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30 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT FEBRUARY 15 – 22 / 2007 style watch Shi Studio puts bold Chinese brocades under glass to create pendants, belt buckles, earrings, and cuffs. The looks are contemporary, but even the shapes of Shi’s creations draw from ancient Asian design. (See story at right.) WHAT: Lucky No. 6 for women WHERE: Lucky Brand Jeans (Metrotown) PRICE TAG: $58 for 50 millilitres and $68 for 100 millilitres WHY: This festive new fragrance says gung hay fat choy in scent as well as exotic packaging. Named for a charmed number in Chinese culture, it’s a sensual mix of Asian-inspired tiger lily, peony, lotus leaves, jasmine tea, and litchi. The pretty frosted-glass vessel is inspired by antique Chinese perfume bottles and decorated with plum blossoms and a red beaded cord—the sort of thing you might have seen on a boudoir table in old Shanghai. style notes East meets West in Shi Studio’s brocade jewellery > BY JANET SMTIH 2 It’s the kind of cultural fusion that could have emerged only from the West Coast. Shi Studio, named for the Cantonese word for “poem”, blends the richness of the dynastic brocades of southern China with the antique skill of stained glass and a hip contemporary style. The design duo behind Shi sets the brightly hued silk under clear glass with a sterling frame. The result spans shimmery pendants embroidered with dragons slithering across brilliant fuchsia or scarlet backgrounds and a leather belt decorated with an oval buckle of pink cherry blossoms against lime green. “It’s just a part of being in B.C., with all of the different cultural influences and design influences,” says Cory Judge, the Vancouver-born and -raised artist who creates the line with partner Honor Cienska in Victoria, where she now lives. Speaking over the phone, she adds: “That’s what’s beautiful about being here: you have so many different brocades. You always have so much choice.” The draw of many of the fabric designs is the symbolism they carry—sym- bolism that has special meaning around Chinese New Year festivities: dragon motifs are revered for bringing prosperity and luck in Chinese culture, cherry blossoms stand for power and feminine beauty or love, and bamboo rep- resents modesty, strength, and perseverance. But Judge, who also draws on feng shui for her forms, adds: “What it often comes down to is when a woman tries something on and it looks good on her—finding just the right shape and pattern and colour to suit her.” Judge was a stained-glass artist who had just had a show of Tiffany-style lamps when Cienska, a jewellery designer, approached her about finding a way to set brocade behind glass. They combined forces to launch Shi in 2004. The pair started with pendants, experimenting with different shapes, many of which echo Asian architecture and motifs. Next came belts, and soon dangling earrings. More recently, they introduced a line of cool leather cuffs that sport their glass work. (Prices are about $46 to $58 for earrings, $44 for a bold square pendant [$64 with a shimmery chain], $62 for an oval belt buckle, and $54 for a cuff.) “The biggest challenge was around soldering the piece. We came up with a really refined technique,” Judge explains. “Usually with stained glass you’re going to see little bumps or ridges along the line, but with jewellery, people want something clean, with that fine-silver look on both sides of the piece.” The most enjoyable part of their creative process, she says, is moving the little pieces of glass over the brocade until they capture the pattern in an artful way. Their cultural fusion has paid off: with bigger, bolder pieces and more than 100 brocades in their repertoire, Shi now sells across the country. Locally, you can find the line at stores including Liquid (2050 West 4th Avenue), Front & Co. (3772 Main Street), the Vancouver Art Gallery store (750 Hornby Street), and Tutta Mia Designs (1302 Victoria Drive). They’ll also have a table at the upcoming Spend on Trend show (Friday to Sunday [February 16 to 18]) at Heritage Hall (3102 Main Street) and the next Portobello West fashion and art market (February 25 at the Rocky Mountaineer Station). Meanwhile, Shi is starting to draw on the lush fabrics of another culture that has a strong presence on the West Coast: its new Ananda line showcases irides- cent Indian silks under glass. - kool thing > BY JANET SMITH ���� ��� ������� ��������������������LOUGHEED BOUNDARY GRANDVIEW COSTCO STILL CREEK �������������������������� ����������������������������� �� �����

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Page 1: 030 StyleWatch 2043 · 2016. 5. 4. · dangling earrings. More recently, they introduced a line of cool leather cuffs that sport their glass work. (Prices are about $46 to $58 for

30 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT FEBRUARY 15 – 22 / 2007

stylewatch

Shi Studio puts bold Chinese brocades under glass to create pendants, belt buckles, earrings, and cuffs. The looks are contemporary, but even the shapes of Shi’s creations draw from ancient Asian design. (See story at right.)

WHAT: Lucky No. 6 for womenWHERE: Lucky Brand Jeans (Metrotown)PRICE TAG: $58 for 50 millilitres and $68 for 100 millilitresWHY: This festive new fragrance says gung hay fat choy in scent as well as exotic packaging. Named for a charmed number in Chinese culture, it’s a sensual mix of Asian-inspired tiger lily, peony, lotus leaves, jasmine tea, and litchi. The pretty frosted-glass vessel is inspired by antique Chinese perfume bottles and decorated with plum blossoms and a red beaded cord—the sort of thing you might have seen on a boudoir table in old Shanghai.

stylenotesEast meets West in Shi Studio’s brocade jewellery

> BY JANET SMTIH

2 It’s the kind of cultural fusion that could have emerged only from the West Coast. Shi Studio, named for the Cantonese word for “poem”,

blends the richness of the dynastic brocades of southern China with the antique skill of stained glass and a hip contemporary style. The design duo behind Shi sets the brightly hued silk under clear glass with a sterling frame. The result spans shimmery pendants embroidered with dragons slithering across brilliant fuchsia or scarlet backgrounds and a leather belt decorated with an oval buckle of pink cherry blossoms against lime green.

“It’s just a part of being in B.C., with all of the different cultural influences and design influences,” says Cory Judge, the Vancouver-born and -raised artist who creates the line with partner Honor Cienska in Victoria, where she now lives. Speaking over the phone, she adds: “That’s what’s beautiful about being here: you have so many different brocades. You always have so much choice.”

The draw of many of the fabric designs is the symbolism they carry—sym-bolism that has special meaning around Chinese New Year festivities: dragon motifs are revered for bringing prosperity and luck in Chinese culture, cherry blossoms stand for power and feminine beauty or love, and bamboo rep-resents modesty, strength, and perseverance. But Judge, who also draws on feng shui for her forms, adds: “What it often comes down to is when a woman tries something on and it looks good on her—finding just the right shape and pattern and colour to suit her.”

Judge was a stained-glass artist who had just had a show of Tiffany-style lamps when Cienska, a jewellery designer, approached her about finding a way to set brocade behind glass. They combined forces to launch Shi in 2004. The pair started with pendants, experimenting with different shapes, many of which echo Asian architecture and motifs. Next came belts, and soon dangling earrings. More recently, they introduced a line of cool leather cuffs that sport their glass work. (Prices are about $46 to $58 for earrings, $44 for a bold square pendant [$64 with a shimmery chain], $62 for an oval belt buckle, and $54 for a cuff.)

“The biggest challenge was around soldering the piece. We came up with a really refined technique,” Judge explains. “Usually with stained glass you’re going to see little bumps or ridges along the line, but with jewellery, people want something clean, with that fine-silver look on both sides of the piece.”

The most enjoyable part of their creative process, she says, is moving the little pieces of glass over the brocade until they capture the pattern in an artful way.

Their cultural fusion has paid off: with bigger, bolder pieces and more than 100 brocades in their repertoire, Shi now sells across the country. Locally, you can find the line at stores including Liquid (2050 West 4th Avenue), Front & Co. (3772 Main Street), the Vancouver Art Gallery store (750 Hornby Street), and Tutta Mia Designs (1302 Victoria Drive). They’ll also have a table at the upcoming Spend on Trend show (Friday to Sunday [February 16 to 18]) at Heritage Hall (3102 Main Street) and the next Portobello West fashion and art market (February 25 at the Rocky Mountaineer Station).

Meanwhile, Shi is starting to draw on the lush fabrics of another culture that has a strong presence on the West Coast: its new Ananda line showcases irides-cent Indian silks under glass. -

koolthing > BY JANET SMITH

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