Saturday, August 23, 2008

Kristin D'Agostino


photograph by Mike Corbett
See more of Kristin's work here

Here is the new look

Latest comment: Pene Walsh - 3 June 2009

I eat my peas with honey

I've done it all my life

It makes my peas taste funny

But it keeps them on my knife


We wearers seem to refer to this brooch as 'the peas' but not one person made reference to said vegetable whilst I wore the brooch, and I wore it quite frequently because it was so just so easy to wear.
A statement I made in a previous post saying I might not wear it for a few days after the 'my mum would like that' comment from a young woman was obviously because if it is the sort of thing 'my mum' would like then I don't want a bar of it. I got over it, but it resonated I suspect, because the colour of the brooch is what I associate middle-aged women in education wear to be zany and somehow relate to their students. Despite green (and purple) being my favourite colours this is not the 'right' green, but y'know it worked. Tragically, this may be because I'm now in the middle aged woman - not quite in education - department, and a mum. Doomed to wear cheerful green and probably that other dangerously zany colour the middle aged woman fancies - burnt orange!
Anyway the brooch did work. No matter where it was placed it fitted, the colour contrasted well with all outfits, it wasn't too big or too small, it was quite 'girly' at times, it was 'structural' at other times. It generally seemed to morph into being spot-on for each outfit (when I say outfit, i just mean regular clothes)
The 'peas' are wooden different sized beads, painted green, set on rods with a bit of glue here and there holding them in place (I didn't like the glue as it felt like the brooch's quality was diminished) There is a long pin on the back that appears to be commercially made.
This brooch looked much better when worn rather than sitting in the box. It seems to come to life when it is attached to a body becoming like a little pet thingie-bob which I found interesting because the other brooches definitely feel like one is wearing a brooch not a possible life form.

*note: pin is indeed hand made not commercially sourced.

11 comments:

  1. WELL, first I want to point out that this image is not quite the correct image. Disappointing to see "my" broach is not factually represented. The actual broach has more "limbs."

    But that small glitch aside...

    I have had a blast being a wearer! I have asked people what the broach reminds them of...

    so far i have had:
    - a poodle
    - a poodle made of balloons (x2) (these were all given independently, so it really must look like a poodle!)
    - a close up of snot
    - an IUD contraceptive device
    - a Mary Lou doll "from when i was a kid.. she had circular beads for a body and all her limbs were moving.." http://productsfromnz.com/browse_2007

    This broach has had some A-list coverage ;). I wore it to the Northern Sustainable Business Network awards because our logo has green dots in it... I thought it was very "on brand" not to mention totally out there and stunning... and later when we were a bit drunk it was a great talking point!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, I have to confess to BREAKING the brooch pictured here between having it photographed (in stick pin form) and the wearer night. I will work on updating that image.

    I love the range of thoughts there. IUD to poodle, hmm. I am not sure what that says about my subconscious.

    What does it remind you of miss Kate? And how did you feel when someone thought you were parading around in public sporting magnified snot?

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  3. I've been wearing this brooch and I love it as it's like a little molecule (me a scientist) and it curls round like it's clinging on to me so feel like it loves me!! Hehe. Then it got lost!! The clip's loose. Backtracked and was at Frank Allen Tyres (had to get 4 new tyres after my car got nicked and was in police chase). So anyway, it's a lucky little brooch as it was right by the rubbish bin. And is SO cute.

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  4. Peas and Grapes. It almost always worked with what I was wearing... even on sleeveless tops. I loved the way it sort of curls around you and points in different directions depending on how you wear it. It felt almost alive somehow, like a little friend coming along for the ride. And it's a fabulous green! Lots of positive comments from the street too.. although interestingly I noticed people didn't call it a brooch so much, more like "hey i like your thing on your top" or "what's that? it's really cool" or just "hey, cute thingie" Needless to say I just loved it.

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  5. Peas and rice. I have had the rice broach, which I loved, and perhaps that is why I kept thinking of this as peas. That meant that I also kept thinking of them a squishy, which of course they aren't. And as I already have a great Kristen pea broach wearing this wasn't as novel as it might have been. My other one is far more conservative though (a small 3x3 grid of peas) so this more free form version drew much more attention. Someone even thought it was a plant!

    Also a general note, at work now 2 people have commented on what great accessories I have - I have let them in on my sources, but nice to feel they way this wearing of broaches is kind of building up as part of my work identity.

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  6. It has only been a day of the 'peas' being attached to the purple poncho (it is not really a poncho, more a scrap of fabric draped around the shoulders, it is the purple and green combo of importance here) I've had more comments about the peas in a single day than any other brooch.

    "What atom is that?"

    "OMG - purple and green!"

    "It's a dragonfly"

    Here's the one from the woman serving food in a cafe:

    "My Mum would like that"

    I'm not sure if I'll be able to wear it again for a couple of days. Will report in anon.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh - I never thought of purple... I do have to say that I thought Mandy's pin-stripes and green brooch looked rather dashing. Please send us a picture Pene!!

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  8. I eat my peas with honey
    I've done it all my life
    It makes my peas taste funny
    But it keeps them on my knife

    We wearers seem to refer to this brooch as 'the peas' but not one person made reference to said vegetable whilst I wore the brooch, and I wore it quite frequently because it was so just so easy to wear.

    A statement I made in a previous post saying I might not wear it for a few days after the 'my mum would like that' comment from a young woman was obviously because if it is the sort of thing 'my mum' would like then I don't want a bar of it. I got over it, but it resonated I suspect, because the colour of the brooch is what I associate middle-aged women in education wear to be zany and somehow relate to their students. Despite green (and purple) being my favourite colours this is not the 'right' green, but y'know it worked. Tragically, this may be because I'm now in the middle aged woman - not quite in education - department, and a mum. Doomed to wear cheerful green and probably that other dangerously zany colour the middle aged woman fancies - burnt orange!

    Anyway the brooch did work. No matter where it was placed it fitted, the colour contrasted well with all outfits, it wasn't too big or too small, it was quite 'girly' at times, it was 'structural' at other times. It generally seemed to morph into being spot-on for each outfit (when I say outfit, i just mean regular clothes)

    The 'peas' are wooden different sized beads, painted green, set on rods with a bit of glue here and there holding them in place (I didn't like the glue as it felt like the brooch's quality was diminished) There is a long pin on the back that appears to be commercially made.

    This brooch looked much better when worn rather than sitting in the box. It seems to come to life when it is attached to a body becoming like a little pet thingie-bob which I found interesting because the other brooches definitely feel like one is wearing a brooch not a possible life form.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh - I am going to take that commercial looking pin as a complement. But it is indeed all hand made. They are actually strange solid balls that I drilled through. I am not sure what they are actually supposed to be other than brooch pieces.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Pardon me - just goes to show the limited assessment skills of this wearer. The anchor end is a silver disc molded to the shape of one of the balls with the pin poking out. I thought it must be a 'shop one' whatever that means. Ka pai Kristin

    Did you paint the balls?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nope, I didn't paint them. They are straight out of the box that lovely color. I have been thinking a lot about the color after reading your comments. I had thought about painting the brooch, that would have hidden my sins (the glue). But, I really like that this color is close to, but not that cool green, sort of the poor cousin, and it is definitely flirting with nana green. If it were a cool green, it might be too happy. I sort of like that there is a bit of yuck to the color. I find the ‘clashing’ of this brooches color with pretty much everything I own, the most exciting aspect of wearing it and I am so excited to try it on purple. Thanks for making me think about this in a different way Pene. - kristin

    ReplyDelete