal St. Martin. Joining us for the dejeuner sur l’herbe is Sophia, a woman who had come to a garage sale I had held. (Below: Jenna, moi, Sophia.) I am forever amazed at how easy it is to make new friends in Paris.
Literally, silver paste. I’m not sure if that is what it is called in English. It’s silver in moldable form, like modeling clay. Yesterday I got training in how to mold it and fire it in a kiln.The class was at La Petite Manufacture, a jewelry store in Paris’s 11th arrondissement. (Its back-of-the-shop studio is pictured below.) I drew freehand on the paste with dentist tools. After it was fired I finished it by sanding the sides in an irregular roundness and rubbing an agate polishing wand thing-y over it (about thousand times). This polished the charms without making the surface too even and shiny. The agate tool leaves little dings which result in a more vintage-looking surface.
I went straight from the training to a dinner at a friend’s house. “Cute,” he said when he saw the charms. “What is that–a penis?”
I named my company Hexagon after the nickname of France, which is based on the shape of its geographic borders. I also like the link between the idea of a “hex” and jewelry as amulets.
I once (coquettishly) asked a boyfriend what he would change about me if he could alter just one thing. He didn’t have to give it much thought. “The way you think EVERYTHING is better in France.”
He had a point. It is true that in France the following things are better than in the US: grocery store food, social services, public transportation, government support of the arts, access to family planning methods, affordable medication, city cleanliness, and overall quality of life.
On the other hand, there’s the crappy weather in Paris. This photo taken outside my window in Paris’s 11th arrondissement illustrates the less-then-ideal climate and its tendency to render architecturally appealing landscapes into depressing tableaux.
If you’re a fellow Francophile, click here to learn more about my obsession with Gaul and its influences on Hexagon designs. The interview was published today on the blog of Janel Skeslien Charles, an expat novelist in Paris.
Ever see a GLASS belt buckle? You have now. It’s in the upper right corner. These are part of an amazing cache of vintage French belt buckles in Bakelite, plastic, metal, enamel, and yes, glass. I saw them on eBay and contacted the seller to see them in person. She lives in a suburb of Paris, so we met in a cafe outside the Le Parc de St. Maur train station to the east of the city.
The buckles are on the small side—French people having been more petite 50 years ago than now, and generally being more discreet than Americans with accessories.
The colors are vivid and the shapes and designs are divine. This is the sort of visual artistry that makes me love France. I can’t wait to modernize these with leather belts that will be perfect for accessorizing a little black dress.
Meet Kirsten, the first member of the Paris chapter of Hexagon’s SpokesModel Army. Kirsten is an Australian living in the 7th arrondissement, on the top floor of a beautiful old building with views of Paris rooftops and greenery. If there’s an “Australian in Paris” dream, this is it!
Kirsten is the proud new owner of Hexagon’s bee pendant, along with two handbags from the brand new Paris Collection. I am thrilled to have her as the very first Paris-based SpokesModel for Hexagon!
Two paintings on view at the Musee Carnavalet, the museum of the city of Paris, show women in fancy dress, in similar shades of purple, with fabulous accessories. The woman on the right reminds me of the iconic French actress Jeanne Moreau (below).
