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About.com Article - Transcript Written by: Isabelle Bryman In Connecticut, in a lovely house with a garden, Joan Vogel Elias works in her studio surrounded by jewelry everywhere. On a recent trip through New England, your Guide and her friend Ginger Moro, author of European Designer Jewelry, both bound for Providence, and the 19th Annual Vintage Jewelry Conference, were invited to visit with Joan. We spent several hours with Joan, a most charming hostess, and saw and admired her beautiful jewelry, displayed attractively everywhere, in glass vitrines and cabinets, atop furniture, on the walls. Joan Vogel Elias was born in New York but lived in many different areas of the United States since she was a child. In the 1960s, Joan started one of the state's first executive search firms, in New York City. Other career moves included casting for photo shoots at a fashion advertising firm, and publicity and promotions for a food consulting company. Today, Joan is one of Connecticut's major influences in vintage and estate costume jewelry that can be seen and purchased at these stores: Pickets, in Greenfield Hill, and the Stamford Antiques Center, Stamford, CT. Top names and interesting and unusual designs are always featured. But Joan does so much more. She designs incredible brooches featuring huge fantasy insects made with various stones and shells. She presented us, Ginger and myself, with one brooch each which we could pick ourselves. Ginger selected a grasshopper type bug with a long spiral shell at the center, and your Guide picked a green glass-bodied spider with several colors in the end-of-day glass. All the fantasy "bugs" featured here are designed by Joan. A huge golden tole lamp, resembling a leafy tree, completely covered with crystal and various assorted bead necklaces, catches the eye immediately when entering Joan's studio. Joan also designs amazing jewelry collages, called jewelscapes. These are scenes composed entirely of jewelry findings, custom-framed or shadow-boxed behind glass. Colors and depth are emphasized, and the jewelscapes appear to change as the light plays across them. After a delightful lunch in a nearby restaurant, Ginger and your Guide reluctantly parted with Joan, hoping to be back one day soon! Joan is currently planning her web site presence, but if you wish to contact her about her jewelry now, you can write to her at AVjewel@aol.com. Update 9/5/98: Joan's new site opened officially today. Do visit: Absolutely Vintage Designer & Collectable Jewelry, to enjoy the full scope of Joan's jewelry and art. |
