Even though Katherine and I were hundreds of miles away from each other when we both opened Zoom for this interview, I knew right away that she would be an amazing person to speak with. She started out our interview by picking a fortune cookie out of a nearby jar, cracking it open, and reading me our fortune: Happiness awaits those who seek it.
Katherine Wallach is an actress and artist. She started out with humble beginnings, piecing together beads and string to make jewelry at a family friend’s shop, and now she has 20 collections of necklaces, rings, earrings and more on her website, katherinewallach.com, and in her second pop-up shop, which opened on June 1st!
She’s been creating since she was just 6 years old. “My dad had some relatives on 38th street, which is the street for bead companies in NYC, and they took me to visit this relative, and they let me run rampant in the basement, and I went pulling open these big brown packages of beads, and I don’t know why, but even at a young age I knew what was good product,” she says. “So I started out by stringing beads at six years old.”
But that was only the beginning, and string and beads foraged from the basement was just the start. “Time went on, and I made bubblegum charm necklaces using found objects and charms you would get inside bubble gum machines. I would sometimes do a real piece of gold or whatever I could muster, and I did them thematically, like one in black and pink and white, and I would sell it in a Good and Plenty box. Or I would do an interview with you and come out with one that had those little baby beads that spelled your name with crazy shit hanging off it, like a Barbie head and a troll…just strange stuff,” Katherine told me.
Barbie heads and trolls aren’t the only wild things you’ll find when perusing through Katherine’s collections! If you look at her website right now, you can buy a pair of earrings with miniature knives hanging from gold hooks. Or my favorite, her Taxidermy Beach Stone earrings. And, if you’re feeling bold, there’s an entire section of erotica-themed pieces.
For just the second time ever, Katherine’s work is available to peruse and purchase at her very own pop-up shop. “I was out to dinner with my best friend, Patty Perreira, and she is Perreira of Barton Perreira, and she said to me ‘Oh, we’re looking to sublease half of our store.’ And me being cheeky, I said, ‘What about me?” not thinking for one minute they would say yes, and they did.” The pop-up is located at 647 Hudson Street, and it’s open 6 days a week, closed on Tuesdays.
Though it’s obvious that Katherine loves each and every piece she creates, doing everything from sourcing antique cameos and learning how to make beads herself to create the most stunning jewelry, I had to ask if she had any favorite pieces or collections she’s created over the years, and she didn’t just have one! “I actually made a piece just the other day that’s a turquoise ring, an antique ring probably from the 30’s, and I had my cameo guy engrave in it ‘Eat Your Greens.’ I really love that. And I also have a collection that’s not understood yet, but that’s okay. I collect rocks on the beach, and shells and stuff, so I started making a collection of these beach rock earrings, where I’ll put a diamond at the top, or an opal or amethyst, and those are one of a kind, where you can make your own pair.”
Katherine Wallach’s pop-up shop is now open in NYC. Visit her website, www.katherinewallach.com for more info and to look at her gorgeous work!