The Gift of Time: Victoria Boone
There’s a crispness in the air, family/friend/coworker celebrations loom, and holiday music is playing everywhere. Yes, we are officially deep into making your list and checking it twice season. To mix things up, in lieu of straight Gift Guides we asked a few Friends of Boketto about who they are… and from there teased out their favorite things from our shelves. All four lovely FOBs are popping-up in the shop over the next few weeks, we invite you to them all!
JOIN US
Corner Studio Pop-up
Thursday, December 21st
3:00-6:30pm
tinycornerstudio.com
Meet Victoria Boone
Describe what you make
I make jewelry! Long before I was making it, I was collecting it and long before I was collecting it, I grew up with it. As a child, I spent a lot of time in my Papa's jewelry store. I have wonderful memories of playing hide and seek with my sisters and my cousins behind the jewelry cases, staring at big, brilliant stones, stacking giant rings on my little fingers, sitting by the watchmaker, waiting for him to show me his gadgets and tools. For all of my twenties, I was really into vintage jewelry. I would scan thrift stores and flea markets and estate sales for silver and gold. I often thought about what I would change about certain pieces, how I would design it a bit differently. Eventually I thought OK I'm gonna take a swing at this. With some dirt cheap tools and a lot of late nights hunched over a workbench in the garage, I started experimenting.
Share the most important thing you’ve designed to date
Every wedding band I've ever made. I love when my work gets to be a small part of a big story. And to imagine it might eventually get passed down to experience another love story— what an honor!
Describe the problem your work solves
I’m not sure if my work solves any problems, but I do think about form and function a lot. I like sculpture so I think that often plays into my work. I like simple designs with odd shapes, uneven surfaces, maybe weird stone placement, and I like my jewelry to have some weight to it. I want it to feel solid and comfortable, like how a good pair of jeans wears in over time. Something you reach for over and over again. Reliable and durable and well loved through all the sweet and messy moments alike. I want this stuff to live a few lives.
Share what you have going on right now
Right now I'm wrapping up a few special custom pieces so that I can focus on a couple events. I love doing events. It's rare that I get to see all of my work laid out in front of me. Everything is usually made to order, so it's cool to see the whole spread. I love the energy behind an event. I like to hunker down and get so wrapped up in the making of it and then to see it all unfold and to meet new people who have been following my work from afar. That part always surprises me. This world is so huge. So much inspiring work and somehow mine will surface in a stranger's life. What a delight.
What’s an object of affection you have in your studio
A set of sterling silver bangles my Grandma gifted to me when I was about 20. I used to always play with hers when I was a little girl. She still wears hers every day. To have a set of my own is so special. I always think that a bangle or two is the absolute best gift to give a loved one. Something about it. Something very simple and sturdy and sculptural and entirely complete on its own.
Where can we find you when you’re not working
With my daughter! She’s my tiny assistant in and out of the studio. When we're not working, we're usually outside taking a walk, hanging at a coffee shop, running errands, thumbing through a thrift store, a vintage shop, an antique mall, meeting with a friend, hanging with family, going on a sandwich date with my husband. Just having fun together, slowing down a bit, staying present.
What’s something that you’re looking forward to
I’m looking forward to running this little business with my daughter by my side, watching my world as a mother and my world as a maker intertwine.
List your source(s) of creative inspiration
Historical objects, old world artifacts, architecture, furniture, sculpture, the natural world around me- all things that inspire what I make. The art of routine is very interesting to me. Getting to see inspiring work spaces can be like fuel when I'm in a rut. I love visiting a friend's studio from time to time. Exercise and movement! When I'm feeling uninspired, I get my blood flowing.
What’s a distraction you want to eliminate
Definitely social media. It's an excellent tool for connecting and learning and expanding. It can be totally inspiring. I’ve met other jewelers, and I’ve learned many techniques thanks to it, but it can really suck the energy out of me fast and become more of a distraction than a tool. Trying to find balance within it.
Lightning Round
- Concrete or marble? Marble
- City or Country? At the moment, city.
- Remember or forget? Remember
- Aliens or ghosts? Ghosts
- Breakfast or Dinner? Tough but, dinner!
Victoria’s Favorite Things
Routines, rituals, and having space to work are the things encourage Victoria’s creative energy. Her top Boketto well-being items support their inspired life.
Ikebana Vase by Summer School, Red Wine Gel Eye Masks by Ametta Skin, Washi Paper Incense Strips by Morihata, Turmeric Super Seed Granola by Sweet Deliverance, and Genet Lip & Cheek Stain by Noto