The nicest article

Writer Erin Magner contacted me last year and wrote the following piece about my line. I was very flattered and I made all of my family members read it. I had never had anyone write anything about me yet at that point (thanks malina joseph and sally thurer too!) and it is certainly bizarre to read about yourself.

Wild, Wild Southwest
By Erin Magner (www.erinmagner.com)
http://www.jcreport.com/intelligence/accessories/020708/wild-wild-southwest

(silly photo taken by me)
"A self-proclaimed disaster at the sewing machine, Rachel Gilman wisely made the switch from design student to stylist early in her career. But she's triumphantly reclaimed her seat at the drafting table with the launch of her namesake jewelry line, which mixes the flamboyance of Miami Deco with the handcrafted feel of Southwestern folk art.

"I've combined everything I love about art into the collection," says Gilman, whose pieces employ boldly contrasting colors and sharply angular shapes on a colossal scale. "I love obnoxious, crazy '80s stuff and the handmade vibe of small-town senior citizen craft fairs, so my work is a mixture of the two. As a kid, my family went on vacations to Santa Fe, so folk art strikes more of a chord with me than classic paintings ever have."

Gilman started making her own jewelry primarily as fodder for her styling work, in an attempt to avoid borrowing the same pieces as her peers. Since then, her bombastic wooden creations have organically spread into other stylists' arsenals, as well as influential boutiques like Seven New York.

But for all its attention, Gilman's keeping her business small—for now. "I sit and make each piece at night and it's a long process," she explains. In the future, however, she aspires to experiment with more unusual materials, create jewelry for runway shows and share her work with a wider audience ("I'd love someone like Bjork or Rihanna to wear it—someone confident, experimental and open-minded"). But an accessories empire isn't in the master plan. "I just don't think the world needs another shoe or bag label," she sagely states. "I guess it doesn't need more earrings, either, but I like having an outlet where I can play around and just have fun."

(My mom told me that I shouldn't have said the part about the world not needing another shoe or bag label!)