Holy Fashion: Bejeweled

Noritamy is an Israeli jewelry label which creates fashion jewelry designed with unique materials and fused with an architectural mind-frame.

MAY 7, 2014 23:29

Holy Fashion (photo credit: ELLA MANOR) — Holy Fashion

(photo credit: ELLA MANOR)

Holy Fashion, a weekly column, follows fashion photographer Ella Manor as she explores new trends and icons within the fashion and culture of Israel

Noritamy is an Israeli jewelry label which creates fashion jewelry designed with unique materials and fused with an architectural mindframe. The brand was created seven years ago and is owned and operated by a mother and daughter combo-designer Tammar Edelman and her daughter architect Elinor Avni. It features innovative, large format fashion jewelry from materials such as leather, coconut, silicon, wood, nirosta and many others. The pieces emblem a feisty, off the beaten track energy in its designs, great for people with “big” personality and a taste for the modern and different style. Elinor is one of the first industry folks I encountered after moving back to Israel from New York City, we met at fashion week where she gave a presentation about the power of merging fashion and architecture. Later I got a tour of the brand’s showroom as part of a fashion jewelry class I took in Shenkar college of engineering and was even more impressed with Elinor’s lovely energy, people skills and life story. Then I got the chance to photograph a few pieces in a fashion production for designer Rami Guetta, which are featured in this column. For this week’s column I stopped by Noritamy’s Independence Day sale to photograph the showroom, and to sit down with Elinor for a one on one exclusive interview. My dear, we know each other for quite some time, and I know this story but I would love to share it with our readers so please tell me (again)- How did you get into jewelry?I studied Interior architecture for four years and got my bachelor degree, then I opened my own studio which I worked in for eight years which was great fun, and my mom who’s an artist and a painter started taking jewelry classes, fell in love with jewelry making and continued her studies for four years. In the fourth year of her studies I couldn't stop myself anymore.You were attracted to it as well.Yea, I just had to do that as well, and we made a small collection which we didn't think would become commercial but it just happened. Karen Oberzon saw it and she asked for some pieces for her fashion show with Gideon and then Orit Razili saw it in the fashion show and called me up and, I don't know, it just kind of spontaneously evolved.

So it sounds like you were lucky in addition to all the talent and entrepreneurial spirit. Sure, luck and also a lot of hard work over the past seven years.Oh wow its been seven years since you guys started? that’s amazing.Thank you dear.So we are here in the showroom which is located in Shikun Dan (Northern suburb of Tel Aviv). Where do you sell besides here?In Israel in Razili which has 12 boutiques, and some other fashion stores such as sharon Bronsher and Maya Negri. We have an online shop and we sell all over the world, in Luisa via Roma, in Moscow, Cabiri London, in some very cool shops, boutiques and museum stores and we do some art shows as well. We had an exhibition in Periscope Gallery called out of the comfort zone about a year ago which was about the boundaries between jewelry and art. more specifically seeing how far a woman would go to for achieving the perfect look. And now we were invited to New York to this gallery to participate with five of our pieces that border on art.Are they less functional?Actually they are still functional. They’re quite big but are quite functional. We try to keep it, even the extravagant pieces functional because we wear almost only the extravagant pieces. In our mind all the pieces no matter how big they are should be wearable and not imposing. So the idea, and correct me if I’m wrong, is taking unorthodox materials and bringing them into the fashion jewelry world creating unique, maybe even never-before-seen combinations and techniques. Yes, I can't define it exactly, its not accessories because it never goes out of style but its not fine jewelry either even though we do have a collection of fine jewelry. And we love to mix up materials. Brass with diamonds, gold with tarnished brass and wood with silver are some examples. You also use a lot of leather and stones. What is the weirdest material you’ve ever made a jewelry out of?There is an experiment we are working on. Something between paper and fabric.

Is it a material you created?No, it exists and we want to try and make some jewelry out of it. It takes a lot of experimentation- all of our jewelry. Do you build a collection or two collections a year?We do SS and AW but we also develop pieces in between collections.On a different topic, for a brand to become successful it’s really important to do great marketing and PR and it seems to me like you are very good at that, and that thanks to you, I think, the brand is where it is in terms of popularity, the image it projects out into the world, the energy of it and the feel. So tell me, is this true? Are you behind it? If so what are the qualities in you that make it work?I don’t like to toot my own horn but I am so passionate about it, and I believe in it. It comes naturally to me. I don't believe I would do it so well for something I didn't believe in. I don’t know how to explain it - I am IT. Sure, that’s the key, I’m the same way so I can empathize. And what is it that you do to make this happen?First of all I’m always wearing my pieces, not just for marketing, but because I feel very comfortable in them, and I stay in contact with all the clients, I’m always up for meeting clients and always going to exhibitions.

And up to meeting people in general. Yea, I love people.I remember you saying once, if somebody wants to meet with you- meet them!Yea, sure. Well, not waste my time on ANYONE.Obviously not, but you’re not narrow minded when it come to meeting new people.I love meeting other designers, colleagues. I love people in general. You can learn so much about life and about everything from people, and its great and I think networking is a very important part of...It is THE most important part. That’s how we know each other. Exactly , its the most important part. And its something you learn with time - sometime you meet someone and you think nothing is going to come out of it but then like a year or two later the most...Amazing collaboration can come out of it.Exactly. And you get to meet new people along the way. Wonderful, well, I, from the beginning, have always liked you and loved Noritamy’s jewelry so thank you much.Thank you so much my dear.Find Noritamy on http://noritamy.com
And on Instagram http://instagram.com/noritamy

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