We are excited to welcome designer Dana Bronfman to our upcoming spring show! Not only do we personally swoon over her chic, edgy yet feminine designs, given the influence the great city of New York has on her work, we think having her at the JA New York show is the perfect fit! She’s also perfectly positioned in our newly re-vamped Design District! We caught up with Dana to get some insight into her inspirations and some of her other passions:
JA New York: What inspires your designs?
Dana Bronfman: I began creating my collection right after I moved to New York City. I am inspired by the strong energy and constant visual stimulation provided by the industrial architecture of the city’s structures, such as the bolts and panels on the bridges that connect Brooklyn and Manhattan. Traveling also inspires my artistic vision, especially regions in the southwestern part of the US and abroad.
I love to mix metals and juxtapose the gritty and glamorous quality I find ingrained in the lifestyle of living in NYC. It is fun for me to balance the inspiration from the city’s pounding heartbeat with a soft, meditative femininity to create a clean template and minimal design. I’m also inspired as I work at the bench, as design elements organically come to me as I carve wax and hammer metal.
JA New York: Walk us through your design process…
DB: My design process begins at the point of inspiration. When I get an idea for a new piece, I often think about it for days or weeks and imagine its intricacies in my head. I note detailed descriptions of the piece I envision, and then I roughly sketch the design on paper and give general measurements.
I work at the bench to create the original models for my designs, either in wax or silver. I love to carve wax. I love that in creating, I still surprise myself.
This is the way I create one piece, which then inspires many other designs that complete its story.
Some of my pieces require the precision my hand cannot achieve, so I have those pieces transcribed to CAD; then they are 3D printed and directly cast in silver before my jeweler fabricates the parts together and hand finishes each piece with my signature textures.
JA New York: If you weren’t a jewelry designer, what would you be?
DB: In my previous career, I worked in the non-profit sector with at-risk youth, focusing on arts education; organizations dedicated to cancer research and awareness and sustainability.
These causes are still very important to me so I would probably be working for an organization that advocates for at least one of these causes.
JA New York: What’s your favorite gemstone/metal to work with?
DB: Gold! I am trained as a metalsmith and love dropping the hammer and feel an almost cosmic connection to the metal as it responds to my torch. It’s such a lovely sensation to move the material, which I imagine would be similar to the way a chef or foodie feels when sticking their knife in a perfectly-softened stick of butter.
JA New York: What’s your biggest (non-jewelry!) weakness?
DB: I love shopping for vintage clothing and accessories and have little self control around beautiful, unique pieces. I also love to indulge in a good espresso.
JA New York: What’s currently on your desk?
DB: Hand lotion, business cards, my laptop, a notepad, a cactus plant, some jewelry samples and designs I am developing for my next collection, a book about diamonds, dark chocolate with Himalayan sea salt, an apple, and my phone.
