Indie Designers: I Am Dorkas

It’s not often I’m instantly beholden and smitten when a designer contacts me about their collection, but this was the case when Marianna Jamadi contacted me about her line I Am Dorkas.  I was beholden by the personal relationships used in her collections, as she builds her jewelry collection with her Portugese boyfriend and her housewares line with her Finnish mother. I was beholden by how personal and cultural  the collections are, inspired by her own Finnish and Indonesian backgrounds.

I especially love her use of clock parts.  While it’s not uncommon to see clock parts used, especially with the rising popularity of steampunk culture & fashion, I feel that her pieces are really fresh and transcend genre.

Clockworks Earrings, $30

Not only that, but her pieces are striking, bold, and dramatic–perfect pieces for complimenting my personal aesthetic and the one I create for my home.  I’d be lying if I weren’t coveting half the items in her shop. (And can I compliment her photography? I love the imagery for her items.)

Lights Out Ring, $100

Describe the girl who wears/uses I Am Dorkas:
the modern girl with an ancient soul.

What was the inspiration for your I Am Dorkas line?
the “love, dorkas” jewelry line is inspired very much by tribal & cultural traditional dress. The clock hands represent the deconstruction of time and how ancient civilizations can meet modern times. The wooden pieces remind us of what has always been rooted in this earth- the elements.

the “momma dorkas” kitchen line is very much inspired by my mother’s homeland- Finland. I am driven by bold colors & graphics, much like Marimekko, that make a house feel like a home.

Sirkus Napkins, $30

If you could put any piece from your collection on the body of any person, which piece on who, and why?
I would love to dress Simonetta Vespucci in “clockworks.” Simonetta (1453-1476) is the women seen over and over in Botticelli’s paintings, most notably “The Birth of Venus.” She was a true Renaissance woman whose beauty was so transcendent that men were still painting her 20 years after her death. She was timeless and so “clockworks” is fitting in that she carries time, it does not carry her.

If you could create a collection, without cost, supplies, and inspiration holding you back, what elements would we see in it?
a pure explosion of heart. a lovely adventure through the world & through time.
I would travel the world and collect the most magnificent pieces of wood and scour antique stores for any traces of time (clock hands).  I would bring several suitcases so that I could also return with hundreds of yards of fabric that are true to each place I visited.

What can we expect in upcoming seasons from I Am Dorkas?
In April, I will be joined by my beau & my momma on a trip to Finland to gather fabric, wood, & loads of inspiration to create a line paying homage to the motherland!

I hope you all love Marianna’s collections as much as I do– I’m so excited to see her upcoming collections.  Check out her blog here and her shop here!