bold standard

As a graphic designer, Kathleen Grebe once created logos and ad campaigns. Now the North Carolina artist transforms flat sheets of material into modern and often meaningful jewelry.

Artist: The North Carolina native grew up in Chapel Hill, NC. After earning a BFA in graphic design from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), she lived and worked in Portland, Seattle and Asheville.

Company/studio: Bold Standard, Grebe’s jewelry brand, was founded in 2017. She works from her home studio in Garner, near Raleigh, NC.

Company name: A play on the phrase “the gold standard,” Bold Standard speaks to both the aesthetics and philosophy of the brand — whether that means bold contrast, bold silhouettes, or the idea of taking a bold stand.

In the beginning: After a 15-year career designing logos, creating ad campaigns and directing art commercials for big brands, she decided to take creative control of her career and further explore her jewelry hobby.

She landed an artist residency at SCAD and began to make the transition from a 2D world (graphic design) to the 3D world of product design making statement jewelry.

Art & materials: Jewelry, often elevated with typography and themes of empowerment, is made using lucite and wood, materials often rescued or recycled. Earrings ($28 to $150). Bracelets ($110 to $175). Necklaces ($125 to $560)

Popular collections: “Break the Glass Ceiling,” “Banned Books,” and “Women of History,” bracelet pictured below.

Tools: A 500 lb laser cutter and her graphic design degree,

Process: Fabrication begins with a computer drawing, which guides the laser beam as it bounces off three mirrors before the material is cut or engraved.

Special commission: Create a Torah pointer based on Kristallnacht, Night of Broken Glass, for collector Clay H. Barr and the Barr Foundation Judaica.

The pointer, along with other select pointers from Barr’s collection, will be on view at The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia starting Feb. 1.

Recent award: Buyers Choice Award, awarded by the Museum Store Association for the “Break the Glass Ceiling” collection.

Recent project: The Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum in Honolulu commissioned earrings (see image above) to resemble the bullet-ridden windowpanes of historic Hanger 79, a reminder of the sacrifices made on Dec. 7, 1941.

What’s new: Jewelry designs for the “Venice and the Ottoman Empire” exhibit (through Jan. 5) at the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA).

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