It's a rough one choosing the Annual Monthly Exclusive Residencies and it's getting tougher.
There's a level of expectation to give the nod to our design aesthetic that got us to the dance, whilst bringing a new flare to collection.
Each year, it becomes seemingly impossible to 'top' the prior year. It's not even that we are 'topping' the previous monthly exclusives, but we are designing new hype with CHD taste.
Jack Ankersen was already a favourite among the frothers. He has designed the Friday the 13th pieces for the previous couple of years, so we knew lasts year collection would land, something sweet.
We're coming in dry this year, with a not only a completely knew artist, a new flavour. But good god, I know it'll be steamy.
Wrap your lids around, Mike Stout, the 2022 Monthly Exclusive Designer.
The contrast in the two years from last year to this, makes it even more juicy, in my eyes. From the artist technique, to the core concepts. They couldn't be further apart.
Jack had a very dark and obscure representation in his artwork. There was a heaviness to how he designed the pieces as well, with bold blackwork. Mike, has a very light and delicate approach with what you could call, a 'playful rendition' in his pieces. Quite minimalist in some, whilst being very psychedelic and detailed in others.
NP is the artist for the ’23 Monthly Exclusive Collaboration, of the
Howlet Deck Of Cards. This monthly exclusive is to be sold for one month, then never again. As always, define the age and then allow to have legacy.
We were honoured to work with NP on this exclusive one day release of the
first Friday the 13th, in January 2023.
Never to be sold again.
He's been onboard with CHD for about 5 years now. Responsible for the majority of the artwork you'll see online, from the small web icons through to the largest campaign pieces and logo's. My personal favourite of Nick's work, was done on the 'obsolete product designs', for the Crooked Howlet Designs Filters. Taken from the vintage cigarette packet designs, see below... I love the idea of branding CHD across completely irrelevant products, "stay in your lane" couldn't mean less at this point. Heading the way of Crooked Howlet Designs branded mops and buckets...
As most artists do, you'll cringe with the idea of giving your work a 'genre', feeling your own brain giving yourself the wanker sign whilst you stumble over adjectives trying to sound the least bit corny. But when needing to be somewhat defined, you could get in the right ballpark by describing Nick's work as psychedelic. The pieces that Nick has produced for us remain quite dark and mystical, yet with that 70s Woodstock touch. A quick viewing of Nick will describe his art better than any team of renaissance poets could. He's a walking Crooked Howlet, a better representation of his art and our brand combined.
Sold for 24 hours only, then never again. You'll share these designs with a limited few, from a defined period.
Unearthing this designer, was an important move for us to shine a light on the subtle and the absurd, prior to the 2021 CHD Design Comp. Years into this jewellery game, we've seen our fair share of wild, intricate and extremely artistic designs. There is a 'snow blindness' that comes with designing on the more 'complex' side of things.
Sculptural pieces have a massive focal point at CHD, especially with the Jack Ankersen Monthly Exclusives and his last Friday the 13th design. However, this O.D.E is about the appreciation of something stripped back, raw and very 'you'...
As I am sure you've picked up on this by now; we thrive off the exclusivity factor of our designs. From the monthly exclusives, boiled down to this even more intense short window - only one day to get your mitts onto this release.
The exclusivity of these designs is to build a further intrinsic value into your piece - beyond the surface aesthetic. The idea of your particular ring design being cranked out and sold for years to come, we feel dilutes the significance of that little piece of metal perched on your knuckles. What's the good worth of an heirloom if the company is still selling that design once you hand it on? Or no defined purpose or importance of that period it was sold for?
There's still something to be said about the stories that you build into the ring yourself, however we want this to be shared by the select, dedicated few. We also love the idea of worlds aligning and you bumping into a stray person on a night out that managed to slot into that 24 hour purchase opportunity, somewhere else on the planet and they also share the same heirloom. At least for us, that's something kind of special...
THE DESIGNS
Now, we thought we take some time to go through the specifications of each design.
The Life & Death Of The Already Dead
We've run with a plain band design, so there can be that 'cave man drawings' feel, which slots in perfectly with the stripped back, more basic illustrations.
There is a spectrum of 'life after death' imagery, framed in a barbed wire border. Then centred with the 'Dead Howlet' sketch, which backs Jake's thoughts on Crooked Howet Designs... See here.
The Ouss Ouss
If you don't know the term 'Ouss Ouss', you've never described a fight to a mate. It's linguistically impossible to describe a stink without the term 'ouss ouss' coming out your gullet.
The design is of an old school boxer, framed in barbed wire and the traidiotnal signet style banner underneath. One side also sports a pair of vintage mitts.
We've chosen one of the most popular signet shapes from our collection, which is the Square Signet.
The Worlds First Serpent Cat
It's officially the worlds first. Prove me wrong...
The shape and size is the most notable element to the design. We've opted for a very petite landscape oval. We are often hit with the tentative, 'its just a bit too chunky'. We've heard you and this one is for you.
The design on the face is the four eyed serpent cat, with the shank inscription that denotes the record of 'the worlds first serpent cat'.
His work sits under the underserving description of, blackwork tattoo design, however this would only give you a rudimentary understanding of the master, Han. A lot of the imagery he uses, has a birth in traditional style and will often give the nod to tribalism tattoo style, with his touch of solid blacks and simplistic lines.
Our collaboration with Han Shinko, was a 12 piece collection in 2017/18. Selling one design a month, for that month only.
His artwork made for some amazing signet designs, in which we made his bold details really pronounced through deep engraving and blackened areas. The engraving process and the mirror finish of sterling silver can often mean the design will struggle to translate well if the artwork is highly detailed with shading and colouring. However with Hanaro, the simple, bold lines provided the ideal base for signet designs.
Neil Preston, aka Mr Preston. Tattooist from the Heartless Hands Club, Manchester, UK.
With a base in traditional tattoos, his own interpretation guided the art to evolve into more solid blacks, with less colour and whip shading - which lent itself perfectly to signet engravings.
Unlike some of our previous signet collections, Neil’s simplified rendition on traditional designs, allowed us to keep the entire ring concept minimalist and just frame the design to speak for itself.
Our collaboration with Neil Preston, is a 12 piece collection in 2019. Selling one design a month, for that month only.
