Twenty-four-year old Adrianna Beer has five tattoos. “They’re all hidden, though,” she says. “They’re just little mementos of friendship and things like that.” But that doesn’t mean the Brooklyn-based jewelry designer thinks tattoos should be concealed—rather, she features them in her jewelry line, Hadria. Launched for Spring 2013, Beer’s range of silver, gold, smoked quartz and colorful silk thread-embellished wares has a downtown sensibility. Inspired by vintage baubles (she’s a big fan of vintage jewelry, particularly of some giant rings her grandmother gave her) and tribal motifs, Beer’s pieces don’t just adorn the negative space on the body, they emphasize it. “Negative spaces highlight the body instead of just decorating it with jewels alone,” she explains. For instance, a minimal silver spiked cuff shaped like a primitive grid emphasizes the bare wrist and an open silver necklace draws the eye to the collarbone. These blank spaces serve as a canvas for Beer, who’s created temporary tattoos to wear beneath her designs.
She came up with the idea when a friend of hers borrowed an antique ring and the cameo fell out. “She kept wearing the piece and at first I thought how cool it would be to have a cameo tattoo underneath the open ring,” Beer recalls. “But then I realized it would be interesting as a styling option to be able to use the fake tattoos.” Beer designed temporary tats with a flower influence (”I wanted something that anyone would feel comfortable wearing,” she says), which, reminiscent of henna, are subtle but intriguing compliments to her hardware. “I think it’s important for women to be comfortable with making a statement,” she says. “But I like the idea that different women of different ages could wear my jewelry and share it with each other.” With or without, the ink, of course.
Hadria is available at Artifact in Brooklyn, NY, artifactbrooklyn.com.
—Katharine K. Zarrella
Photos: Courtesy of Hadria
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