A drawing
Every piece starts on paper, in pencil, at the size it will be worn.
The Maker
Designer and embroiderer. Born in Yerevan, working in Los Angeles.
I grew up in Yerevan among Armenian ornament: carpets, carved stone, the paisley on my grandmother's shawl. I trained as a designer, showed my first collection at graduation and sold my first brooches from a kitchen table. Today I work from a small atelier in Los Angeles. I make jewelry the way stories are told: slowly, by hand, and only once. If a piece is gone, it is gone, and I would rather make you a new story than a copy.
[ Yelena · draft text, to be confirmed ]
[ Two cities ][ 5 tales ]
From Yerevan to Los Angeles
YerevanOrigin · --:--
Los AngelesStudio · --:--
Yerevan
Origin: the graduation collection, turquoise and brass photographed on cracked earth. Armenian ornament is still in every piece.
Los Angeles
Skin, Sea, Spark and Fable: tattoo hearts on leather, heavy chains with found stones, gold and pearls, beaded winter characters.
Bead by bead
A leather base
The shape is cut from vegan leather or felt and stretched in a hoop.
Thousands of beads
Beads, crystals and sequins are stitched one by one. Two to four days a piece.
Boxed, once
Signed, boxed and sent. When it is gone, it is gone.
