Get To Know: Leslie Miller

Click on the photo to see Leslie's beautiful website.

Local artist and SCAD alum, Leslie Miller, is shaking up the art and fashion worlds with her beautiful fiber-based creations. You can find her in stores on both coasts and in collaboration with Project Runway alum, April Johnston.  If you don't know Leslie yet, it's about time you got on board. Get to know a little about her below!

LESLIE MILLER
Owner, Leslie Miller Design
Artist, Designer, Creator
 
CLUTTER FURNISHINGS AND INTERIORS: What drew you to fashion and jewelry?
LESLIE MILLER:  Definitely the people that I met in my last weeks of college and the Summer following. I had planned on going into print design somewhere, and doing small beading projects on the side, but once I met April Johnston of Mangled Courtesan, we realized that something about our styles worked perfectly together...and it stuck.

CF&I: As an artist, what is your favorite medium to work with?
LM:  Beads and sequins! As far as materials to embellish, I would say anything with a little bit of structure. Leather is high on my list and recently, taffeta. I also have a great love for wood burning.

CF&I: What advice do you have for aspiring artists?
LM:  I think the best thing we can all do as aspiring and/or established artists is to stay true to what we love. It is very easy to lose your voice in our field trying to please everyone, but someone somewhere is inspired and in awe by what you do.
         I also think spending time working or visiting with other artists and designers is very important. It allows us to get a glimpse of their styles, inspirations and techniques and they gain all the same experiences with you.

CF&I: Where can we find Leslie Miller Designs?
LM: Right now, I have my beaded accessories in a boutique in Los Angeles called Orphic and in shopSCAD here in Savannah. The most recent collection by Mangled Courtesan is also in both of these locations as well. It is so awesome to find places that are so helpful and supportive to young designers and artists. It is all available via email as well and can be seen at www.lesliemillerdesign.com.

CF&I: What’s next for Mangled Courtesan, your collaboration with April Johnston?
LM: April and I are currently working on our next collection for Spring/Summer14, Purgatoire. We plan on showing in September and so far it is beyond exciting and beautiful. As April prepares to make a move up north, we will continue to work together, just with a few hundred miles between us. Look out east coast!

CF&I: What celebrity would you just die if you saw them wearing your work?
LM: Whew! This is good. Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine and Ellie Goulding. So much talent and style...yep I would die!

CF&I: What music is on your design playlist right now while you’re creating?
LM: A little bit of everything. Some days I love country and other days, Ellie Goulding and Lana del Rey. We are so lucky Pandora exists!

CF&I: What is your guilty pleasure?
LM: French fries! All of them.

CF&I: Describe Leslie Miller Design in five words.
LM: Intricate. Delicate. Sparkle. OOAK. (I know only 5 words! One of a kind)

Get To Know: Meredith Anne Sutton

Photo courtesy of jabberpics.com.

We initially tripped to Meredith Anne Sutton's beautiful jewelry after a trip to Savannah's Paris Market. Then, after reading this beautiful You're Welcome Savannah piece on Ms. Sutton, we had to have some of her work. Right now, we're only owners of a pair of shotgun shell cufflinks, but I'm saving some funds to get all in on this up and coming jewelry afficianado. Please take the time to get to know a little bit about Savannah's own, Meredith Anne Sutton!

MEREDITH ANNE SUTTON
Owner, Meredith Anne Sutton Jewelry
Jewelry Designer, Artist

CLUTTER FURNISHINGS AND INTERIORS: What drew you to the world of jewelry artistry?
MEREDITH ANNE SUTTON:  When I began my studies at SCAD, my focus was Graphic Design.  During my sophomore year I took an Intro to Jewelry course as an elective and never looked back. I was intrigued by the work of a close friend who was majoring in Metals and Jewelry. Her work was provocative and inspired my love of sculpture. Two weeks into the Intro course, I knew I would be a jewelry designer.

CF&I: What was the first piece of jewelry you remember owning?
MAS: A 14k gold Garnet ring that my father gave me. I’m a Capricorn and Garnet is my birthstone. At a very young age, maybe four, I spotted it in a jewelry store while we were out and about. He bought it for me and I have kept the ring close ever since.

CF&I: What is your favorite medium to work with?
MAS:  Gold, but it is so cost prohibitive for experimentation. Right now, I am very hot on brass. I’ve made about 45 bracelets in the last three weeks, each one-of-a-kind. With brass, I can have fun with my designs and experiment without risking next month’s rent. 

CF&I: If you could design for a celebrity, past or present, who would it be and why?
MAS:  Madonna of course.  Much of my design aesthetic merges the industrial, or unrefined, with a truly feminine undercurrent, which I feel would compliment Madonna’s dichotomously masculine and feminine sex appeal. But also because she is amazing and does some crazy sh*%.

CF&I: Who are your design influences?
MAS:  While I have great admiration and respect for a number of past and present designers, I aspire to hone and honor my own style. I am highly visual and so I find inspiration in vintage materials, in nature, and via structures in the built environment. I once created a set of cuffs that were inspired by highway intersections.

CF&I: What was the best part about attending Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD)?
MAS:  The state-of-the-art facilities and industry leaders that SCAD brings to campus.  Also the relationships and support I’ve received as an alumnus.

CF&I: What is your guilty pleasure?
MAS: My boyfriend’s homebrewed beer, which is soon to be shared with all of Savannah once his brewery is up and running.

CF&I: Describe your jewelry in five words.
MAS:  Made in Savannah, by me. 

Get To Know: Sam Bryer

We Facebook stalked local artist, Sam Bryer, for awhile.   Nothing crazy...no Single White Female moments...but we drooled over her art, fawned over her beautiful website (SamBryerPaints), and saved up until we could own an amazing SB original (see "The Patriot's Wife" below).  Now, she has graced Clutter with three (THREE!) original works and we are happy to have her in store and to highlight her here.  Please, get to know a little bit about the ultra talented Sam Bryer:

Sam Bryer

Owner, SamBryerPaints.com

Artist, Creator, Poultry Enthusiast

CLUTTER FURNISHINGS AND INTERIORS: When did you first start painting?  What inspired you to make art?
SAM BRYER: I really can’t remember a time when I didn’t make some kind of art. I was lucky to have a mom who indulged my creative impulses no matter how messy or involved they got. She kept a whole cupboard filled with cheap art and craft supplies and let me go to town whenever I felt inclined. We didn’t have a TV, so I spent most of my free time reading and exploring the neighborhood, and then turning the things I read and experienced into art projects. I didn’t do much painting until college –  the huge variety of mediums and techniques was kind of overwhelming before I took a class that showed me what you could do with them.

CF&I: What draws you to the world of elegantly painted chicken portraits?
SB: People have a lot more in common with chickens than you’d think. I discovered this when I moved into a house here in Savannah that came with its own batch of hens. They are proud, curious critters with unique personalities and complex social structures. They are also hilarious and sweet. Since much of my work right now uses humor to comment on how people perceive themselves and each other, it wasn’t much of a leap to use chickens as stand-ins. Using animals to depict the characters I observe around me allows for both a broader audience and broader interpretation of the images and symbolism layered into the portraits. There is also something really fun about juxtaposing classical techniques with absurd and unexpected subjects.

CF&I: What is your favorite medium to work with?
SB: It varies depending on the type of art or image that I am making, and if I am completely honest, my mood swings as well. I regularly fall in and out of love with entire aisles at the art store that are specific to one medium or another. At the moment, I really dig the immediacy and versatility of acrylic, as well as the challenge of using it in a way normally relegated to oil painting. 

CF&I: Who are your artistic influences?
SB: I think the narrative component to my work has been highly influenced by the old-school illustrators and painters that I was exposed to as a young artist. Arthur Rackham, N.C. Wyeth, Thomas Hart Benton - I spent many many hours immersed in the worlds they were able to create with a couple of well placed lines and brushstrokes. More recently I have found Claes Oldenburg to be inspiring on many levels. He’s never been afraid to make art that is both smart and fun.

CF&I: What artist, past or present, would be your dream professor?
SB: I would have loved to have Georgia O’Keefe as a mentor. One of the very first documentaries I ever saw was about her life and art, and it made a huge impression on me. Not only did she know her way around a paintbrush, she was incredibly intelligent, articulate and ambitious, and she managed to stay true to herself throughout her career. Plus, I suspect her classes would include a lot of spontaneous field trips into the desert.

CF&I: What is the best thing about going to school at SCAD?

SB: That would definitely have to be the folks I have met. I’ve had the opportunity to learn from and work with some pretty amazing artists.

CF&I: What is your guilty pleasure?

SB: Watching dance competitions ­­­– especially anything involving hip-hop or break dancing. As far as I’m concerned, people who can dance well are magical beings sent to make the planet more interesting.

CF&I: Describe your work in five words.
SB: More than meets the eye.

Art Appreciation: Daniel E. Smith

 

 

 

Clutter appreciates the heck out of internationally celebrated artist and SCAD alum, Daniel E. Smith. We have several of his works in store and are proud to appreciate and share him with, y'all!