Erin Wahed

What would rings look like if they were designed by Wassily Kandinsky, Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer? Bande des Quatres. This new boutique line of jewelry was conceived by photographer and recent NYU grad, Erin Wahed, and is hand-crafted by her mother and world-renowned jeweler, Janis Kerman. Each ring is named after and influenced by Bauhaus masters, which is evident in the simple shapes and clean lines of the stunning jewelry. The precious metals also trick the eye with their reverse style that create the illusion of floating shapes in between the fingers. Learn more about this rising gem in her 10 ANSWERS below.

1. How would you describe your work in three words?
Abstract, limitless, layered.

2. Who is your creative role model?
Lazlo Moholy-Nagy and his philosophy of learning by experimentation.   My photography and the designs that gave life to Bande des Quatres are heavily inspired by the Bauhaus movement.

3. If you had an extra hour each day what would you do with it?
Gather up all the extra hours and take a vacation on a remote island, with no technology and a beach volleyball court.

4. What place in the world most inspires you and why?
Paris, France.  Specifically, the Joie de Vivre of the French and the cobblestone streets of Montmartre.

5. If you could do a different job for a day what would it be and why?
I would be a professional snowboarder.  It’s the closest to flying you can get.

6. What is your favorite homemade gift to give?
Organization. I offer my organizational services to my friends in need: from organizing closets to budgets.

7. What is your favorite object in your home?
My family’s abstract photo collection.  My favorites being, Marco Breuer photograph of the inner-workings of a light build and Alfred Stieglitz’s Steerage.

8. What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
Don’t do anything half-assed.

9. What websites do you use for inspiration?
Google images. The power of words translated into images with the click of a button.

10. When do you consider a piece of your work complete?
When it fully embodies who I am and I can’t push it any further.