Indie Designers: improbablecog

My gal pal with the mostest, Libby Bulloff of Exoskeleton Cabaret, shared with me the amazing jewelry of improbabecog–who you can find both on Etsy and on Shapeways.  It’s no surprised I was instantly in covet covet mode when viewing Noah’s jewelry creations– they’re geometric, natural, supernatural, and beautiful designed.

Noah’s pieces are currently 50% off in his Shapeways Shop– meaning that pieces that typically run $75 for a pair of beautiful, custom-made stainless steel earrings are currently $35.00.

I’m desperately wanting the tendril earrings (now $35)– at 3.5″ long, they’re dramatic, but I get the impression I’d feel like wood nymph in them, with vines and flowers growing down my body.  I’m also loving the Wing Earrings (down to $25)–a bit sci-fi, like I’m a femme fatale cyborg from the 25th century.

I had the rare chance to get real-life testimonials from my girls about Noah’s work.  Typically when I feature an indie designer, I only get the privilege of lusting–not first hand experiences.

Gal pal Kara says,

I have had the long floral tendrils since christmas and adore them.  They are so light to wear and I don’t have gauged piercings but they are comfortable. I’ve had loads of strangers stop me on the street and in shops and compliment them, too! They are perfectly workwear suited as well as dressing up things with lower necklines.

Libby says of her many pieces,

I own three pairs of Noah’s 3-D printed jewelry: the bright blue tendril earrings, the martian flytrap earrings, and the spine earrings. I’ve also given a few pairs of earrings to friends and family as very affordable, unique gifts. All of his jewelry is incredibly lightweight–I can hardly tell it’s there. It’s both futuristic and organic, and the design and production is very cutting-edge. I mean, how many people can brag that their earrings were made by robots?

Noah’s got great rings, cufflinks, studs, plugs and pendants as well, so there is something for everyone. With pieces as low as $12, there are some real steals in here (maybe time to do a little early Christmas shopping?).

Describe the girl/guy who loves impropablecog accessories:
I like to think that the typical person who likes my jewelry would be younger, somewhat geeky and tech savvy. Artistic, with an aesthetic leaning towards goth/punk/steampunk styles, but not necessarily identifying with one of those subcultures directly. That, however, mostly describes the sort of crowd I know personally who like my work. I’ve also had a surprising amount of interest, particularly in the Tendril and Flora jewelry, from others who are nothing like that description

What are your inspirations?
Science fiction and fantasy, which is fairly obvious I suppose. I’m heavily influence stylistically by art nouveau (in particular Alphonse Mucha, who’s work I love), product design from the art deco period and the decoesque 1950s scifi, and by artists like H.R. Giger who merge technology and biology in their work.

If you could put any piece from your collection on the body of any person, which piece on who, and why?
Oh, this is going to sound geeky, but I would love to see my Tribot cufflinks worn by the late great physicist Richard Feynman. He was brilliant, had quite a sense of humor, and I think as one of the first scientists to have envisioned the possibility of manufacturing through nanotechnology, he would have got quite a kick out of robot jewelry that’s robotically created bit by bit out of steel.

If you could create a collection, without cost, supplies, and inspiration holding you back, what elements would we see in it?
Under such a lack of restrictions, you would see much more in the way of functional mechanical elements in my work. Prior to my first 3D printed jewelry line, I was building one-off art pieces such as the Protection From Darkness Pendant which splits open with a spring loaded click and lights up, and the Artifact Box, which opens only if three spherical magnetic keys are locked into the three matching hemispheres on the lid. A larger degree time and money are needed to get complex pieces like these to production, as they require more prototyping and fine tuning to ensure that the mechanical elements function as promised.

What can we expect in your upcoming collections?
I’m actually already working on recreating some of my earlier mechanical jewelry as 3D printed pieces that can be manufactured and sold. I also have other types of products in the works, such as purses with a metal or plastic exoskeleton that have a stretched interior skin, and a line of robot figures, the very first of which is already starting production. Expect to see plenty of new biomechanical jewelry too, as I have a backlog of concepts still making their way to actual production.