Collaborations
1. Introducing Artiste-Metalsmith JEAN HUFFENUS
Fluid creations à la Jean are a seamless harmony of form and function. Classically trained at l’Ecole du Louvre, Paris, the internationally awarded French jeweler mastered his craft at leading studios in Paris and Geneva.
Monsieur was instantly wowed by the colors and cut of John Kennedy’s “wondrous” Cylettes®— and their inventor was just as impressed with Jean’s European design sensibility and Old World craftsmanship!
Cylette® patents were exclusively opened to the Philadelphia based Jean Designs Studio in 2001.
"Things men have made with wakened hands, and put soft life into are awake through years with transferred touch, and go on glowing for long years..."
- D.H. Lawrence
Images: Jean at Monet’s Water Lilies, Musée Jeu de Paume; showing John his new Cylette® designs during a JK/JD collaboration weekend.
2. The J. Kennedy Design Alliance Between East and West
Throughout history, some creative minds — in various genres — have joined forces with the goal to produce beautiful works of art intended to stand the test of time. These collaborations in music, art, literature, jewelry and fashion, by nature, showcase the creativity and expertise of each collaborator in a very special way. And when those two individual talents collide, there is a sort of brilliance … a magic that is the final product.
Case in point: The new one-of-a-kind “Geometrics” piece of wearable art designed by Massachusetts-based John Kennedy, who was assisted by his son, John Kennedy IV, a bench jeweler in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Working with his eldest son on this project wasn’t new to the master jeweler. “For years, my son would help me on the bench in my shop when he was off from school. He seemed to really like the work,” said the elder Kennedy. Post-graduation, young Kennedy decided to put that initial jewelry experience to work and about six years ago, landed a position as a bench jeweler for J. C. Jewelers. “When I was a kid, I was in-and-out of Dad’s shop. I learned how to use the tools and equipment involved. I developed a great foundation from working with him. I am a very detailed person in my work and I learned that from him. When I was working with Dad part-time while in college, he always wanted high quality end results — perfect finishes and no flaws. I definitely had to work hard toward that. He taught me how to strive for the best possible product, which has carried over to my job now,” remembers the 33-year-old. Despite all the hours his son spent working with him in the shop, the master jeweler admits, “I never thought he would go into my profession. But, he likes it and I’m delighted. After all, what parent doesn't dream of their son or daughter following the path that they themselves have taken? But it's not the path that is significant really, it's that they excel in whatever they have chosen. When the path is one and the same, the degree of their talent becomes much more relative. The feeling of pride is overwhelming when they parallel our own biggest accomplishments.”
How did this very first father-son collaboration evolve?
“Well, it really wasn’t planned. A client brought in a Tanzanite stone to have me design and fabricate a necklace for her. The design process began by my assessing her personal style, and discussing what she would like to accomplish in the finished piece and how it was to be worn. Was it to be worn for formal events or for everyday wear? I considered these personal elements, so that my design would complement her personality, as well as the ‘personality’ of the stone itself,” recalls Kennedy. The design objective was to create a piece that highlighted the stone without repeating the exact trillion shape of the stone. “That in a nutshell is what traditional jewelry design is hinged upon. Anyone can do that and it’s exactly what you see in mass-marketed finished jewelry. The challenge for me was to create a beautiful piece that makes the center stone the focal point without detracting from it. When I approached my son about our working together on this piece, he was pretty much on-board immediately. And the results of this collaboration are amazing. Look at the downward sweep of diamonds, that’s John’s work. Placing those stones just right was an intricate job. That sweep from top to bottom intrigue the eye to gaze beyond the stone and then back to the overall piece. He did an excellent job!”
Should fans expect more collaborations from Kennedy and Kennedy?
“At the moment, there are no set plans to work together on a regular basis, although I really hope we can,” says Kennedy senior. His young west coast collaborator wholeheartedly agrees, “Coming up with designs like Dad does is really cool. It was fun to work with him on this piece, I would love to do it again and again.”