Evil Pawn Jewelry is one of my favorite lines. Their pieces are each so beautifully sculpted and handcrafted it’s hard to believe you are not holding an artifact from an ancient time. Faith, a third generation jeweler has really mastered the art of metal and ornaments and has done so in a timeless way. Her craft doesn’t only come from a physical state of mind but an emotional one, and you can tell that each piece has a story behind it that you can add on to. It was a delight talking with Faith about her jewelry, inspirations, her thoughts of Girl Revolution and more. Check out the interview below!
Your line Evil Pawn Jewelry seems to gather inspiration from all over. I love that site says it’s a fusion between antique, vintage, goth, bohemian, glamour, old costume and Native American styles. What is a main source of inspiration for you currently?
My main source currently, before, and after is always emotion. Not surface but the emotion invoked by thoughts of life experiences I personally have lived through. Iâm sure so many can relate to most of them, but design should not be âfashionâ or âa new styleâ; it should reflect âforeverâ and âa new feelingâ given to a situation. Bad experiences can be worked through and made to be positive. A sad situation can become a beautiful design and a new feeling of happiness to the situation. Tangible emotion, unresolved feelings, or a thought, becoming something that can be held.
How many pieces of jewelry are you wearing right now?
I usually wear 18 to 22 rings a day. Today itâs 18. Always a necklace, 2 to 3 cuffs, around 6 to 12 earrings, in summer toe rings, and hair jewelry. Today itâs only 27 though.
In what way does jewelry serve as armor to you in everyday life?
Depends on the piece and what I want to reflect. There are so many pieces I use as personal amulets to protect, remind/remember, to draw or give, you never know what the day will bring.
Your jewelry should always mean something to you. To be [human, with] reason instead of what [the] corporate [mindset] wants you to be: a consumer without reason. Give greed nothing and grant your soul something.
“Life is not a having and a getting, but a being and a becoming.â Myrna Loy
All of your pieces are so magical it seems like gems you would find in the bottom of a 3,000 year old sunken ship. Have you or anyone else ever had a mystical experience with them?
I have heard some amazing things, but I must say I believe in the vision board theory. I have vision board parties every year at my house with friends. What you see every day will become your reality.
What you do every day will help you become the person you are supposed to be.
Someone that is negative and complains all the time is just that. Someone who feeds on drama is just the same; a drama queen, a person that lies with nearly every breath; a liar. Those who choose to see awesome every day, smile in the face of hard times, do all the things they always SAY they want to do daily, adorn themselves in things that make them happy not what they bought cuz it was trendy. [They make their] new yearâs resolution a daily resolution when [waking] and [become] the person they were meant to be.
You can create drama or you can create excellence. You can breed hate or use these feeling for good and inspire others. â¨Negative energy can be expelled by using it for good. All bad things that have ever happen to you can be transformed into positive. Pain and tragedy die in your heart’s soil over time and become plant seeds of flowers or weeds. You are the one putting out the energy. Do you want a flower or a weed?
Seeing these things everyday on my hands to my feet reminds me that flowers can even grow from in between rocks and excellence can and does happen every single day.
What was the inspiration behind the Cameo Skull Ring? I love that this lady wards off drama, gossip, & the evil eye. Do you think these are the main three issues with woman vs woman?
The inspiration behind this ring is something that pretty much shaped me into the person I am today. Women have to be so much and take on so much to get anywhere in this world. When you want to do something that isnât a âchickâ job then itâs not just men (and not all men, there are some pretty kewl dudes out there), but it’s women too that beat you down. If you wanna rawk out in a band or pick up a heavy piece of machinery , or construct something massive with a power tool; ya got both sides coming at ya and it can make you cave when the pressure is thick. It sucks. I can remember things I wanted to do or did that I got mad hate for. I was just doing what I wanted to do.
The new beauty rules and guidelines of diet and perfection make us pretty on the outside but the blonder, tanner, and crack skinnier version of me felt dead on the inside. The standards are almost impossible to keep up with. If itâs not one thing itâs the next. There is no balance. Itâs extreme or nothing. How about a hair color you want cuz its fun and you like it. Not one that makes you more âsexually appealing to the massesâ. What about a comfy healthy weight and not a cracked out version of a 12 year old?
Worst part is the catty, weird head games women can play out of jealousy and just plain hatred. I get annoyed when someone loses weight in a healthy way and they get nothing but âyou look too thinâ or âyou looked cuter thickâ. Really people? If your friend lost 30 pounds and now is healthy, why hate? Or if a girl goes from 190lbs to 150lbs why are all her friends suddenly catty? What about the drama, the gossip, and the evil eyeballinâ [from] your fellow girl? If we really decipher whud up in these types of âsocial interactionsâ you will find itâs the pop culture machine that programs us to compete, hate, and separate. Break us up; makes us weak and insecure, strips us bare⌠this is the main formula that makes us consume. You name it weâll take it. Liquor, food, gossip, generic Barbie clothes, and plastic mass made jewelry like cheap Christmas trees that have no say to what is being done to them.
Quick fixes and fake cures will only save us momentarily from what ails us. Then we come back for more. If they can make us believe we need it thatâs one thing, but when we feel we need it, and the non-permanent effects of getting it is another thing.
Alcohol is an easy way to destroy those feelings you donât wanna feel. The next morning they are back in hangover form. [Emotional] eating is pretty easy until you wear it on your body for the world to see. Shopping until you max out another card and becoming a slave to the plastic god or gossiping until your eyes bleed and hating until you lose yourself to your own self hatred. There are so many ways to destroy your personal pain but 90% of them destroy you. This is how we get enslaved. This is how we lose our way. Why not destroy the negative permanently by creating true beauty. Expel them and spread positive vibes and hope for others to do the same. The mind is a gray sky that wants the sunshine to come in but only wants it to come in if you are the one lighting it. You are the beginning and end of you. Be responsible and make this life the most amazing life you can have. It encourages others and is the only true way art, thoughts, and words become tangible, touchable, truths.
All of this feeling about the consumer age and the âcool kidsâ on the newest movie or music video, that can make you feel less. Puppets on strings, the latest fad diets, long time friendships ending to senseless catty drama [are]all expelled from my mind into a beautiful design and my interpretation of what is happening to us. I wear that ring everyday to remind me how I came out of the girl coma, to fight against ever falling asleep like that again, and to hope for all that have become victims to it.
What was the inspiration behind the Tribal collection?
I am Native American and have a love for taxidermy. I also love high end micro pave black crystals and large statement pieces. I really just wanted to create massively large pieces that reflected the way I feel about aspects of life. âWhy canât I fly and why wasnât I given wings?â or âWhy do I feel that women are symbols of power and strength while the mass media sees us as frail and [is] constantly objectifying us with unrealistic images of females with enlarged plastic breasts, tans, and generic stripper gear.â
I am a woman with a large wing span, buffalo horn back talk & an A cup !
I love how animals male and female share the same jobs, the same âlookâ, and they love to just live.
I wish we all could do the same.
Who are some of your other fellow jewelers that you love?
My Grandparents! Best jewelers ever! <3
What is your typical day outfit like? Who are some of your favorite designers?
I am big on accessorizing so day outfits for me are simple. I wear jeans and tees a lot! A ton of jewelry, awesome shoes or boots, and I am addicted to jackets and coats. You never âgrow outâ of jewelry, weight loss or gain wonât stop a necklace, and any shirt can be completely changed with the right adornments. My style is just âRawk chic that chills ⌠with a ton of metalâ LOL! Itâs not really the right designer for me but the right feel. I also buy clothing to go around my adornments I already have. The jewelry will be with me forever but the clothing will not. I just value my metal more than fabric. We all have our vices!
What is one piece that you cannot live without?
My Cameo Skull Ring; I have several others but that is the piece that defines me. I have found so much comfort in just loving it and wearing it means so much more to me than just a ring.
What was your reason for doing the Girl Revolution Jewelry line?
I wanted to re-amp girl power and strength. So much of it went south in the last 10 years. The Girl Riot Scene, zines, and feminist activism seemed to decrease as the 2000âs increased. Working, kids, running here and there, paying this and that, took the main stage. This generation group got busy and fast. I guess I kinda wanted to bring it back up if I could as a daily reminder in bracelet form and give some proceeds to women-based organizations [or other groups with similar causes].
Do you consider yourself a feminist? What is your advice to girls that want to start their own Girl Revolution meet ups and support systems for women?
I think all women should consider themselves feminist. This world has made the word feminist into a bad word.
The definition:Â the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.
That is it. Simple and plain, but most do not associate a simple definition to this word. Most associate it with words like; man-hating, radical, and lesbian. The definition did not include one on these words. Feminist do not hate men, I certainly do not hate or have the capacity to hate, males or anyone, I have a son, hel-lo! I also do not like how our society treats races and sexualities. A whole different subject I know, but the word lesbian is not a bad word and it is used as such. Really people, live your own lives and leave others alone. Not all women that stand up for their rights are radical, man hating or lesbian but the word lesbian should never be used in a dark light. It is a sexual preference and that is all. People need to learn what the definitions of these words are before they start rolling their eyes and talking about what they think they know. Especially when it is advocating hate.
For all the girls out there that wanna start their own Girl Revolution Meetings, my advice DO IT! The only rule is to bring something to say and nothing to tell. Strengthen your community or just your friend group. Become the women you were meant to be!
Why was Planned Parenthood such an important organization for you to sponsor?
Some women and mostly very young ones cannot afford health care, birth control [and other basic necessities]. Our country’s health care system is set up in such a way that poor people have less than nothing. Not even health care. Organizations like Planned Parenthood are key in helping these women. Healthcare itself is, but womenâs healthcare is always on the back burner.
What are your favorite riot bands?
The list is so long and I tend to write novels from questions! LOL!
I have soooo many! Too many!
How did Girl Coma originate and what are some of your other favorite zines?
I used to love to write. I had tons of time and have a large network of friends who write and love to do zine work so we rawked it. I had already been a part of several different zines over the years so it came natural. I wanted to make something beyond what I had done before and stay true to the stance of it being a free publication. [It is] an amazing project that was stunted because Evil Pawn Jewelry got so busy and we needed all our manpower on that area. I do have plans in the future to re-amp the project but for now it has to stay waiting.
As far as favorite zines, I am one of those people who have many favorites in so many areas. I see the art in the work and find it all to be amazing! Itâs like strands of hair. Which is your favorite? I like them all because they come from the same inspiration.Â
Have you seen Black Swan?!!? Seems like your pieces would fit in well with the wardrobe of that film.
I havenât seen it yet! But now I gotta! LOL! I am always so busy that watching movies is never on the top of lists to do. I have wanted to see it and now you have me way curious!
What are you working on now?
OMG! That is a scary question! I always have 10 projects going at once! This year is gonna be so wild! Stay tuned! http://www.EvilPawnJewelry.com , http://www.Facebook.com/EvilPawnJewelry , and http://www.Twitter.com/EvilPawn
Can you leave Ladygunn with a piece of advice that can be applied to any situation?
Bad things do not happen to destroy you. Nothing can destroy you or finalize you in any way; it just changes your energy flow. You can use it to make waves like the waves splashed in your face or you can use it to make a wave bigger than all the bad stuff you have lived through. You can ride these waves home. Evil experiences, bad times, unfortunate situations are what make you strong if you allow them to be seem as lessons you needed.
In the game of chess there are many evil pawns, more pawns than you, but you are the King and have the best moves and the kingdom is yours. Just like your life. Itâs all yours. Take it.
Images courtesy of Evil Pawn Jewelry