In honor of Women's History Month, we're hosting a series of pop-up events at the store every Saturday in March to showcase some of Richmond’s tremendous women makers.
Young Frankk’s jewelry is decidedly elegant, instantly elevating any ensemble with their gorgeous collection of silver and gold plated classics. Founder and designer Christine Young answered our questions so we could learn a little more about her design process and evolution as an artist.
Come by the store on Saturday, March 5th to shop Young Frankk in person!
You originally trained as a painter. Can you talk about your transition into creating three dimensional wearable art?
After graduating from Parsons the School of Design with a BFA in Illustration, I was burnt out from drawing and painting but still needed a creative outlet. I began to experiment and explore jewelry making, first starting with simple jewelry making techniques of cold connections to gradually teaching myself wax carving and soldering. I began with more sculptural pieces that was very reminiscent of my illustrations and over time I began to refine my style while also refining my craft through lots of trial and error.
We very much appreciate your commitment to working with recycled materials and would love to hear more about your process in the studio.
I work with small jewelry manufacturers based in Los Angeles that produce using recycled metals. It is very important to me to do everything with intention, whether it's in business or in my personal life, and so a big part of that is caring for my surroundings and the impact that my actions can have on it.
You create jewelry that is timeless, classic, and minimalist, while also making sculptural statement pieces. How do you go about designing a collection?
I find inspiration in different elements of art and design, particularly interior design and fine art. I also am very inspired by nature, which has always been a part of my life since childhood growing up on the island of Guam and then later the evergreen state of Washington. This love for art and nature informs my design process for the more sculptural statement pieces while my personal style and my customer's style play a role in the design process of the more timeless classic pieces that I create with the intention of being worn on a day to day basis to elevate any look.
