I met Matthew Swope on Instagram. He started following me and I followed him back because I like what he posts.
In general I like accessories and furniture. It is likely that he also appreciates what I publish and spent some time, during the Christmas period he sent me a gift. Some of his creations.
That’s not why I decided to interview him. And if I have to be honest, I’m the one who asked him for an interview, he didn’t expect anything in return.
The reason is called kindness.
A very personal reflection of mine on kindness.
Kindness (synonym of politeness, friendliness, courtesy or amiability) is respectful and benevolent behavior, characterized by acts of generosity, consideration, assistance or concern for others without ulterior motives. Without expecting anything in return. Without reproach.
A smile, a handshake, a hug, a gift, words of encouragement… Kindness should be contagious.
Sometimes we “respond” to a kind gesture but we should be the first to be kind, it should be our attitude. Regardless of everything and everyone.
We live in times where nothing is done for nothing. Where there must always be a second purpose for everything. And so if someone gives you a gift and you respond with an interview you can fall within these "known mechanisms".
But you know what? Frankly, I don't care.
The purpose of our interviews is to tell anecdotes, curiosities and stories of life lived between individuals who are different from each other but with a common goal: the realization of a dream, of a passion. The achievement of a goal.
Enjoy the reading, with the hope that if even just one of you will draw inspiration and motivation from this interview of ours, to open the famous drawer, free your dream and fulfill yourself as a person... it will have been worth it!

Gabriella Ruggieri for 1blog4u

1)I’d like to know something about your education. Was it to do with arts?
If yes, were you supported or hindered in your choice of secondary school?
In my day (I knew I would say this phrase sooner or later) if you told your parents that you were going to choose art school, they used to answer: “No way! It’s a school for slackers and junkies. Do accounting and you’ll get a steady job!”

1)I went to art school for one semester in 1985, and then dropped out to work at Comme des Garçons.
I did not attend a secondary school, although later, and long after art school, I went back and completed a degree in Art History, (cum laude, Columbia School of General Studies). I am probably your age or older…

2)Did you get a job in this field just after university or did you first do something totally different?

2)I have always had a ‘day-job,’ that is, a career to pay the rent and take care of the bills.
I just started making things. Initially recycling vintage garments, shirts and t-shirts that I would paint and embellish in various ways. Martin (Margiela) told me how to use textile paint and wrap the clothes in foil and bake them in the oven to set the pigment, and I made use constant use of his ‘recipe.’ I still make use of it today.

3)Did your passion start when you were little or later? Was there an event that unleashed your inner sparkle and made you think: “this is what I want to do”?

3)I think various obsessions have always guided me. I can remember studying a piece of fabric at a very young age and understanding that it was made of threads, and then taking strands from a spool of my mother’s and trying to weave a piece of fabric by hand. As a kindergartener I can recall seeing a picture the knitted bridal dress by YSL ("le coq tricot,” 1965), and being obsessed with it, drawing it and wondering how it was made.

4)Did your parents support you? Did they help you find the right path in life and work, or did they try to stop you?

4)Neither. I have been on my own from the age of 18.

5)How was the project Matthew Swope Jewelry born? Where did you get the idea? Why did you choose this name? Did you have any problems? Did you have money aside? Did you take up a mortgage? (I’m just trying to guess, you see) Did you have to cut through a lot of red tape?

5)My business is very small. Everything I do is done organically, where one thing leads to another in a natural way. I am not making anything that would be considered ‘traditional’ jewelry.

6)How do you choose the materials for your creations?

6)I only use materials that I like. Everything starts from here. If I like a certain stone or a particular kind of metal, I try to find a way to use it.

7)Is there one in particular that you like?

7)I feel very attracted to rock crystal and to turquoise. I also love garnets and ebony.

8)Is there something that inspires you, in the combinations of different materials, or in the colors, when you create?

8)I am always thinking of time and eras, and the distances that the years produce and how in different periods what was unknown, in its day, as being part of culture (at the time) eventually becomes reflective of and symbolic of it.

9)Is there anyone who helps you with your creations, with whom you collaborate?

9)No, I do everything on my own, but I have made pieces for a few designers here in New York over the years.

10)At what point did you say “Well, today I open up”? Tell me about the inauguration.

10)I generally say I started making jewelry in 2004. The making of clothes was just too difficult without the proper amount of space – jewelry is smaller and can be done almost anywhere.

11)When did you realize that you could make a living from this work? (artisanal, not industrial, I want to clarify) When did the turning point happen? And if it hasn't happened yet, do you think it could happen in the future? Is this the dream you want to realize?

11)Of course, it would be wonderful to be 100% financially independent, but I have worked in fashion too long to be overly optimistic about those prospects.

12)If you hadn’t chosen this path, what would you have done? What could have been your plan B? What could have been your studies and a possible different life path?

12)I always felt I would make a good lawyer or policeman, or judge. Also – I am an excellent editor.

13)Did you cross paths with any negative people who maybe tried to make you give up? Or maybe gave you the motivation to say “I’ll show you what I can do”

13)No.

14)Have you been inspired by someone? I mean, not necessarily people doing the same job, but also entrepreneurs, artists or common people.

14)Yes. All the time. Rei Kawakubo for making me understand there are no creative limits. Donald Judd, who inspired me while at school. In terms of jewelry I love Suzanne Belperron, everything she made seems to have its own justification for existing. I love Aldo Cipullo because so much of what he created become a (visual) signifier of its era. I also love the macrame work of Claire Zeisler.

15)What are your plans for the future?

15)I plan to work and make things. Lately I have been creating objects that have nothing to do with the state of being jewelry.

16)My last question is in my opinion one of the most crucial: what advice would you give to someone who wishes to take up the same career, to fulfill their dream of starting their own business, not necessarily in the same field?

16)Always believe in yourself. Always follow your own truth.

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