40 | JULY 15 • 2021 

continued from page 39

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

