It all started with “body chains,” the delicate metal links that loop around the waist or neck, often creating a harness effect. Ashley Kolln, 28, and her former business partner realized there was a demand for this style of adornment, especially from belly-baring festivalgoers, while working for a Chicago jewelry company. So they started making and selling them in 2013, using the jewelry scraps to craft other accessories like earrings and necklaces.
Those more typical pieces are now Milwaukee-based Rivolt Accessories’ most popular, though one especially arresting piece might usurp them all. The ear cuff – “wearable art” to Kolln – started as an experiment, but is now the basis for her latest collection, which is due out Feb. 11 and consists entirely of the surprisingly wearable, elf-like pieces.
Metal Heads
Ashley Kolln, who works for the Third Ward’s Kit & Ace when she’s not making jewelry, also sells her wares at Tosa’s Hyde Park. Astraea shoulder chain, $60. Photo by Adam Ryan Morris.Photos by Adam Ryan Morris.
1. Pink druzy earrings, $20
2. Asymmetric heavens necklace, $36
3. Hand-dyed tassel earrings in terra cotta, $24.
‘Metallic-ah’ appears in the February 2016 issue of Milwaukee Magazine.
Find the February issue on newsstands beginning Feb. 1.
Claire Hanan worked at the magazine as an editor from 2012-2017. She edited the Culture section and wrote stories about all sorts of topics, including the arts, fashion, politics and more. In 2016, she was a finalist for best profile writing at the City and Regional Magazine Awards for her story "In A Flash." In 2014, she won the the Milwaukee Press gold award for best public service story for editing "Handle With Care," a service package about aging in Milwaukee. Before all this, she attended the University of Missouri's School of Journalism and New York University's Summer Publishing Institute.
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