Fran Seigel

Over the last 20 years, Fran Seigel --and her husband partner, Andy Pastorino-- have developed an ever-changing range of jewelry, wearables and home decor creations by repurposing unique vintage textiles from around the world.  Their "Textile Gems" collections have sold in over 60 top museum shops and galleries across the U.S.   

Fran:   “Our great joy is to ‘rescue’ imperfect but wonderful textile treasures (mostly from the early to mid 1900s) which are very often dyed, painted, stitched, embroidered, woven, or embellished by hand.  Frequently sourced items for repurposing include handmade Japanese kimono textiles, dyed/woven brocade Indian sarees, Mexican and Guatemalan hand-embroideries and weavings, plus Chinese embroideries, and hand-dyed or hand-woven African garments and textiles, and more. 

The Textile Gems cuff bracelet (in 5 different shapes) has been their signature jewelry item since their launch in 2003. Each bracelet showcases the beauty of a select textile fragment which is adhered to a brass base, and is then meticulously coated with up to 8 fine layers of clear flexible epoxy resin, with rounds of baking and sanding in between, and final buffing to a high-luster finish. 

Other favorite Textile Gems creations are original pendant designs and original textile bead necklaces. Pendants, textile beads and various findings are all designed by the artist partners including castings using the “lost wax” method. Jewelry is fabricated in brass, bronze or sterling silver, and may be embellished with microbeads or colored resins --and occasionally--accents of 18K gold leaf. All creations are are one--or few--of a kind and all fabrication work is done entirely by the artists.

Currently, Fran's work is focused much on repurposing larger vintage textiles from their collections into dramatic, one-of-a-kind scarves, shawls and also, “outfits” for your home” including Textile Gems wall pieces.  These newest works can often be seen at exhibitions at the Blue Door Gallery in Yonkers, and their jewelry work can be found at 27K Jewelry, a fine jewelry store in Katonah, NY.

“We love feeling a bond with the unknown creator of each textile we work with, and feel strongly that the beauty of handmade textiles is a joyful and unifying pleasure in our complex world.”

WEBSITES
www.textilegems.com
Blog: www.TextileGemsReimagined.com
IG: @textilegems

SCHOOL-OF-LIFE EDUCATION

-Oct. 2019 until now  (My newest "educational course"):
Adjusting to a move from Manhattan to Riverdale and
exploring current "arts life" options, choices and opportunities to contribute

-From the 1980s to Sept. 2019:
Performing the "magic trick" of maintaining work & family life while being 100% self-employed in the arts living in Manhattan from the 1980s to 2019 (with current Textile Gems work for half that time and the prior other half as an artist rep for award-winning illustrators.)

-The "exposure education" of NYC arts life (museums, galleries, artist connections and events, etc.);  other prior work life experiences  (including law firm work, Spanish language study, and teaching elementary school)

- 2002 - present:  Independent study of world textile arts via travel and web research and personal connections with dealers and collectors

OTHER EDUCATION:

Fran Seigel - 1980s  Illustration and Fine Art studies at Parsons School of Design, NYC ; B.A. degree in Edu. with Art Minor from U. of Dayton.  (Partner, Andy Pastorino studied Jewelry Design at FIT during the late 1980s early 90s, and has B.A in Music with Art Minor)