40 | JULY 15 • 2021
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Design in New York City with the
intention of majoring in fashion.
“I sketched in shapes and loved
sculpture class, so I put the two
together,” said Friedman, who relied
on social media for sales during the
pandemic. “I loved fashion, but it
wasn’t for me. I majored in metals
and went on to work in a contem-
porary craft gallery and with a gold-
smith.”
Boutiques and museum shops have
carried her work.
The only artist in her birth family,
she married into a family of artists.
Her mother-in-law experiments with
different media, and she defines her
father-in-law as a “master wood-
worker.”
SUSTAINABLE JEWELRY
Melanie Schlossberg, living in
Houston, first learned about artistry
from her mother and grandmother,
who taught home economics. In
her teen years, while visiting the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New
York City, she became captivated
by ethnic jewelry and signed up for
metalsmithing classes in high school.
Her preference became modernistic
designs with straight angles.
Schlossberg studied at Syracuse
University, worked for an art con-
sulting company and partnered with
metals artist Blake Smith, introduced
on the web. The two develop only
collaborative projects using the busi-
ness name Dirigible Designs.
“We fabricate sterling silver jew-
elry that uses hand-cut, fortunate-
ly-found and wisely-collected stones
and materials,” said Schlossberg,
not related to designer Edwin
Schlossberg (Caroline Kennedy’s
husband) but having communicat-
ed with him through professional
media.
“Our jewelry explores the ten-
sion between asymmetry and
balance, the natural versus the
manmade. We explore sustain-
ability by including recycled
materials and bypassing the
refinery process by reusing our
sterling scraps. We provide collec-
Boutiques and museum shops have
carried her work.
The only artist in her birth family,
she married into a family of artists.
Her mother-in-law experiments with
different media, and she defines her
father-in-law as a “master wood-
worker.”
SUSTAINABLE JEWELRY
Melanie Schlossberg, living in
Houston, first learned about artistry
from her mother and grandmother,
who taught home economics. In
her teen years, while visiting the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New
York City, she became captivated
by ethnic jewelry and signed up for
metalsmithing classes in high school.
Her preference became modernistic
designs with straight angles.
Schlossberg studied at Syracuse
University, worked for an art con-
sulting company and partnered with
metals artist Blake Smith, introduced
Details
The Ann Arbor Art
Fair runs Thursday-
Saturday, July 15-17, in
downtown Ann Arbor.
theannarborartfair.
com.
COURTESY OF MELANIE SCHLOSSBERG
Chrysocolla
and Coral
Earrings
ARTS&LIFE
ART
COURTESY OF MELANIE SCHLOSSBERG
and materials,” said Schlossberg,
not related to designer Edwin
Schlossberg (Caroline Kennedy’s
husband) but having communicat-
ed with him through professional
media.
“Our jewelry explores the ten-
sion between asymmetry and
balance, the natural versus the
manmade. We explore sustain-
ability by including recycled
materials and bypassing the
refinery process by reusing our
sterling scraps. We provide collec-
downtown Ann Arbor.
Turquoise Cuff
Hinged Slate and
Fordite Necklace