Ed Levin modernist silver jewelry

Ed Levin modernist silver jewelry
Born in New York and raised on Long Island, Ed Levin (1921-2008) dreamed of becoming an artist. First, he studied fine arts at Columbia University, then sculpture with Chaim Gross, painting with Kurt Seligman and Paul Wieghardt, and ceramics at Alfred University.

Levin first became interested in jewelry in the late 1930s when, as a college student, he was looking for a gift for his mother. He bought two brooches made by Cuban-American jeweler Francisco Rebajes. Noteworthy, Levin made his first jewelry piece in 1942, when he worked as a machinist. These were rings made of stainless steel and silver.
Undoubtedly, Alexander Calder’s aesthetic influenced Ed Levine’s jewelry in those early years.
From 1944, Levin taught art (including painting, ceramics, woodworking, and pottery) during classes at the New Lincoln School. At the same time, he taught crafts at the Community Center on 110th Street in Harlem and was proud that he had taught hundreds of people how to make jewelry.

Around 1947, Levin left with his parents for Buenos Aires to visit his brother, who lived there. He decided to stay for a while in an Argentine city to paint, and in order to support himself, he went to work for a certain Senor Michi, a Florentine jeweler who worked in the traditions of the Renaissance.

Upon returning to New York about a year later, Levin became a full-time artisan, making jewelry and pottery.
However, in 1953 he moved to Shaftesbury, outside North Bennington, where he and his wife Ruth opened a jewelry studio in an attic. He worked with Ruth alone until in 1958 he hired an apprentice (Charles Thompson) who was to run the Ed Levin Workshop in Bennington Village in 1964.

Ed Levin modernist silver jewelry

In late 1964, he moved production to Bennington Village, located along a busy tourist route. Due to the growing demand for his products, the Ed Levin Art Workshop grew to employ six artisans, including Charles Thompson. The company focused its activities on both wholesale and retail trade. At this point, Levin himself reduced his involvement in the actual jewelry making, confining himself to creating new designs and making and repairing instruments.

Over the years, Levin has explored the concept of simplicity in a variety of styles: primitive (his all-time favorite), classical, medieval, and “timeless.” To create jewelry, he traditionally used rough gems or other organic materials – pieces of ivory, wood, amber, etc.
In 1973, he decided to solve a manufacturing problem by selling his retail business in Bennington and moving his operations to a promising wholesale business in Cambridge, New York.

Also, in 1981, Levin delegated the management of Ed Levin Jewelry to 39-year-old businessman Tom Wagner. Wagner set the task to increase the company’s accounts and successfully coped with it. Twice a year, he had a booth at JA (Jewelers of America) shows, hiring telemarketers who sold Ed Levin Jewelry designs to the most promising retailers around the world. Soon the company, which employed 35 people, boasted annual sales of $1,500,000.

Ed Levin modernist silver jewelry