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“Unique” — when it comes to wedding jewelry, that’s a word that gets tossed around pretty casually these days. As a writer for a wedding blog and a wedding planner myself, I see a lot of engagement and wedding rings. So when I tell you that Lolide's wedding rings are not your average wedding rings, you can trust that I’m speaking from experience.
Artisan jeweler Lori Linkous Devine makes wedding jewelry with a modern aesthetic that is perfectly suited for texture-lovers with an avant-garde streak. Here are six ways her designs set her apart from other wedding rings on the market.
1. Mixed Metals
Mixing metals in a single piece of jewelry is not exactly a new concept — even in wedding rings — but the way Lori meshes materials together is pretty uncommon. The combination of both colors and textures yields a truly one-of-a-kind style for your wedding rings.
Most mixed-metal work shows off individual gold or silver elements in proximity to each other, but Lolide's fusion styles meld gold and silver together into a single band. “You can't cast a piece in two separate metals,” Lori says. “Creating pieces by hand allows you that possibility.”
2. Negative Space
Lori's use of negative space comes through in some of her most original designs. With careful use of cutouts and intentional gaps, what is left out of these wedding rings is what makes them so beautiful.
3. Mesmerizing Textures
In addition to jewelry-making, Lori has also studied printmaking. Her work with woodcuts, in particular, informs many of her wedding ring designs.
“There is a specific tactile quality achieved with a woodcut, compared to other kinds of printmaking — you have the negative and positive space, plus the texture created by the groove the tool produces.” She notes, “It influences the light versus dark and smooth versus textured aspects.”
4. Asymmetrical Styles
Architecture is a big source of inspiration for Lori. When she was little, she made her own model houses out of cardboard and other found materials like leftover carpet and house paint. These were never intended for dolls, but were a way to bring together the architectural elements she was drawn to in her environment. Her lifelong love of the clean lines, precision, and balance of architecture comes through in pieces like these.
5. Sculptural Elements
One of the most striking things about Lori's designs is her use of sculptural elements. You can really feel the way she builds the metal up into shapes with movement and depth. When you choose a Lolide wedding ring, you're not just getting a piece of jewelry, you're investing in a work of art.
6. Gender-Neutral Designs
Lori started making gender-neutral wedding rings because she couldn't find anything she wanted to wear for her own wedding band. “I'm not super sparkly and I have a specific aesthetic that I like, and nobody was really making it,” she recalls. “There was nothing out there that appealed to me.”
“One of the ways I think about my role as an independent artist and jeweler is that I have an aesthetic style, but I also have the flexibility to make something specifically for an individual,” she continued. “When I make things, I try to picture them on all different types of hands. I'm drawn to contrasts and combinations. I think I just naturally make those things that can appeal to all genders because that’s what speaks to me.”
And if the styles in her shop don't quite match your gender expression, Lori will work with you to design the wedding ring that's just the right fit. “Because really, it’s just me,” she says, “I answer your emails personally. And unlike with a big company, you can say 'I like this piece, but I'd like it with these stones instead.' Or 'Can you make it a little bit smaller or bigger, wider or more narrow?' My goal is to sell rings that appeal to any gender identity, but if you have a vision that you don’t see represented in my shop, let’s talk. I’ll do my best to create it for you within the parameters of my skills and aesthetic.”
Plus, Lolide's Wedding Rings are Handmade in Seattle by a Feminist Jeweler Whose Values You Can Respect
Like most modern, conscientious jewelers, Lori sources precious metals and gemstones ethically and works hard to make her business as sustainable as possible. And like most Catalyst sponsors, she values equality, feminism, and empathy.
“I'm not afraid to say I'm a liberal, progressive person. It's really important that my business is known to be inclusive and accepting. Especially given the environment we're in right now, things are getting so hateful and mean... I believe in empathy, I believe in kindness, I believe in doing what you think is right. And I feel like that's something we've really lost — wanting to learn more about people, not rushing to judgement. The empathy factor just feels like it's missing from society.”
CINDY SAVAGE
Cindy Savage is the assistant editor of Catalyst Wedding Co. and lead wedding planner and owner of Aisle Less Traveled, based in St. Louis. She helps independent, feminist, and LGBTQ+ people plan meaningful weddings while keeping their budgets and their sanity intact. She firmly believes that everyone who has found love deserves a great wedding, no matter what size their budget is — and to make that a reality, she invented Choose Your Own Wedding, an internet-based wedding planning subscription to offer comprehensive planning support at an affordable price.
When she's not planning weddings, she can usually be found living her best introvert life: reading books, crafting, talking to her internet friends, drinking wine, wearing stretchy pants, and exercising complete control over the remote!
Photo by Amanda Summerlin Photography