Lady LUX

Elva Fields is the kind of jewelry you stare at. You grab it, put it on, fondle the strands and don’t lay it back down in hopes that someone won’t steal this precious find away from you. Each necklace is as if Emily Wheat, the designer, refreshed our grandmother’s favorite pieces, making them shiny and new. Big, copious round beads layer the neck in the Elva collection, giving a sense of that 50s housewife glamour. The beaded layers are topped off with fun adornments—a bejeweled bird, a painted flower or maybe a butterfly broach. Each piece of jewelry is distinct—some might remind you of mom and another of your hippie beatnik sister. The June earrings are unique, dangling masterpieces and Deb’s collared creations are flirtatious and imaginative. Either way, each piece looks like a story of a woman we know. This is all too appropriate since Emily’s three lines—Elva, June, and Deb—are named after her great-grandmother, grandmother and mother. Emily took a moment to tell the story of her wonderful jewelry to LadyLUX and how a class for her master’s thesis changed her career forever.

LadyLux: I see you have degrees from Hollins University (Roanoke, Virginia) in French and Art History. Did they influence your path?
Emily Wheat: Both led me to pursue graduate studies in decorative arts history in New York, where I was able to build on my more general Art History degree as a solid foundation for my academic focus on the History of Jewelry. My degree in French came in handy while researching my Masters thesis, as many of the texts on the subject are available in French or Italian only.

LL: Your bio mentioned you took metalsmithing for your masters and realized your passion. Was it that immediate? What do you love about making jewelry?
EW: I’ve always loved creating—my mother is an artist—and art projects were always my favorite thing to do growing up. When I started focusing my energies on the academic side of art, I didn’t realize how much I missed “making” things…and taking the metalsmithing course at the Jewelry Arts Institute immediately resurrected those crafting desires. I knew then that I didn’t just want to read and write about jewelry, but that creating jewelry was my real passion. I love that Elva Fields allows me to do a bit of both—the research of the vintage and antique components keeps the academic side alive, while the design and fabrication satisfies my need to make something beautiful.

LL: What is it about the women in your family that inspired your line?
EW: My great-grandmother was and my grandmother and mother are such unique, generous, and strong women—each in their own way—but what links us all together is our love of life, color, and meaningful jewelry. Each piece is designed with them and these loves in mind.

LL: Does each line reflect a different generation?
EW: In subtle ways, absolutely, but I have an 88-year-old customer who loves her Deb necklaces and a 17-year old client who is one of the Elva line’s biggest fans…so there are definitely no rules for shopping within the collections. I love that our jewelry appeals to such varied generations.

LL: A portion of your proceeds go to Backpack Buddies? Why did you pick that charity?
EW: Working for and by myself, I wanted to become more involved in the community where our business is located, which is a small, rural county near Louisville, Kentucky. My husband teaches at the county elementary school and mentioned the program one evening when I asked what the children, who received free breakfast and lunch at school, did during the weekends for meals. It is incredible to most people that children in our local schools often go without eating a meal for an entire weekend because they depend on the school cafeteria to provide their food. The Backpack Buddies program of Spencer County provides underprivileged students in the district with healthy meals and snacks every weekend of the school year for a little less than $3 per weekend per child. I am honored and excited to be able to offer $3 from each online purchase to help the program increase their outreach and impact families who live where we do.

LL: What’s your newest collection? What’s unique or different about it?
EW: Our Summer Collection will post to the website on May 25th, and we’re really looking forward to showcasing fun, vibrant colors and bright patterns in the designs. The necklaces are one of a kind in a rainbow of hues and the limited- edition earrings are just as colorful, many with vintage beads and brilliant gemstones. They’re unique because they are each made by hand in our small studio, and we think they’re the perfect little something to make an outfit memorable and easily stylish this summer.

All of Emily’s designs are available on her web site at Shop.ElvaFields.com. As previously mentioned, portions of her online sales goes to BackPack Buddies of Spencer County. BackPack Buddies is a national grassroots movement to provide food to children that do not receive adequate nutrition in the home. If you’d like to know more about the charity, look online for a chapter near you or if you live near Emily, you can contact Spencer County’s program at (502) 477-0199.

Tagged in: lux exclusives, jewelry, elva fields, emily wheat,

Fashion / Features