AUNT'S BAKELITE COLLECTION
Every time my salary came my great aunt was very happy. The fruit of his work, he handed it to his great-grandmother and the following day it ended up in the bank. Only overtime was used for "diversified investments". First of all, the young secretary, once out of the "Pirellone", without delay he rushed to the Covi pastry shop. Who, in an olfactory and visual delirium of pastries, he chose the two lucky ones of the month.
After tasting such goodness, he was walking towards another piece of paradise, an antiques shop with a showcase dedicated to particular jewels ; in that place she became passionate about bakelite. In Milan, there has always been great interest, for objects with an unusual design; the antique dealer in question was a type with an eclectic taste and a lover of beauty. The great aunt, even in his youth, he has always had a strong sense of business and this passion of his is an example of it. After trying the object of desire, he asked for information and details to enrich his own knowledge; only at the end did he try to negotiate the price. Io, in time,I got the idea, that the owner of the shop, a "Lord of the past", had a liking for that particular young woman. So with patience and stubbornness, the collection of earrings and brooches, increased. Small works of art to wear, which made it enjoyable, the long working day away from home.
Bakelite lent itself to the creative use of many designers of the past; unusual and fun works, they were a breath of fresh air and a jolt in the fashion world.
BACHELITE FOREVER
There is much to discover in the widespread diffusion of this synthetic resin, invented by Leo Baekeland.
At first it was a simple experiment; while looking for a replacement for sealing wax, the great chemist mixed formaldehyde with phenol. The result was a very dark resin. After the necessary checks, patented the product under the name Bakelite. Since the doctor, he was a man of great ingenuity and vision, created the General Bakelite Company for the industrial production of the new product.
The peculiarity of bakelite, lies in its insulating and thermoelectric characteristics. They were created with hot stamping, pot handles, telephone, coffee grinder radio etc. Always hot, mixed with various additives, have seen the light of beautiful visual effects; handbags or brooches that look like the carapace of the turtle but shiny, bracelets that look like ivory, Gorgeous bakelite “amber” earrings. The list is long, but the pleasure of discovering how many objects, have been created with this resin is like going on a treasure hunt, difficult but fun.
Today again, many artists create enchanting jewels with this resin; very modern or with references to the past, however, they are proof that great inventions go through time and do not age. Here because, among the various vintage jewels I love to include bakelite jewels , they satisfy me visually and remind me of many beautiful things.
