“I use mostly epoxy and polyester resin, these start as a liquid form, then are mixed, colored, and poured, then when cured, they are cut, shaped, and finished.” This right out of the designers mouth and into his Go Robot store on Smashing Darling. Stuart, was, in a nutshell explaining his process to me. He makes it sound so easy. He makes it look easy too. His jewelry is so cool and modern. I love it and already own a couple of pieces. It seems he has a curiosity for, ‘I wonder what would happen if I did this?’ Read on and visit his store on Smashing Darling to see just what happened when ‘he did that.’
SD: What is most of your jewelry made of? When did acrylic enter the picture?
SB: Actually, most of it is made of resin, either polyester or epoxy. Those start as a liquid so I can color them and shape them how I like. I started using acrylic when my friend Ben, who works with optical plastics, gave me some to play with. After that, I found a supply of surplus acrylic sheet from a local sign shop, they sell it by the pound. I always have my eye out for something to recycle/re-purpose.
SD: When did you start combining epoxy and polyester resin with other mediums such as wood?
SB: I had been doing a lot of things with dots. I pay close attention to how people use them. I think you could write a book on dots, the size, the frequency, whether they are spaced randomly or mathematically, the range of dot sizes in a single design, the color range, the shape of the dots, etc. I had been using round dots with organic size and spacing, but I was searching for a dot that had a more organic shape. That’s when I found that using cross-sections of twigs embedded in contrasting resin would give me a nice range of not-quite-round dots. It was the element I had been looking for. After that, I started setting those designs inside slices of wood. Now with the grain of the wood, I would have my organic dots with the stripes in the wood grain. (don’t get me started on stripes…)
SD: Can you tell us what it was like growing up in such a creative family?
SB: Oh, as a child, my parents were very supportive of my creative streak. They both understood the need for a creative outlet. My Mom painted, played piano and refinished old furniture for her antique shop. My dad was a true do-it-yourselfer and did some jewelry and lapidary in his spare time. I realize now that it was a luxury to have such supportive parents. It’s probably best that they didn’t tell me a life of creativity would also often mean a life of poverty. But I think the two go hand-in-hand: If you always have everything you want, you don’t need to be creative, right?
SD: Where do you turn for inspiration for your designs?
SB: I’m really inspired most by nature. The shapes and designs and patterns. I’m also fascinated at how nature eats away at man-made objects, the results of decay. But design-wise I get a lot of ideas from the mid-century: clean lines, very slight curves, simple shapes.
SD: What does your average day entail?
SB: Well, when I’m “on,” (during a creative spurt when I’m really focused on getting work done) I get up at about 9:00 and spend a little time trying to find some tool or material I was thinking about the night before. I usually start with the internet, then my set of local surplus shops, thrift stores, art supply stores, or hardware stores. Coffee. By mid-day I’ll be working in the shop. I’ll usually spend more time starting new pieces than finishing old ones, so at this point I have several large containers full of pieces that need to be finished. That mass just keeps growing.
I’ll work until the early morning hours: 1:00 or 2:00 am, sometimes later. Then I come back in the house, usually really hungry, and find some food. If I’m lucky, my girlfriend will have brought me some food at some point. She knows I’ll forget otherwise. I may sketch some before I go to bed, or I might skip right to The Simpson’s or NPR. I look forward to the weekends, even though I don’t do anything different on the weekends, I just like the relaxed feeling of them.
SD: Describe your personal style?
SB: Well, contrary to many of my designs, I’m very earth-tone. I really have to make sure, when I leave the house, that I won’t be mistaken for the UPS guy.
SD: Who are your fashion icons (past or present)? Do you think they influenced your personal style?
SB: Yikes. I had to look up “fashion icon.” I’m pretty ignorant when it comes to trends in men’s fashion. Honestly, I have always had a hard time with men’s fashion because it doesn’t change that much: It’s pretty much wide tie for ten years, then narrow tie for ten years. Google came up with about three male fashion icons, and I would have to say that David Beckham has had little influence on my personal style. Ashton Kucher and Justin Timberlake have had none. I do however wear both pants and shirts, just like David, Ashton and Justin.
SD: Do you have any current fashion obsessions?
SB: I do like the trend toward natural/renewable fibers, materials, etc… I don’t know if that’s a fashion obsession, but I do have a bamboo sweater I really like. Oh, and I frequently scour Ebay for brown Converse All Stars (high top.)
SD: Any advice for someone curious about designing with resins or acrylic?
SB: There’s so little info out there, I think you just have to get yourself a quart of epoxy resin and start playing around. Get gloves, work in a well-ventilated area, mix exactly according to instructions. There are a few books out there, but they’re usually very specific to a small set of techniques. I learned most of what I know just by trial and error (error, mostly). I think you have to be open to errors when working with resin. Like, if you have a whole bunch of errors, you might be able to slice them up and laminate the slices together to get something really cool. People (especially other Smashing Darlings) should feel free to contact me for resin advice if that helps.
SD: Do you have any events you are getting ready for in the near future?
SB: I’m not great at marketing. I really wanted to do a bunch of holiday events, but got to moving and building a studio instead. (I just moved from California to Oregon.) Next year I’d like to do my first wholesale show, maybe ACRE in Las Vegas. Until then, I’ll continue to look for shows in the Pacific Northwest.
SD: Is there anyone in the Smashing Darling community you have a question or comment for?
SB: There are so many good designers on SD, that’s why I left ETSY. I see great stuff in the blog all the time. Julie lake’s stuff is fantastic, Sarah (Thistle Downs) has some really fun stuff.
SD: Other Than Smashing Darling where do you sell your jewelry?
SB: I have a few stores in Southern California, the newest is the A+R Store in Silver Lake .
