Mind Your Business: 'Tis the Season, So Shop Smart Chicks!

Meet Smart Chicks jewelry and purse designers Karen Clark and Jemma Morris. Both approach their art with unique perspectives informed by their extensive education and corporate experiences. The Smart Chicks community applauds Karen and Jemma for minding the business of art. 

Karen Clark
Apexspire Jewelry
www.apexspirecollection.com
(Photo taken at the Downtown Holiday Market in Washington, DC's Chinatown)

After Graduating in 2000, with a BFA in textile design from Moore College of Art and Design in, Karen pursued a career as a jewelry designer for a small trend jewelry design company in New York. The pace was exhilarating, but the process of having her intricate designs mass-produced, left her hungry for limited in house production work. In the spring of 2003, she decided to launch her own jewelry line. At the same time Karen pursued and completed her MFA in mixed media at Howard University in 2005. Apexspire Jewelry represents Karens sense of universal rhythm and beauty while embodying her own contemporary individualized edge.  She integrates metalsmithing techniques including fabrication, roll printing, fine knot work and casting to produce an innovative tactile line of work. As the designer of Apexspire Jewelry, Karen is completely focused on creating jewelry that separates the individual from the masses.

Jemma Morris

Jemma Morris Designs Hand Crafted Purses

www.jemmamorris.com

(Photo taken at the Downtown Holiday Market in Washington, DC's Chinatown)

After completing her education in Fine Arts at Wagner College, Jemma studied design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Concurrently, she began working as a fashion stylist for a photography studio as well as interning for a bridal designer. Eventually she took a nine to five position in corporate America but my desire to work as a designer full-time was irrepressible. In 2005 Jemma began working on a collection of colorful artisan handbags, she wanted them to be functional but attractive and fun to wear. 

"Working as an artist, designer and stylist, Jemma quickly learned that color is my true medium. I believe color is evocative of emotion. It helps us through our everyday lives, creating moods & ambience and lifting spirits. Colors in a gray rainy morning, the deep red of a rose, or the array of colors in the sky can all evoke emotion. This is why I love color and why I incorporate vivid and strong color combinations into all of my designs. Ultimately, I want my designs to have a spirit of vitality and energy relatable to anyone." 

Jemma spends every spare moment creating new designs and working in multiple artistic mediums, i.e. painting, styling, sketching, and sewing. On the last Saturday of every month, you can find Jemma with some of her newest designs at Eastern Market in Washington, DC.

Jemma Morris' Bangle Clutch™ Collection Funky

Wristlet fold over clutch purse in black and white grosgrain ribbon with color coordinated topstitching. Nickel snap closure. Gold tone metal bangle bracelet attached at side by short ribbon strap. 

Item #: 08.04.05
Description/Colors: Black, white
Dimensions: 12 x 7 inches
Size of Bangle Bracelet: 3 inch opening
Care: Surface clean only

Look! They're BYTing!

BYT covered the "Words Break Bars" event I played with Ra Ra Rasputin at American University.

(Shouts out to Ravenna and Joanna, Smart Chicks at AU. OH! Can't forget the lead singer of Ra Ra Rasputin. She's a Smart Chick too - totally, without a doubt, herself and proud of it!)

"Neill Franklin, a 32 year veteran of the Maryland State Police, was followed by young and captivating Baltimore vocalist Carolyn Malachi. Malachi performed tracks off her second album, “Revenge of the Smart Chics II: Ambitious Gods.” During her 15 minute set, the audience never lost interest in her unique medley of dignified jazz, daring hip hop, and spoken word. Her lyrics mostly spoke to empowering women, and she wrapped up her set right on target with the song “Needles”. This song was an ode to friends addicted to substances: “is you looking for God shooter?; you’ve got him, take your mirror in hand; give birth to a plan, no more idle hands.” Throughout her set, Malachi never wavered in her endearing composure and optimistic outlook. The lovely and composed Malachi could not have been followed by a more brilliant contrast than bashful and free-spirited Ra Ra Rasputin."

Welcome to the Revenge of the Smart Chicks Movement, BYT!

@Carolyn_Malachi
Reverbnation.com/CMalachi

Mr. Potato Head

ASSIGNMENT #1: What Are We Eating?

HEY, SMART CHICKS. HELP ME WITH MY HOMEWORK!

Begins like this: "They were mashed together. Kanye West and Taylor Swift’s worlds collided on a public hot plate. All hopped up on hops, the crispy rapper from chi-town baked insult into the country girl’s home fries. Chipped but not skinned, Taylor owes her rescue to the golden queen of au gratin Pop, Beyonce Knowles. "

And ends like this: "Ignored is America’s salad appeal, this country’s unique way of mixing the ugly, chilling for a while, then serving up beauty. It is the sadistic, selective memory of the American main stream that both scallops wartime bloodshed, and skins pop icons, all in pursuit of dish."

At the moment, I'm losing my footing in the middle, attempting to correlate Kanye's crucifiction over Taylor to Barack Obama's over healthcare. It's a stretch, but do you have any ideas about how to relate the two?

First, a Marriage. Then, an Introduction.

Gather here. Witness the marriage of the business of willful self-definition to the pleasure of self-discovery.

While the latter will surely tickle the imaginations of a few newcomers, card-carrying members of the Revenge of the Smart Chicks (ROTSC) movement know that being a Smart Chick or Clever Dude means making a daily, smart decision to be yourself.

Allow the writer, just for this blog post, to write in first-person perspective. She deserves an introduction any way. My name is Carolyn Malachi. I am a performing artist, graphic designer, communicaions specialist, and event producer. Revenge of the Smart Chicks was just a sassy title I crafted for my first CD which I released in September of 2008. It has since become the global network of artists, educators, and entrepreneurs from which I launched Smart Chicks, Inc., a non-profit organization that sources creative professionals to corporate opportunities. Smart Chicks, Inc., the Smart Chicks network, and the music I create with the Revenge of the Smart Chicks theme comprise the Revenge of the Smart Chicks movement.

For settled members of ROTSC who have been migrated from our previous blog format, allow me room to 'splain. I am in my first year of graduate studies pursuing my MFA in Integrated Design. For my first class, Words & Images, one of my responsibilities is to maintain a professional, course-relevant blog. Our ROTSC community is the right audience.

I look forward to sharing the knowledge and skills that I learn throughout my academic and artistic journey. Know that you can also visit this blog to enjoy social commentary, access my performance schedule and, if you like, cretique my homework assignments. Visit this blog to connect to the rest of the Smart Chcks network as well.

That's enough informality for now. It's time I get to my first assignment:
"We're Eating What?"
Describe a food ingredient. The description should be informed by a definite purpose and shaped by a clear sense of an intended audience.

Hmmm, I think I'll use Kanye West's cheesy antics at the VMA's as inspiration.

Carolyn Malachi
Creative Director
Smart Chicks Inc.
Twitter.com/Carolyn_Malachi
Facebook.com/CMalachi
Myspace.com/MsMalachi

Next Gig:
Carolyn Malachi & A Band Called Q
Tuesday, September 15
Organic Soul at Eden's Lounge
Hosted by Olu Butterfly Woods of Poetry for the People of Baltimore and Blackout Studios
$5 Cover
15 W. Eager St
Baltimore, MD
Set time 9 pm (Well, 9-ish)