Lucky for us, free-spirited artist Susan Banchek has settled down (for now, at least) in Philly, after stints in Ohio, New Orleans and NYC. Even luckier for us, she’s filling the most fashionable city shops (Vintage Connection and Arcadia) with her slightly offbeat, totally statement-making necklaces, which she crafts in a teeny studio in her Center City apartment.

If her brass baubles have a vintage flair, it’s because Banchek gets most of her inspiration from the glamourpusses of yesteryear (think Cleopatra and the queens of the silver screen). And, though her jewelry line, Esther K. — named for her great-grandmother — is now limited to necklaces, she’s considering branching out to bracelets (fingers crossed!).

Next up? Look for semi-precious stones on Banchek’s next batch of earthy-pretty necklaces.

“They have a presence to them, I think,” Banchek modestly says of her covetable, limited-edition pieces. We couldn’t agree more.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 1st, 2008 at 6:00 am and is filed under Fashion, Shopping, Jewelry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted by Emily Gagne on 5/1/08 in Fashion, Shopping, Jewelry