French jewelry designer Lea Stein
French jewelry designer Lea Stein
In 1970-ies Lee Stein has created a unique collection of jewelry from Rhodoid (high-quality plastic). Prior to that, she was little known outside France. Recently, her work has received worldwide recognition.
Lea Stine was born in Paris (France) in 1931. At the age of 26, she opens her own clothing design company, while developing the design of buttons for fashion and starts its production. Her buttons of laminate Rhodoid had a huge success. In 1969 she begins manufacture of jewelry. The success became possible thanks to her husband, Fernando Steinberg, who discovered this material. It consisted of layers of painted rhodoid – cellulose acetate sheet, close to Bakelite. The layered structure of rhodoid allowed the inclusion of other materials, usually metal or fabric, such as lace. Making the cut and working on shapes, Lea Stein received a polychromatic “plastic”, varying in color and texture.
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