Pixey Meat Jewelry

 

Halloween is upon us and all that is creepy, spooky, and weird is in high demand. While skulls, bones, and ghoulishly evil trinkets are part of my daily wardrobe, they seem to become part of everyone's during October. This is the perfect time of year to introduce you to one of my favorite local jewelry designers Kristy Kelley, owner and genius mind behind Pixey Meat Jewelry, a jewelry line that's a little outside of the box. She has made me everything you can think of, including rings forged out of old clocks, necklaces that say "Cunt" in candy letters, and necklaces with various designs wrapped in wire. Every item I've ever purchased from her has been made well and was priced incredibly low. Each item is unique enough to be considered one of a kind, no two pieces come out exactly the same, and each one is made with love (and a little anger depending on how well the wire is cooperating).

Kristy specializes in mixed media jewelry that is gothic, kitsch, kawaii, dark, and fun. Think Katy Perry meets Lady Gaga, meets Courtney Love, meets hippie chic. Her jewelry, like her, is eclectic and beautiful, and a little dark. She sells her wears both online and at a lot of the local festivals over the summer, all kinds of people seem to be attracted to her designs. Her new line of skull earrings are to die for and would be perfect to rock this fall. I thought I'd ask her a couple of questions about her designs and let our readers know where to get your hands on this stuff. My favorite thing about Kristy is she's always trying something new. Who knew old teeth could be turned into jewelry? Apparently she did! Read ahead to learn more about Kristy and check out her Etsy for some reasonably priced new sparkles.

Hip In Detroit- Why did you name your company Pixey Meat?
Kristy- "Pixie Meat is a nickname that Courtney Love used to call Kurt Cobain. (Yes. I'm a Hole fan). Also, when I started my shop, I had a fat meatball of a cat, named Pixey. (spelled with an EY). So it's a combination of both of those things."

Hip In Detroit- Where do you get inspiration for your designs?
Kristy- "All over the place! Old books, dead trees, anatomical medical stuff, oddities, specimens, and pretty much anything from another era (Except the 80's. I'm not a huge fan of shoulder pads and Peter Gabriel)."  

Hip In Detroit- I love your unique style of wire wrapping, how did you learn how to do this?
Kristy- "Well, for so long, I tried to do it in the traditional way, very uniform, and precise. Then I came to the realization that I just don't have the patience for it! So the way I wrap my pieces is just kind of something that I taught myself. I just kinda free form it, while trying not to poke an eyeball out."

Hip In Detroit- What is your target customer, who are you designing for?
Kristy- "Honestly, I get into a little bit of everything. I've been described as a Morbid death hippie, haha, so most of my stuff is a on the gothic and macabre side, but I'm also into bohemian style as well as kawaii and super kitschy stuff."

Hip In Detroit- How often do you cut yourself when working with wire? Ever do any serious damage?
Kristy- "It's a good thing I have to wear my glasses while wrapping (getting old is awesome like that) or else I would've been the lucky recipient of more than one eye patch. I do stab myself sometimes though, so I have had many a cat flee from my lap and hide while I'm unleashing a string of profanities."

Hip In Detroit- You did a lot of festivals this summer and have done others in the past. Which ones were your favs and why?
Kristy- "My all time favorite was the Detroit People's Arts Festival which, unfortunately, isn't around anymore. So many different kinds of people attended, so I got to meet all kinds of new customers. I also also liked doing the D.I.Y Festival in Ferndale. There’s so much talent at that one, and they always have the best bands!"

Hip In Detroit- Where can someone go to purchase your jewelry?
Kristy- "Ooh, shameless self promotion time! You can find me at www.pixeymeat.com. It will take you right to my Etsy shop. I also have a Facebook page under Pixey Meat Jewelry, where I post coupon codes and sneak peeks of stuff in the works. And, of course, I have an Instagram account which is Pixey_Meat_Jewelry." 

Hip In Detroit- How often do you list new items? I have seen you do designs with teeth and bones, are they real? Where do you get these items?
Kristy- "I try to create and list as much as humanly possible! As for the teeth and bones I use, YES they are real! I have lots of friends who have given me awesome stuff like coffin nails, their wisdom teeth, dog jaw bones found at the Packard Plant, and mouse skulls from their own backyard. Other stuff, I do buy online, but I do my research to make sure that it's humanely obtained. I’m not a fan of bugs though. There will be no centipede necklaces made, ever. Those guys terrify me."

Hip In Detroit- I know you once sent a necklace backstage to my hero Courtney Love. Did she get it? Do you know if she wore it?
Kristy- "I did! My friend Shawn is their bass player, and he said he gave it to her, but really, I think he kept it to wear himself. Because what guy wouldn't want a necklace with green crystal and ivy leaves on it? haha"

~S