Ornament is the leading magazine celebrating wearable art. Explore jewelry, fashion, beads; contemporary, ancient and ethnographic.
Issue link: http://ornamentmagazine.epubxp.com/i/104373
in terms of being authentic. For me, the wedding rings do well and I really like that interaction with the younger crowd. You have to know that there are older craft customers, and then there are the younger customers. So you can have separate models, and you can make work for both. "A lot of my customers are activists. They're trying to change the world. I had a girl and her boyfriend order a set of rings. She was a marine biologist and she was studying four piles of trash floating in the ocean. She'd boat out to one of them, collect the trash, and feed it to the fish to find out its effect on marine life. They came into the studio one day as if they weren't sure that what they wanted to do was okay. They brought some of the trash that was ground up, and I inlaid it into a ring. And to me, it was perfect. They were appreciating her life's work and its importance as a central part of their marriage. That's what people are looking for—something personal, very personal, something to believe in. And there are more people out there like that than we give them credit for." It is obvious how meaningful these exchanges are for Reyes. From stories like the marine biologist who used inlaid garbage to carry the intimate into the lives of her and her soon-to-be husband and to those who have sent in wood from childhood trees, or sand from different beaches, they have all made a connection to Reyes by sharing something important and asking him to incorporate them into his work. Reyes venerates the material with which he works. Symbolism and metaphor are built right into the foundation of wood and the artist finds no end to his fascination with it. "I just like the idea that this material makes you think like it. It PETAL EARRINGS of cherry wood, sterling silver, 8.89 x 5.08 x 2.54 centimeters, 2011. Photograph: Erin Beckman. NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY of padauk, exotic wood from Norm Sartorius and silver, 3.81 x 2.54 x 3.81 centimeters, 2009. Photograph: Tom Petroff. THREE TREASURES BROOCH of cherry wood, sterling silver, 15.24 x 15.24 x 1.27 centimeters, 2011. Photograph: Erin Beckman. 41 ORNAMENT 36.2.2012 featured on the front page of Etsy?' I said, 'Sure, that would be cool.' I was featured. I got a lot of hits, yet Etsy was so small at the time that it was exciting, and it showed me that there are people who wanted the work. And as long as you are professional and open, people want to interact with the actual artist. I think that's what that encounter showed me more than anything." It is this concept of exchange, of a fair trade, between individuals that sets off the light inside Reyes. "There's a true energy there. There are people who really want the work, and you really want to sell it, but without diminishing either party," Reyes states. "People are willing to support craft and own things that are created by hand. I think that exchange, it's the basis of what we do for a living; it's the basis of what everyone does for a living, but one doesn't benefit and take advantage of the other." Reyes's own experience with his customers informs him of a wellspring of interest from a younger generation. Within the age-bracket of twenty to thirty-five, there are multitudes who appreciate the personal. Big box warehouses, iPhones, the internet, and online shopping make it easy to have so much available at one's fingertips, but they do not provide that powerful personal connection which so many of us desire to have in our lives. "They're an up and coming generation; there's a huge amount of them," he affirms. "You don't have to cater work to that age group, but you should know what they're looking for