Lea Stein
When the 1960s floated in on a cloud of flower-powered
anti- establishment optimism, along with its vision for a new world that
included futuristic materials in psychedelic colours, Lea Stein was poised and
ready.
Stein was born in Paris in
1931 and trained as an artist. In 1957, she established her own textile design
company and, from 1965, began to design and make buttons for the fashion
industry. In 1967, she moved to a new process of button-making, which used
laminated rhodoid.
The process was developed by Stein's chemist husband,
Fernand Steinberger, using a material—similar to Bakelite—which consisted of
layers of colored cellulose acetate bake-bonded together. Stein adapted this
process to the manufacture of costume jewelry in 1969, adding fabric, lace,
metallic inclusions, or even straw between the layers to vary the color and
texture of each piece. The composition was pressed, baked, stenciled, cut, and
shaped, producing high- impact, polychrome "plastic" jewelry. As a
result of the manufacturing process, each piece is unique.
The material was used to make pins, rings, bracelets,
earrings, necklaces, and even jewelry boxes. Although Lea Stein experimented with
Art Deco-style geometric designs to great effect, figural pins dominated
production. Favorite motifs included animals, birds, insects, children, cars,
stars, hearts, rainbows, and eyes.
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| Lea Stein |
The process even allowed for rare portrait
pins, and pins of Joan Crawford and Elvis Presley were made. Possibly the most
famous and highly sought-after is the "Scarlett O'Hara" ballerina
pin, its voluptuous red skirt reminiscent of Vivien Leigh's sumptuous costumes
in Gone with the wind
However, Stein's signature piece is the "Fox"
pin. Due to a clever use of perspective, the fox, with its sweeping tail,
appears to be jumping. Further detail is added using fabric or metallic
inclusions in the laminate, the variation in texture and color enhancing the
three- dimensional quality of each piece. A huge range of finishes is
available, including glitter and snakeskin.
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| Lea Stein |
For collectors, the prize object is a pin from the
"L'Tle aux Fnfants" range. Based on characters from a French
children's television series, the Casimir, Calimero, and Tiffins designs are
charming and, since they were only produced in 1975, very rare. Early vintage
pieces, such as the "Tennis Lady," Rolls-Royce, "French Sailor,"
and saxophone are also avidly collected.
In
1981, the company, which in its heyday had employed 50 people, closed down, and
the remaining stock was sold to a dealer. When these pieces reached the United
States, Lea Stein's work started to achieve recognition for the first time
outside France tfhd her designs became a worldwide phenomenon.
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| Lea Stein |
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