Known for its historical reinterpretations, fine jeweler Larkspur & Hawk expands into the decorative arts, one of founder Emily Satloff’s first and most ardent passions. The capsule collection is the first in an ongoing series called Illustrated, celebrating the multifarious ways in which Emily’s inspiration can take form. “It’s all about illustrating your inspirations in different mediums,” she says. The linchpin of the collection is a folkloric mural-like wallpaper boasting verdant gardens and lush vistas populated by a menagerie of animals conceived of by Emily and designed in collaboration with English artist Melissa White. From this whimsical romp into a landscape both vaguely familiar and utterly exotic, Emily has curated a collection of ceramic objects, stationery, finely embroidered linens, painted boxes, and, of course, has designed an expansive new line of jewelry in which these motifs resurface in novel forms.
Emily’s interests in the decorative arts are deep and varied, and it is through Illustrated that she wishes to explore the incarnations and the dimensions in which her inspirations surface. “It’s the idea that my passion can go from an object, to a painted wallpaper, to jewelry, to ceramics, to notecards.”
First and foremost, though, Emily’s Garden is a sophisticated, playful view into a cultivated natural world. Animals, not humans, preside over the scenery, ruling the landscape, gardens, seas, and architectural structures. “You see the presence of humans -- their architecture and jewelry, but it’s the animals that are enjoying it. They come out when the humans go in, having the time of their lives in this tamed, manicured garden,” says Emily. The personalities of the animals, from the foppish, jewelry thieving parrots to the cheeky fish, are fully realized in the jewelry Emily has designed, which were her initial inspiration for the Illustrated concept. Painterly, naive looking clouds and forgoing convention to scale add to the lyrical nature of the design. The color palette, rich but subdued, Melissa refers to as “faded opulence, like velvet that has been in the sun for too long. It’s romantic, threadbare charm.”
