It's no secret that we adore working with Jamie Beck. She's an artist that's always inspired us and Monica enormously - not to mention we love following her beautiful life in Provence. That's why were so thrilled to announce our latest collaboration for our ongoing series The Art of The Locket: The Provence Locket, designed by Jamie and Monica and inspired by Jamie's work in Provence. Below, they both share their inspirations for the piece...
From Monica...
“I wanted to create something that was classic and simple enough to be worn as a forever piece and shared with our daughters. Jamie and I decided on creating a symbol of light, the sun. We designed a piece that would never go out of style and which holds our secrets, celebrations, and aspirations, and of course empowers us to be inspired by our stories.”
From Jamie...
“Everything I create in Provence is touched by the sunlight. The Cadmium red of papery Poppies, the tan of skin, the bounty of summer fruits. If sunlight had a taste it would be that of a cherry picked warm and ripe off the tree in July. I wake with the first rays of day and I photograph in my studio with the last.
To photograph is to paint with light and to live in Provence is to worship the sun. I knew creating a collaboration locket with Monica Rich Kosann needs to be rooted in symbolism not only for the photographic work that brought inspiration in creating this heirloom piece but in that of photography, a passion Monica and I both share. In the history of photography, the first photograph was created in Le Gras, France by Joseph Niépce in 1826. I think about the light that moved through his camera forever changing the course of human history. Now, almost 200 years later, I am using the same light to remind myself of something which seems to have been forgotten in the noise of technology, how spectacular nature is, just as it is given to us and illuminated by the gift of light. I hope this locket catches a little bit of that sunlit magic of France and keeps safe the thing I have dedicated my life to endlessly creating with it- the photographs within.”
Monica on Jamie...
"Jamie Beck and I met many years ago and immediately bonded over our mutual love of photography. We also shared a love of anything vintage that embodied the stories of lives well lived. It was not long before the two of us realized that we were both hopeless romantics.
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I immediately fell in love with her work, and Jaime showed an equal passion for my jewelry. After, moving to France, Jamie would talk to me about how the light was so magical, and of course so important to her photography. I knew well that light is everything in the creative process.
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To me, Jamie is a friend, a fellow artist, and an inspiration."
15% of all proceeds from the "Provence" Locket through the month of December will be donated to Blessings in a Backpack, an organization providing food to ensure children are fed during this COVID health emergency and when they return to school.
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