The Power of Gold

My mom signed me up for summer camp in Englewood (Chicago) when I was a child, and I learned how to make wire rings. Once I learned, I was obsessed! Over the years I dabbled in jewelry but moved on to fashion and sewing my own clothes. I really thought I was going to go into fashion and designing as a lifelong career. While at FIT I majored and graduated with a degree in fashion design, but very quickly learned that the industry was not diverse at all, plus they didn't want to pay folks.

I had to change gears, so I switched from going to Upper Division and applied for another associate degree in jewelry design. It was hard, but after I graduated, I worked for a few independent jewelers. It was so integral in the way I handle the business side of things. I also worked in the mass-produced jewelry industry for a very long time, but all the while, working on my own work, little by little.

It was around 2004 when I was reading a book about rare medical diseases. I read about Lingua Villosa Nigra, which mysteriously makes the papillae on the tongue turn black. I thought it was a pretty cool thing that the body did, but also thought the name for such a weird and kind of horrid thing was very beautiful. The words play with my weird sense of humor and also the work that I create.

I like to create unusual items that no one else will have. There is so much amazing jewelry in the world and so much room for new ideas, so having the work under the name Lingua Nigra just seems so fitting.

Well, I think everything is African! It's hard because I hark more towards the Meso American/Central American ancient jewelry aesthetic. Gold was used throughout the world and, honestly, a lot of different cultures all over were doing the same thing in different ways. My thoughts and dreams of design are intentional yet not deliberate. I always want to be inspired without being reductive.

The customer is me. Someone who likes camp (I honestly just realized this is my style!) and loves to add more to more.

I have so many ideas, but still, I want to be a small business. I will soon be launching my mourning jewelry line, which I'm excited about. I would love to get into a few more museums, scale back on traveling to shows (although I do love visiting and meeting all the folks that support my work), and work more on one of a kind and limited edition work. We will see! These days I have a ton of ideas and am kind of all over the place!