Alumni Update: NYFW GreenShow Stopper

Eco-careers

Mar 18, 2012

Eco-careers

Mar 18, 2012

Last week, London-based eco-fashion blogger, Rebecca Butler of Designer Insider published an interview with MCAD’s very own Sustainable Design Online program alumnus, Susan Crow. Here’s our chance to shine a light on the incredible work Susan is doing in the field of eco-luxury fashion and to hear about her first chance to show her work at New York’s Fashion Week (NYFW). Keep leading the way, Susan!

Interview with Designer Insider by Rebecca Butler

East Fourth Street is the ultimate in exclusive hand-made jewelry. Using sustainably-sourced metals and gemstones, the pieces are all designed and produced by brand founder Susan Crow. After her appearance at NYFW’s GreenShows, I wanted to get the scoop on her style of sustainable design.

DI: What inspired you to design sustainably?

SC: I grew up in a place that appreciated liberal and artistic perspectives – it introduced me to controversial environmental opinions from an early age. In design school we studied Bucky Fuller, but the program didn’t focus on the role design plays in damaging the environment. Then, in 2008, I stumbled upon a fabulous accredited Sustainable Design program at MCAD. It challenged me to design with the entire product life cycle at the forefront of the process — from raw materials to waste disposal.

DI: How do you define sustainable jewelry?

SC: Sustainable jewelry is more than just using recycled metals and gemstones, it means creating a closed loop system in the beginning of the design phase – analyzing everything from raw materials to waste disposal. Traditional metalsmithing uses toxic chemicals/processes, and conventional mining operations that come with high environmental impacts.

Sustainable jewelry also addresses the ethical issues surrounding working conditions experienced by gold and gemstone miners in the product’s supply chain.

All products have some sort of impact, but my goal is to create jewellery with a socially responsible conscience. East Fourth Street is the sustainable launch of my jewelry line.

DI: Where do you source your materials from?

SC: I use mostly gold and silver, which come from refineries that exclusively sell recycled precious metal, but I also use gold provided by my clients for custom-made recycled pieces. Next year, when ethical gold becomes available in the US, I will introduce it into my work.  My gemstones are either reused or fair-mined, and I only use pre-owned diamonds. I have always been a scrounger and love the hunt for used goods. Over the years I have stockpiled pretty interesting items, some of which end up in my jewelry.

The industry is still very shrouded, and finding suppliers that link up with my ethics takes much more time. I can’t design a collection with anything I want in gemstone/metal combinations. I have to first source out what is available and design sustainably around what I can get.

DI:Tell me about your time at the NYFW Green Shows.

SC: It was thrilling to meet other committed designers that believe in the importance of sustainable design in fashion. Many fashion consumers are ready to embrace this new reality – there was a lot of support from buyers and press. The experience was a definite confirmation that sustainable design is the correct direction for me.

DI: Favorite material of the moment?

SC: I recently discovered reclaimed copper, not traditionally used in luxury jewelry. It’s rough, it’s earthy, and very enjoyable to experiment with. Texture and presence are important for me in my design. Presence doesn’t correlate to size or weight, but to the essence of the piece.

Want to read more about Susan’s work?

Check out her article about Eco=Lux Jewelry Design

Jewelry images courtesy of @SusanCrow. This article was originally published by Designer Insider in March 2012.

Susan Crow

Jewelry designer Susan Crow is the creative mind behind the brand, East Fourth Street. Once referred to by Huffington Post as the “woman with a passion for sustainable jewels for the conscientious person,” Susan’s work is a marriage of design and socially responsible ethics.

Clean lines, organic shapes created in 18kt gold for a client seeking minimalist elegance without complexity, characterize her work. East Fourth Street was recently included in the leading B2B Italian Fashion Trend magazine Collezioni Accessori’s Eco-Feature because Susan is devoted to responsible jewelry supply chains, design practices and was one of the first designers to bring Fairmined gold to U.S. jewelry buyers in 2013.

She sources diamonds from certified reclaimed diamond suppliers, colored gemstones from suppliers that have established programs that support the mining and cutting communities that mine and produce them, and using Fairmined metals that return profits back to artisanal mining communities ensuring that their gold is mercury-free. Her studio strives for zero waste, low energy, and responsible chemical use.