Click to enlarge

Dan and Em attended the RISD Entrepreneur Mindshare conference in Providence, RI a couple of weeks back and, among the many interesting presentations, they saw artist/jewelry designer Lauren Tickle speak about her work.

The Brooklyn-based RISD Alum has a series of jewelry pieces under the title Increasing Value. In these brooches, necklaces & earrings, Tickle takes US currency of a designated value and cuts it apart, then pieces these delicate and ornate elements together creating a new object of greater value: jewelry. This experiment questioning value, adornment, and materialism is meant to make the wearer reflect on these social constructs in today’s society.

A couple of Tickle’s works, such as the $16.50 Necklace which sells for 100x its original currency value, can be purchased at the MoMA Design Store.

All photos courtesy of the artist.