A Fanciful Felt Genius
Most of us have seen spectacular jewelry with precious gems and gleaming metal. However, when compared to the work of Danielle Gori-Montanelli, well honestly, they look just ordinary.
Even though her pieces are not expensive jewels, the work she makes is so incredibly imaginative that it evokes astonishment, amusement, and extraordinary delight!
Born in Washington, D.C., Danielle remembers always making things — she still has a little bracelet she made from movie ticket stubs. She attended Sarah Lawrence College, then moved to New York, and believed she wanted to be a painter. However, when she took a jewelry class, she became a serious metal jeweler and made sculptural jewelry for more than 12 years.
In 2002, she and her husband decided to live near his family in Florence, Italy, for a year or two. It turned into 10. Danielle was still making jewelry and was invited to show it at many exhibits, including one in Munich.
During her free time there, she did a bit of shopping and in a moment that would change the course of her career, stumbled into a fabric shop. There she saw the most luxurious felt — thick, bright, and begging her to buy more than she could even carry.
That wonderful felt material became the grist for her imagination. She carefully created layers of the material and using her sculptural talent, began crafting usual everyday objects in an unusual fabric and with astonishing accuracy.
When Danielle makes and sharpens a felt pencil, it looks just like a real pencil. When more than 60 of these multi-colored pencils are grouped to make a wearable brooch, the result is both incredible and unbelievable!
Danielle’s jewelry regularly sparks oohs and aahs and many special human connections. One of her early pieces that she still makes today is a small brooch composed of old-fashioned licorice candies.
One older gentleman was ready to cry when he saw the brooch because he remembered “after the war when sugar was rationed, those candies were the first ones my father brought home.” At an American Craft Exposition at the Chicago Botanic Garden, a woman told Danielle, “Your licorice got me married!”
After losing her first husband, the woman read advice that to meet people, you should wear interesting jewelry. So, she bought the licorice brooch, and sure enough a man commented on it. She had now been married to him for 10 years.
Many of Danielle’s pieces are very elaborate and visually stunning. She makes huge collars that are wrap-around necklaces composed of hundreds of tiny multi-colored books or bright flowers.
You could wear a plain black outfit, add one of Danielle’s stunning collars, and be noticed by every single person you meet all day. You can see these showstoppers on her website, www.studiodgm.com, as well as so many of her fun pins and rings.
And while you are on her site, be sure to watch her video, because it is so colorful and fun. Also check out her Instagram page, instagram.com/studiodgm/, where you can see so many amazing creations, as well as some of her new paintings.
In addition to selling on her website, Danielle shows her jewelry at select shows like the Smithsonian Craft Show, the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, and the American Craft Council Show in Baltimore.
While she has many celebrity clients, she loves selling small pieces to children who are delighted to wear a goofy bird or a funny face pin on their outfit. You are never too old or too young to appreciate the fun and fancy felt Danielle creates!
Diane Sulg is executive director of CRAFT and founder & co-chair of American Craft Week (ACW). She is a handmade advocate who provides valuable information in her one-day seminars at wholesale shows throughout the United States. She can be reached at dianesulg@gmail.com.