dirty rice: delicious jewelry from the cajun heartland
Crawfish jewelry made out of actual crawfish is an interesting concept. What spurred the idea?
Everything I know about jewelry I learned from the internet or the library. I kept reading about all these alternative materials for beads, and had decided that I wanted to try to sell my work and was brainstorming for ways I could develop a line of jewelry that was unique. It was a eureka moment; I suddenly realized that claws might make fantastic jewelry. My second thought was that surely someone was already doing this…but after a lot of poking online, I really couldn’t find anything. So there it was, a unique product and a local market. After that it was a lot of trial and error, research, and experimentation to figure out the best way to use them.
I love the names of your jewelry, obviously all southern references. How do you pick each one out?
I wanted a shop name that reflected my local pride and the fact that my products are handmade, yet was familiar enough outside of Louisiana to make sense. I did a lot of brainstorming and in the process of deciding on a company name generated a long list of ideas. Generally while I am working a piece a particular name comes to mind, perhaps inspired by the color or shape of the item (for example, a nutty orange brown color reminded me of whiskey, which lead me to Whiskey River.) Usually by the time a piece is finished, I already have a name in mind. I guess they name themselves.
How does living in Lafayette influence your work?
I couldn’t do what I do anywhere else! I also wouldn’t be doing the kind of work I do if I hadn’t spent 5 years in Boston and 4 in Portland, both really fashionable cities in their own ways. I have tons of supportive friends who have become customers, and Lafayette is in a place right now where there is a lot of interest in funky local items.
Whiskey River Earrings
Define southern style.
Yikes! Perhaps it is ironic, but I definitely do not think of myself as fashionable. For me, southern style means comfort, accessibility, and a lack of pretension. Nothing too fussy, but not so casual that anything is left to chance. The first thing that comes to mind are all of my relatives up in Shreveport with their crisp white pants and beautifully coiffed hair, seersucker suits with bow ties.
Get your own serving at Dirty Rice’s Etsy shop.