As I raced into the chic home furnishings shop Nickey Kehoe about to make the tail end of Todd Nickey’s book signing party, my eyes immediately darted over to a glass case that housed some beyond jewelry pieces. So much for getting that book signed I thought, as I slid beside a woman who had her eye on my chain bracelet. It didn’t matter that she happened to be the actress Julie Bowen from Modern Family, she was not going to get my coveted piece. As it turned out, we both managed to grab it- her’s in black and mine in camel. Amazed as I was to be standing next to her ogling the same jewelry, I was even more dumbfounded that I had never heard of this local designer before.
LA-based Annie Costello Brown’s collection of necklaces, bangles and earrings is best described as statement jewelry anyone can wear. Edgy yet timeless, youthful yet sophisticated, her handmade pieces are imaginative in affordable materials that combine leather, bronze, natural shell and semi-precious stones in a way that’s not uber feminine or necessarily sexy. Brown designs and makes the collection- ACB– out of her Echo Park home, with the help of several craftswomen assisting with production. She favors bold pieces that don’t necessarily scream at you, and draws her inspiration from arts and crafts from the sixties and seventies, couture high craft, ethnic jewelry, and fashions from the disco era.
As Costello grew up on a houseboat in Sausalito with her artist parents and would later go on to graduate from the San Francisco Art Institute, she considers herself an artist first and foremost but it is her jewelry making- which she started doing as a child, where she would hunt for treasures at the old Marin City flea market, take them home, take them apart and put them back together in her own way- that has served her well. Urban Outfitters and Yves Saint Laurent has tapped Costello to design collections, and although her aesthetic has refined over time she’s driven to make pieces that she personally loves. I adore mine…can you tell which one? I wonder if Julie feels the same about hers? www.anniecostellobrown.com
Tags: ACB, Annie Costello Brown, Fashion, Jewelry, Los Angeles
