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THE DIY RETURN TO ME NECK-
lace is a flat, asymmetrical gold
or silver chest plate (or vastly
oversized pendant, depending
on h ow you see it) perforated
w ith a dot matrix pattern. The
necklace kit comes w ith three
skeins o f thread, instructions in
plain language and an illustrated
template on w hich to test p o-
tential stitches, using colored
markers. T he dot matrix pat-
tern o f the template lends itself
nicely to a variety o f form ats,
allow ing the w earer to spell out
w ords or design her ow n pat-
tern. But to make the Return to
M e necklace—and it must be
made—she w ill need to learn a
bit o f rudim entary needlepoint.
N ew York-based art direc-
tor M ichele Outland was in
London, w riting her master’s
dissertation in communication
design at Central Saint M artins
College o f A rt & Design, when
she created the Return to M e
brand, her only jew elry design
to date. T h e dissertation, about
branding versus the individual
in the late ’90s and early ’00s,
explored a market saturated
w ith big-name labels that are
used as status sym bols, with
consumers dressing themselves
in logos “ rather than really say-
ing anything about themselves
as individuals,” explains O ut-
land. “Return to M e w as de-
signed in an attempt to let the
individual ‘brand’ herself and
express her creativity.”
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returntom e.co.uk
dec/jann american craft 041
Black leather tendrils
hang delicately from
a gold chain.
Gold and silver rib
bones reinterpret
Lenon’s fringe motif.
Braided yellow
fringe recalls
Native American
beaded chest plates
Lenon remembers
from childhood.
return
M ichele Outland
tom e
Do-it-yourself
components for
the Return to Me
chest plate come
w ith needlepoint
instructions.
