It's kind of impossible to look at Heather Kosch jewelry and not see mini works of architectural genius. The Brooklyn-based designer was born and raised in the middle of Michigan, and first caught our eye earlier this year with the gorgeous geometric bangles she handcrafts out of exotic woods. Naturally Kosch has an affinity for woodlands and woodwork, and she grew up watching her grandpa fashion cabinets out of purple hart. Her new collection takes cues from two weirdly interconnected obsessions, the first being Freemason symbolism, the second being alchemy. Early Freemasons were crazy alchemists, and their drawings—much like the etching and shapes of Kosch's new Harmony collection—are similar to those found there. One piece in the line, for example, is called Pyramid of Lightness and Darkness, which is basically where the point of light and dark intersect in the old calculations, and she uses a mixture of plexi-glass, copper, ebony, yellow hart and black palm through the pendant to illustrate the fabled tipping point.
Equally nerdy and fascinating are the architectural references. Kosch grew up around buildings designed by Alden D Dow (her highschool was designed by him), and his style is a leitmotif throughout her designs. Measuring seven inches long, this jewelry is ultimately art in his own right, much like the sculptural bracelets of last season. Adding plexiglass to her list of base materials this time around is actually another nod to the alchemists, since like wood and water back then, plastic has sort of become the fifth, most frequently used element of our times.
