Since we covered her Portals pieces back in April, Eva Porche has been busy creating new collections for her Evangeline Jewelry brand.
The latest for summer 2024 is Reverie I, a magical line of one-of-a-kind jewels inspired by an imaginary land. When I first glanced at the collection, I was immediately drawn to its deep greens, enchanting details, and old-world aesthetic—if you told me the jewels were made by fairies from an enchanted forest, I might have believed you.
“Before starting on a new collection, it’s important for me to get into a headspace tailored to the theme of the emerging work,” Porche tells JCK. “When I created the Portals collection earlier this year, it was late wintertime, and I went on many foggy walks before sunrise. I listened to Arvo Pärt’s Tractus album most of the day at my bench, watched sci-fi films, and researched artistic depictions of portals throughout time. There was a very dramatic, climactic scene playing in my mind of entering a portal. When I started planning Reverie I, it felt like a resolution—this is where the portal took us, this is where we landed.
“I imagined emerging into a deep green forest at dawn, overgrown plants bursting with flowers of every color, enchanted objects hidden under the foliage, talking plants and sunny meadows. In the real world, spring was in full bloom, and summer was about to begin, which was well suited to the theme and headspace I was in. Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloe: Part III perfectly fit my vision, and I always listened to it before my wax-carving days.
“I created the collection entirely outdoors, in my backyard, which I had never done before. During my carving breaks, I played a lot of open-world video games, or—when my eyes could afford any further strain—read chapters of various fantasy books from my childhood, which kept me in that state of wonder.”
I decided to listen to the same piece of music while taking in photos of the new collection, Ravel’s romantic, fluttering tune ebbing and flowing as it evokes calm and builds excitement all at once. Reverie is a love story told wonderfully throughout each twist, turn, and flair of Evangeline’s metalwork, sealed with the glow of gemstones such as emerald, sapphire, tourmaline, and tsavorite.
“For this collection, I made my own wax formula, which allowed me to create new textures in the designs,” Porche says. “I tried out different mixes of pure beeswax and pine resin. I’d pack up a bag of my necessary tools for the day and sit outside with a hot water bottle on my lap to intermittently warm the wax.
“The Utopia ring [pictured at top] is the showcase piece for this technique, as I spent 12 hours straight on the wax-carving process. It’s nice to reach that flow state. I also love the Tabula Rasa pendant [above], as the scroll design was created by a happy accident while experimenting with the new wax formula.”
So, which portals will the designer take us through in the future? “My upcoming collections will feature pieces based on other imaginary realms,” says Porche. “I’ve already created a mood board for a world covered in ice— which is exciting to me, but I will wait until a concept really calls to me to start making again.
“I’m currently pondering the idea of creating a collection of objects and trinkets cast in brass or silver for non–jewelry wearers. In the meantime, I’ll be tending to my two lovely stockists, Tomfoolery London and, most recently, Love Adorned NYC.”
We can’t wait to see which imaginary world Porche brings us next.
Top: Utopia ring in 14k yellow gold with emerald, $2,250; Evangeline Jewelry
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