Thursday, June 12, 2008

The Past Revisited

As Jeanine Payer approaches twenty years in business, those of us in the studio have been digging through old boxes of photographs and reminiscing about how it all started. Jeanine first began designing jewelry for herself and her friends out of vintage sewing notions and old millinery supplies she found in Paris and locally at one of San Francisco’s most unique shops, Bell'occhio. At that time, Jeanine’s assemblage jewelry incorporated antique French brass buckles, velvet ribbon and miniature flowers, the majority of them bought at Bell’occhio, which is tucked away on Brady Street here in the city.

Jeanine’s jewelry has changed over the years as her travels continue to inspire her. She now designs exclusively in silver and precious metals and has begun re-releasing select styles with limited availability as part of the Jeanine Payer Archive Collection.