Designer Spotlight: Robert Lee Morris
It is truly an honor to welcome our newest designer, Robert Lee Morris, to Charm & Chain. The iconic jewelry artist is best known for his sculptural jewelry, which he has been crafting since the inception of his line in the 1970s.
Robertās timeless jewelry fuses tribal elements with bold, futuristic shapes resulting in pieces that can best be described as wearable art. In 1977, Robert created the jewelry gallery Artwear, during which time he collaborated with such revered designers as Geoffrey Beene, Michael Kors, Kansai Yamamoto, Karl Lagerfeld, Calvin Klein and, most notably, Donna Karan, with whom he created 36 collections. The acknowledged leader of the art jewelry movement won two CFDA awards for his work in accessories design in 1985 and 1994. In 2007, Robert took home the CFDA Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award.
We were fortunate to speak with Robert and learn about how he got his start, his design influences, and the impact he has made on the fashion jewelry world.
C&C: What inspired you to launch your line?
RLM: I launched my ālineā of jewelry decades before people started referring to work as ālines.ā A small group of college mates and I started a hippie communion in 1969 that became craft-based. I decided to choose jewelry design and proceeded to create a workshop inside the old tool shed on this farm in the cornfields of Wisconsin. With a book called āHow To Make Jewelryā by Thomas Gentille, I taught myself the basics of working with metal that was beyond anything I was taught in art classes at Beloit College.
First Lady Michelle Obama in RLM's Bean Necklace
C&C: Of all the things one could design, why do you think you gravitated towards jewelry?
RLM: Having graduated college with a major in Art and a minor in Anthropology, I was pretty proficient in all the various media but was drawn more to metal sculpture. There was something strong and permanent about it. Once the craft commune took off, my crude but gutsy jewelry designs began to sell very quickly through a local but prestigious craft gallery. I was blown away that I could make money by making jewelry. Fast, instant currency! Granted, my prices were from $10 to $30, but there was a very fast growth and I began to respond with more sophisticated and more expensive works. Jewelry making was so much fun, quick to make as opposed to other art forms, and easier to sell than other art.
C&C: What was the first piece of jewelry you ever made?
RLM: The first piece of mine was an iron disc pendant with a big blob of molten brass brazing rod, like a dark shell of black iron and a gleaming gold egg shape in the center. It had a soldered loop and rawhide for wearing. The second piece was way more complex. It was a symbol, worn as a pendant, of an image that just flew into my imagination: one horizontal iron bar, heavily forged, that separated two bronze circles, as if to represent the lower, middle and upper worlds of the Shamanic realm. It became a potent figure of strong graphic imagery that connected to spirit and pointed the way for me.
RLM with friend and frequent co-collaborator Donna Karan
C&C: Describe your brand in three words.
RLM: Sculptural, sensuous and sexy.
C&C: From where do you draw inspiration for your designs?
RLM: Inspiration seems to come from a higher dimension, through meditation and āplugging inā to the vast universe of sacred geometry, the ultimate source for all artists. I could say specifically that I am inspired by many great artists who have amassed vast bodies of work that all carry the same personal āhandā or DNA of the maker. Alexander Calder is one example of a visionary who seemed to be in a constant state of creation and trying his unique personal style in as many different media as possible. His jewelry and sculpture have been bright beacons for me.
RLM's iconic Knuckle Ring
C&C: What is your favorite piece of jewelry you've ever designed?
RLM: The Knuckle Ring is hands down, my favorite design, because each time I look at one, I get the same emotional boost, a little jump of my heart, which amounts to love, so I know this is the piece. It is a perfect blend of form and function, and in one piece, my whole brand philosophy is evident. Sculptural, sensuous and sexy, the Knuckle Ring is also my most copied piece. It screams Robert Lee Morris!
C&C: How has the jewelry industry changed since you started your line?
RLM: I myself caused an enormous shift in the jewelry industry back in the mid ā70s when the fashion magazines began to use my big bold cuffs, collars and earrings in major editorial spreads. This caused a great influence on jewelry design at all levels from fine and precious to cheap costume. What I brought to the industry via my high profile gallery Artwear, was uplifting the jewelry designer to the level of a celebrated fashion designer, or fine artist. Designer jewelry became a new category in the late ā70s whereby people began to collect jewelry by designer brands as apposed to nameless generic product in all levels of stores.
C&C: You've collaborated with so many incredible designers and have been recognized numerous times for your impact on the fashion world. Of all the wonderful moments in your career, what has been the highlight?
RLM: The highlight of my career up to now was the night I accepted the CFDA award (my third), for Lifetime Achievement, (now called the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award). I was and still am the first jewelry designer to win this coveted prize, which was presented to me by both Donna Karan and Calvin Klein at the Gala Ceremony in 2007. To be honored in front of my peers this way and to know that all the people in the room that night truly believed that I deserved this award was a pinnacle moment for me.
Click here to shop Robert Lee Morris on Charm & Chain!
