like this book bought at LN-CC

Stunning.

I haven’t had the opportunity to post since I last left for Europe. Our calendar has been jammed and after warding off several “subtle” hints from my long lost brother in Louisiane I finally have a Sunday morning free. No rest for the wicked. As I work my way backwards on the chain of events that have kept our studio occupied over the past couple of months, please, excuse the time warp.

Last Monday, Rich, our team, and I had the honor of actively participating in GMHC’s Fashion Forward event as the stylists of a runway show featuring Narciso Rodriguez, Yigal Azrouël, Richard Chai, Anna Sui, DVF, and Simon Spurr. Monday evening’s event raised $250,000 for Mr. David Geffen’s GMHC organization which is dedicated to HIV education, prevention, and healthcare. We had such a wonderful time thanks to Tonya Miller and everyone at the GMHC who were so open minded and forward thinking in regards to our work. I enjoyed my first working experience with, long time friend, Mr. Andrew Weir and his team who worked so hard with us casting models for this show. It felt so good being backstage with the 56 models that donated their time and exuded such enthusiasm and joy towards this cause. There were so many notable pros on board and it wouldn’t be fair to start naming names but safe to say, with Sang Bleu in the house, there was no shortage of beautiful inked bodies.

I want to especially recognize Shakir Najieb who selflessly put in some serious overtime and exhibited full commitment and dedication to our team and this event. Props.

Legends and ladies who love ladies first…

Images generously provided by Kevin Tachman at www.backstageat.com.

To celebrate Sang Bleu’s soiree in Stockholm this evening, this is Angelica and her Rock’n'Roll sleeve by Henrik Wiman at Evil Eye Tattoo, Stockholm. More about that later. It’s all happening at Galleri Moln på Marken, Skeppargatan 29.Happening right now thanks to SB’s Eugenia Lapteva & Ben Perdue.

“I’m always interested in what direction people put the jewellery on their hands.”

Jonathan’s approach to jewellery is as much about design as it is a way of cultivating identity and personal history. Having started at Eugene Lang with a joint major of philosophy and psychology and religion and finished with a degree in menswear at Parsons School of Design, Jonathan’s work comes from a strong intuitive core. “Ball Game” is the first collection under the Bevel line.

Mayan mythology seems to be at the centre of this collection- with a story behind each piece of jewellery- was that a starting point for the design process?

I was adopted at three months old, and felt an intense need as I grew up to construct my own cultural ancestry. The tale of Mayan civilization is something that resonated with me very early on and has since become a central element in my life, and the idea of a civilization that held so much power so long ago is another source of inspiration in my “States of Being…” to not only capture the human life cycle but one of a once-great civilization, from its inception to its ruin.
I feel like with this first collection, I am cementing my own identity. It feels very grounding. One’s choice in jewelry is by nature very personal, and to be able to create something and give it meaning and heritage is very satisfying. 

Which materials are you interested in exploring?

I’m starting to explore gold as a medium, in the future I would possibly like to work with stones. I like working with silver because the material is like a person, if you don’t love it, it will become blackened and dark, but with care and attention the brighter and the more lustre it will have.

Which are some of the artist or designers that inform your work?

I’ve always loved Francis Bacon. He’s always returning in some way or another. I love a lot of the visuals for Marilyn Manson, Ramnstein. The dark side of mythology is intriguing for me. And my motto has always been ‘dark things breed bright ideas’.

How would you like people to approach your jewellery pieces?

Jewellery is a very personal thing; overtime it can hold a lot of history. I love how things grow. You’ll start with anything perfect or what the person who’s telling you is considering to be perfect and then the more you wear it the more flavour it develops, the more it becomes a part of you and in that way it becomes more personal. For instance silver blackens overtime. Some pieces in the collection are intentionally blackened so the reverse process will happen; where the pieces will become brighter with wear; essentially polishing themselves overtime.

How do you see yourself evolving for the next collection?

The pieces from this collection just came into being, so if this is any indication, the designs for the next collection will just appear. My work grows from an organic process; I started doing jewellery because I had fallen in love with a jewellery designer. Love leads you in these different directions and can be a positive influence, if you let it.

Yesterday, paying a little visit to Mr Hooper I had the pleasure to find there as well my old friend Frank Carter (some of you saw him on the cover of SB 0!). When I met him, he was “just” a tattooer at Frith Street London, but he since became a superstar singer for a band called the Gallows. More than for his music that I must admit not being my “cup of tea”, I always had a big respect for Frank’s extremely good taste in tattooing. The ones he makes and the one he gets. On his head, Frank has an amazing snake by Ian Flower.

Our friend, contributor and legendary tattoo-documentarist Traveling Mic has finally released his first photographic calendar. If you are interested, get in touch with us.

“The title page shows a devotee of the Ramanami sect, of whom only a few dozen remain living their secretive and pious life in the very centre of India.
The man depicted has never seen a white person before, but is visibly not too impressed by my presence, showing the balance and confidence his faith is giving him.
His fair skin and piercing blue eyes make the history of these people from the heart of South Asia even more mysterious. “