Next Big Thing: Michele Scholnick Branches Out - Stylehive

What started out as a whim turned into a career for jewelry designer Michele Scholnick. While in graduate school, Michele took some art classes for fun and within a mere two weeks, she was hooked. As a child, Michele's mother would use bare branches on the way to school to explain the concept of negative space. And now, Michele's branches have been seen in Life and Style, WWD, In Style, and Lucky.

Last week, we premiered our Next Big Thing feature with Paola Hernandez, and today we're excited to have Michelle as our next, Next Big Thing.

€œI€™m really flattered! And a bit relieved," Michelle tells Stylehive. "I still have days where I wonder if anyone other than my mother is going to like my work!"

Meet Michele
"I was always interested in art and I suppose the real beginning was in Canada. I was born in Montreal and I remember my mother, an artist, using bare branches on the way to school to explain the concept of negative space. Throughout high school I thought I was going be an industrial designer, even though I was taking virtually no art classes. I went to college as an art major, but was soon overwhelmed by a self-portrait assignment (can we please try a sphere first?) and immediately left the art department. I ended up in law school, like so many other people who can€™t figure out exactly what they want to do."

Michele's Inspirations
"Most of my pieces are based on leaves and other things I find while I€™m walking my dog by the beach here in Venice, California or when I€™m traveling €“ it€™s a bit compulsive, I can€™t come home from a trip without baggies of shells and leaves. (Between that and the bag full of jewelry, which shows up in the x-ray as a giant lump of metal, airport security loves me.) Generally, I€™m not looking to produce a replica, but the feel of a leaf or a branch. There€™s a softness when the lines are blurred, which I like. Of course, there are exceptions €“ I have some pieces that are very true to the original inspiration, and others that are unidentifiable. It seems that as soon as I make a firm statement (e.g., €œI don€™t like gold,€� circa 2004, and €œI don€™t like diamonds,€� 2005), the next thing I know I€™m doing the opposite (a la the new feather pieces, which are highly stylized, and the long grass earrings that have 15 tiny diamonds in each one)."

What's Next for Michele?
"Experimenting with new materials like porcelain€¦focusing more on surface embellishment, as opposed to contour€¦doing a better job of managing my business as it grows€¦finding more time for travel and salsa and socializing! What I€™d really love next is to have a day where my dog doesn€™t look at me like I€™m losing it. If there€™s a way to go a week without a device crashing, that would be a lovely thing to have next, too."

Follow Michele In Stylehive
Michele has a MyHive page on Stylehive, so click here to follow her and see what kind of style and fashion she€™s into, and to see more images of her designs. Michele also has a website branchjewelry.com where you can purchase her fluid and modern organic designs.