About Shadow Oak Maille

 

Shadow Oak Maille was created from a desire to produce contemporary, feminine styles out of traditional chainmaille. All pieces are Hand Made, One-of-a-Kind works of wearable art.



The "Chainmaille Goddess"



Kelly Jones, the designer and creator of Shadow Oak Maille has brought chainmaille to a new level. Custom, handmade and wearable works of art, Kelly has made many beautiful items from jewelry and fashion to extravagant home dcor and embellishments as well as designing custom pieces for clients from many different countries.

 

 

Kelly began Shadow Oak Maille five years ago with the desire to produce contemporary, feminine styles out of traditional chainmaille. By taking a “One Ring at a Time” view of her work, she puts a modern twist on a renaissance medium. There are technical challenges involved in working with this medium that those using fabric never encounter. Kelly has found ways to make this ancient form of armor into lightweight, comfortable, for the modern day- making it wear and flow like fabric. She is always looking for ways to defy conventional wisdom and find new ways to form her creations. It is her desire to make a mark on every aspect of the fashion world from clothing, jewelry, and accessories, to furniture, home accents, and art. It is a labor-intensive process that, depending on the piece, can take from minutes to months in order to complete. Shadow Oak Maille is the ultimate metal couture.

In furniture, Kelly uses chainmaille to accentuate every aspect of the piece.  Turning an ordinary chair into a spectacular work of art, metal chains are made, ring by ring, to hold precious stones that add simple splendor and elegance.  As well as clothing and furniture, Kelly uses chainmaille in many other applications including embellishments for vases, lighting, curtains, rugs, pillows, and kitchen items.

Kelly finds inspiration in trying to find ways to make a traditionally male material into something that hugs, flows, and accentuates the curves of every piece. Look at her work and you will see that she has succeeded beautifully.