The Vision
Gamma Folk is the jewelry and accessories of founder and designer, Lily Piyathaisere. Founded in 2012, this line was created out of the spirit of past and present. The vision is to combine traditional techniques including natural dyeing, weaving, braiding and ceramics with thoughtful, statement jewelry. Influenced by art, mysticism, pop culture and the bauhaus, Gamma Folk is a celebration of aesthetics, experiments in technique and the preservation of craft. Her studio is based in Brooklyn, New York.
Process
Lily takes pride in the process and makes everything by hand in small batches. While it does take more time, the end product is greater and more valuable than a manufactured piece of jewelry. She favors dyeing fibers with natural dyes as the colors from the earth provide a cohesive, beautiful palette. The dye stuffs used are from trusted sources where they are ethically produced. And while variations may and do occur, that is a mantra she embraces.
About Lily
Lily has her BFA in graphic design and continues to moonlight as a freelance designer. She is self-taught and it wasn't until after college that she became interested in making jewelry. While she loved the medium, she felt the marketplace was lacking for unique, fiber based jewelry for the modern person.
She grew up in northern California, in the quaint, dairy town of Petaluma and has lived in San Francisco, Long Beach and currently Brooklyn.
What's Gamma Folk mean?
"Gamma" is a reference to the gamma brainwave frequency, which is one of the five different frequencies our brains are consistently producing. Every part of your body vibrates to its own rhythm. The Gamma brainwave is the state where we learn, process information and associated with bursts of insight. "Folk" is a reference to folk art, an inspiration and major theme in my work.