Marla Makes Us Happy! A Fun Blog With "10 Questions..." For A Favorite Artist Of Ours!

I was still VERY new to NYC the day I went to meet Marla Wallerstein, the designer behind one of our all time favorite and best selling lines of jewelry MarLa Studio. We decided to meet, by my urging, at my new 'spot'in the city- the wondrous and amazing Chelsea Market. Only Chelsea Market is really... big. As in, spanning about 4 blocks big!
At our alloted meeting time of 1030, I was waiting at the entrance. So was Marla.
Different entrances! And again, and again, until finally, waiting for the light to change green so I could cross, I spotted her. I waved and crossed the street.
That was the first time I met Marla.
Now, I can safely and emphatically say having Marla as an artist at Giving Tree, and as a friend to me, is one of the nicest things that has happened in my life!
Her jewelry is one of the most clear examples of an artists passion, purpose and SPIRIT coming out in their art. We love Marla, we love the MarLa Studio collection, and personally, I just feel blessed and HAPPY that Marla exists and I get to know her!

Speaking of getting to know Marla, check out the interview below! It is just my small way of sharing such a 'gift' of mine, with you. Thank you Marla!
From NYC, happily...
Rachel

For fun, I thought up 10 'not very related to jewelry' questions and sent them off to Marla. Check out her wonderful answers and get to know this artist a bit better!
This was so much fun, it just may turn into a regular feature on our blog! Enjoy this first edition!

10 Questions from Rachel to Marla Wallerstein of MarLa Studio

1) What celebrity/well known person would you LOVE to see one of your creations on? Who do you envision as the perfect 'model' for your jewelry?

Marla: For Women-Patti Smith Patti is the icon, the “high priestess of punk”, the muse. She projects a deeply intelligent, fearless sense of self. She’s rugged but her music and poetry reveal her -she’s vulnerable and honest. Her personal style is simple and boyish, but eternally cool. She’s getting older in the most beautiful way. I see her wearing a couple thin rectangle pieces on a 30”
chain (I’m thinking the combo of Love and Faith), layered with others on cord and chain at different lengths.
Men - Lou Reed - his name says it all.

2. Do you listen to music when you create pieces? if so, what?

Marla: I do! Tons! I’ve been listening to quite a mix lately - Regina Spektor, The New Pornographers, Tune Yards, MGMT, TV on the Radio... So much! I’m a total child of late 70’s early 80’s punk
and new wave. The music and fashion from this time have left an indelible mark - I listen to
“Clash radio” on Pandora... a lot! Music is audio fashion, it just is.

3. Finish this sentence..
When I am working in my studio, on a new design, I feel...

Marla: Complete. I feel that I’m completing my purpose, myself. Like, I found what I’m put here to do, and I’m doing it.

4. Who is your favorite artist of all time?

Marla: Eva Hesse, & Lee Bontecou are the first that come to mind. Both their work is raw and physical -
intricate and visceral. Emotional and so forceful, but not typically feminine. This is a thread that
runs through my aesthetic - the balance/tension between masculine and feminine. My work is imbued with emotional content, but cased within a strong exterior.

5. Tell me a favorite author of yours and a favorite book!

Marla: So many! Right now I’m reading Jonathan Franzen’s “Freedom”, I don’t want it to end!!!

6. If you were an animal, what animal would you be? why?

Marla: The lion. A female lion. SO elegant, so regal, and so practical all at once. They can run for hundreds of miles, kill to feed themselves and their young, carry their cubs around by the loose skin on the back of their necks and lick them all over to clean them - and always, always look magnificent. I wear the lion in copper/silver on a 30” thin ball chain with almost everything.

7. Finish this sentence: if I weren't a jewelry designer I would be a...

Marla: A studio artist. This is what I trained to do and always consider myself, even as a jewelry designer. Before I made small intimate pieces for the body, I made large abstract, atmospheric, thematic prints. It’s very different but still coming from the same place. At RISD where I got my MFA, art and design merged in a very sensible way. One day I’ll be able to make both jewelry and images!

8. Your kids!.. Describe each one in a sentence.

Marla:
Jonah - Cerebral, can realize anything with his hands, amazing vision and skill.
Gabriel - Moves beautifully and has innate rhythm, an artist and dancer.
Ari - Huge heart, lives large, insightful and engaged with all around him, creates fun.

*

9. What does loving someone, LOVE mean to you?

Marla: Being able to be in love without reservation, without holding back, without limitation. A merging of worlds, of work, of humor and intellectual exploration. Being able to allow your life to intertwine with another’s endlessly and still feel challenged and vulnerable.**


10. What do you like about being an artist at Giving Tree??

Marla: Rachel!!! You create an environment in which everyone and everything you work with is your art
- is part of your grand vision. You’ve made a personal investment in your artists, as if their work
IS your work. It’s a total ethic, it’s more than a business, it’s personal and coming from a place
of love and commitment. It’s highly unusual and a blessing - I’m honored!!!!


*Made me cry. I think all parents should do this exercise. What beautiful answers
**Made me cry. I think there is a pattern here ;)
***Made me smile!!