LAS Jewelry
Prehistoric-inspired rings and cuffs comprise the design couple’s latest collection
Designing out of their studio in Ohio, husband-and-wife artists Daniel and Lisa Soltis work side by side to create their casted jewelry. Brought together by their love of art and design, the couple started LAS Jewelry as a way to get closer. “We both grew up in art. Even as a kid, I was always drawing crazy creatures and Dan was a sculptor,” says Lisa. “Starting a project together was something that we had discussed for a long time and after couple years of tinkering with some ideas and designs, starting a line seemed like the next step in a natural progression.”
“Dan grew up obsessed with dinosaurs, and so did I.”
Drawing inspiration from the makers’ diverse backgrounds, LAS pieces are informed by a combination of organic shapes and classical fairy tale creatures like unicorns. With Lisa dreaming up new designs and sketches, Dan focuses on the more practical elements of design. “Up until now, we hadn’t really been thinking about our pieces as part of coherent collections. We would release a couple of pieces at a time, but they weren’t necessarily related project,” says Lisa. “With our new collection, we wanted to tell a cohesive story and create pieces that could be mixed and stacked.”
In the resulting set to hit stores in March 2013, Lisa and Daniel explore the complex structures of dinosaur bones through a series of cuffs, rings and pendants. A step away from their classic, anatomically correct pendants and rabbit head rings, Dinocity saddles the line between the realistic and the fictional. “Dan grew up obsessed with dinosaurs, and so did I. There are so many different kinds. And, the more we researched the more we found.” says Lisa. “This collection is a culmination of our research and what we’ve already created. Unlike, some of our other pieces, we didn’t want to take the dinosaurs so literally, so we experimented with creating hybrids that incorporated the features of several dinosaurs.”
Each piece is cast by hand in their Ohio studio and represents a love-labor for the designers. “In our minds, each piece is a mini sculpture,” says Lisa. “Dan is very detail oriented in his final renderings, and I think that comes out in the intricacy of each of our casts.”
Keep an eye out for the upcoming collection, and shop LAS Jewelry’s classic line and Fall Winter 2013 line on their website.
Images courtesy of LAS Jewelry
