New Store! No Roses Gallery Showcases Artisan Jewelry and Fine Crafts -- My Daily Find

BY KAREN YOUNG

Just in time for Mother’s Day, there’s a new boutique/gallery opening in Sherman Oaks on Thursday, May 5 featuring artisan jewelry, as well as other fine craftwork, including limited edition photographs, glasswork, ceramics and wearable angora fiber art.

No Roses Gallery will have trunk shows and art shows throughout the year highlighting various artists. Photos Courtesy: No Roses Gallery

No Roses Gallery is owned by husband and wife team, Lisa Sirlin and Tracy Hall. Sirlin designs the three house jewelry lines, which are showcased alongside works from the gallery’s visiting artists, while Hall creates the display cases. Sirlin has garnered a following from private customers and film/tv studios through her No Roses brand—a private design studio that officially started in 2004. The No Roses Gallery was born as a labor of love, composed of Sirlin and Hall’s passion for showcasing art and the artists behind the designs.

Sirlin describes No Roses as a “very well curated group of small batch jewelry artists, fine artists and fine crafters.” Jewelry is made from a variety of metals, silver, gold, semi-precious gemstones, textured glass, leather, petrified stone, wood and industrial fiber (which doesn’t fray). The eclectic designs for both men and women run the gamut—industrial, modern, whimsical, delicate, vintage and earthy.

Lisa Sirlin's No Roses Metro line is one of three "house" collections she designs. It is textured glass mixed with sterling silver or 14k gold fill. Modern and colorful with simple lines— most pieces can be worn by both men and women.

Sirlin says that a big goal of the gallery is to showcase work that is affordable. “We want to make sure that everyone who walks in can walk out with something.” Prices start at $48 for simple necklace or pair of earrings—and range into the few hundreds, but finding a truly unique gift under $100 is easy.

No Roses is reminiscent of an urban gallery found during your travels. Each collection has a biography, photo and statement from the individual artist. For the opening, No Roses will have ten to twelve artists, but as the gallery grows, there will be more to come. The gallery’s inventory differs from traditional gift stores because Sirlin and Hall’s philosophy is that “every artist has to have a clear point to view and a cohesive body of work” — rather than a mish mash of designs.

Dark + Dawn, works only in silver and produces edgy, iconic designs.

Jewelry designers include Mary Anne Eissa whose style evokes a vintage meets modern look, pairing vintage finds with brass and Lucite. Another designer, Echo Park’s Dark + Dawn, works only in silver and produces edgy designs with religious icons and symbols, incorporating elaborate clasps in his designs; Elyse Marks Designs uses multi-colored cotton fiber and stainless steel pieces which look like crochet or knitted strands on chains; Sublina Jewelry is funky, luxury designs in sterling silver and gold vermeil; Tara Rosenbaum works with sterling silver and gold vermeil accented with pearls and gemstones; Mark Poulin, who is know for his illustrations, works with vitreous enamel and sterling to create rings as well as necklace pieces with images of dogs, cats, astronauts and stars— perfect for a kid or a kid at heart.

A Mark Poulin design.

No Roses also steps beyond jewelry into other art forms. The current photo exhibit is “Lucky Cats: To Bring in the Money” by photographer Sherri Lynn Behr, who was inspired by those she saw while doing a project in New York’s Chinatown. There are 20 limited edition prints (8×8 in 12×12 frames) along with note cards and her soft cover book of the same name. Another craftsperson, Paul Lee, raises angora rabbits and spins and harvests the wool into yarn to create scarves and gloves.

In addition to the ready made pieces, No Roses can also make custom orders of any magnitude from their in house jeweler, Harout Kokjayen, who has worked at many fine jewelry stores, including Michael B.

Tarra Rosenbaum's "Summer's Leaf Peridot"necklace — sterling silver and peridot gemstones.

With No Roses Gallery, Sirlin and Hall have created a relaxing environment where you can casually peruse and even sit down and try on pieces at a vanity. It’ll be exciting to watch them grow and see the varying artists and designs that will emerge.