ALICIA GOODWIN OF LINGUA NIGRA

Describe yourself and your designs to us?

My work is based on nature and my random thoughts. I love an organic look and love a long process. I appreciate when it takes a long time to make a piece. Honestly, I can make something in ten minutes, but it might not tell me it's done for another year...or three! 

I really have a strange fascination with bugs, in particular beetles. They are just the most beautiful group of animals, they really are. I look at their form and see how I can use it in an organic way in my work. You'll see lots of texture and my signature 22 carat gold plating on most of my designs. As for me, personally, I'm a jeweller, sewer, mostly eater and Instagram drinker! I love to create and it's kind of crazy that I get I make a living selling things that begin as concepts in my head. 

When did you first start designing?

I've been making jewellery since I was a child, but it wasn't until I majored in Jewellery Design (bench) at F.I.T. that I really got creative. I was always a jewellery lover, but I fell in love with the process. I had a degree in Fashion Design but I quickly realised that people would pay for a piece I created in two hours versus a dress I slaved over for weeks.

With jewellery, you can start with one idea and end up with something totally different, and that’s okay. If you mess up, you can start again or salvage your metal and your work. That's not the same with clothing, once you make that first cut...

After I graduated, I worked for several small jewellers and I learned a lot. While I learned a lot at F.I.T. it is so different once you're out in the real world. I would work on my own creations after I finished work each day. I created my signature reticulated items and then I joined Etsy and got really serious about my work because strangers would always ask about my bangles that I made (that I still sell to this day). And there you have it, I haven’t looked back!

Looking back, what is a stand out moment for you in shaping Lingua Nigra?

Hmmmm...I think being able to sell my own designs. The jewellery world is hyper competitive and with the internet, people's attention span are so much shorter. 

I've been lucky to have so many amazing people wear my designs. I suppose it's kind of cool to say my work was chosen to be sold at the newest Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. or the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Their purchase orders have certainly paid for a months rent, let me tell you!

I also love that I'm reaching a whole different audience by being displayed in the museums. I meet people from all over who say they have visited the museum and purchased my work. That's kind of a cool feeling, if I say so myself!

What designs or creative work has you excited right now?

Here's the thing - I love making things and love unusual objects. That being said, you won't see a ton of colour in my work unless it's something a little different - like my beetle wings, or dentalium shells or snakeskin beads. 

That being said, I have so much work that I want to make! I have started creating wall hangings, but they aren't quite ready yet. I'm also launching a line of mourning jewellery. For folks who want to wear the ashes of their loved one in a stylish way. I'm also going to incorporate hair as well. 

When I tell you I have so many ideas they keep me up, I am not kidding! Right now, I'm working on making a unique setting for these kyanite beads I've had for over a decade. Right now my mind is telling me that this blue colour is ready to be seen. I just don't know how yet!

I also began to learn lapidary (the art of cutting stones) and I love it! I want to use more stones in my work, but don't really like the calibrated (all cut the same size) look. I love my stones to be perfectly imperfect as well. 

What advice do you have for emerging designers? 

Be nice. We all have tough days, but people will remember you for bad more than they will for good. If you're nice, then the odds are in your favour! I feel with social media you can create a great community of friends just on the concept of being a nice person. 

Keep working. If you have a degree or not, keep doing work. Sign up for random classes that have nothing to do with jewellery. Look at books on Ebay. Nothing is new under the sun, so ask yourself if you want to keep making what everyone else makes, or do you want to step out. I love to learn and I am always taking workshops (or getting degrees) because I just want to know so much!

Be original. Just like above, there is a lot of the same in jewellery. It's not a bad thing, but sometimes I feel people don't know that it's okay not be "safe". So many folks tell me that my work is "different" than all the other jewellery they have seen. I think a lot of people want to go with trends, but honestly creating a classic item that is uniquely yours will really make a lasting impression. This thing might take an hour to make or it might take months to develop. 

Don't rush the process. I no longer do "collections". I roll out what I want, when I want. Yes, this hurts me when I do trade shows, but it's new to somebody. This way, I can create different looks that don't have to necessarily marry each other. The gold tone groups them as a unit already.