Artist John Wind creating visually stunning works of jewelry and art in South Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Paid Sponsor Partnership: Philadelphia Corporation for Aging
Artist and jewelry designer John Wind seems to be living a charmed life.
"Our most popular product is a custom charm bracelet or necklace," says Wind, founder and chief designer of Maximal Art, also known as John Wind Jewelry. "A charm is a way of telling a story."
With his signature John Wind Jewelry, he's created all kinds of options for personalization.
"Customers can pick from hundreds of charms and create a self-portrait through jewelry," he says.
His artistry shines in his creative collaborations and other collections, like the 'Grand Hotel' Collection.
"I've been buying chandeliers that used to hang at the Plaza Hotel and the Waldorf Astoria," he says. "Taking the crystals off the chandeliers and then turning them into jewelry."
The jewelry is hand assembled and Wind does all the original designing.
His evolution in jewelry is displayed in cases around his studio and includes one of the very first brooches he ever made in the 1980s while a student in London.
Wind says by day he was an art school student and at night he was going out, wearing fun DIY accessories he created to the clubs.
"People started asking me about this jewelry," he says. "And it took on a life of its own."
He started selling to top stores overseas, then moved the business stateside, eventually building a high-volume gift brand.
"There wasn't really time for the art," he says. "So when I turned 50, I just felt like it was going in a direction I hadn't anticipated and I missed being an artist, not making art."
He scaled his jewelry business back to an online store and started doing paper collage work.
"But pretty quickly I found my way into more sculptural work," he says.
His interest in history and humanity led to the temporary installation "'DEAR JOHN': John Frederick Lewis, John Yaron Wind, and the Rosenbach Brothers." It's on view now within the permanent exhibit "Treasures from the Rosenbach's Collection: History of the Material Text" at the Rosenbach Museum & Library.
"I just love the translation from an idea to a physical reality," says Wind. "And not surprisingly, the language of jewelry, in particular charms, became a big part of my art."
"Charm Offensive: Part 2" is a record of his work on a collection of Revolutionary War statues at the Reilly Memorial behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It's on view at Park Towne Place's South Tower on the Bejamin Franklin Parkway.
For one weekend only in April, Wind physically dressed the statues with charm necklaces that told their story through a more modern lens, from the research he'd done on the history of these men.
"I have a really good balance now between the jewelry, the art making," he says. "It's really fun."
John Wind Jewelry is sold online and can also be found at Joan Shepp's shop on Walnut Street. In addition, Wind also runs the Dina Wind Art Foundation, named for his mother, in a shared space with his studio in South Philly. Monthly tours are available to see both Wind's Studio and his mother's outstanding artwork as well.
For more information:
"DEAR JOHN" at Rosenbach Museum & Library
"Charm Offensive: Part 2" at Park Towne Place South Tower
Eventbrite Tours of the Dina Wind Art Foundation/John Wind Studio
John Wind Studio/Dina Wind Art Foundation
1610 S. 8th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19148