A native of South Carolina, Kaminer Haislip grew up in her family’s hardware and appliance business in Aiken. From there she followed her dream of working with fire and metal. After graduating with a MFA from Winthrop University, Ms. Haislip made her way to Charleston, in her words ‘my process is directly tied to the city’s immense craft traditions. As a silversmith working in Charleston, I am carrying on the legacy of the city’s rich history by employing techniques that have been used for centuries.’ And she is the only female silversmith practicing in Charleston today.
This year has been a bit different for all of us, and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome you all back to the gallery for an event! We will be featuring Kaminer’s new Christmas ornaments and table ware along with her much loved oyster series of jewelry. Early enough to be thinking about gift giving as well as time to get your gifts engraved if you are interested.
We will be offering a few private appointments before and after our regular gallery hours for anyone interested. If you have a group of friends that may want to come in together, we recommend this option.
Join us for what we think will be a great start to the shopping season!
https://www.kaminerhaislip.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/logo-silver-jewelry-kaminer-haislip-340x156-VERDANA-1.jpg00adminhttps://www.kaminerhaislip.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/logo-silver-jewelry-kaminer-haislip-340x156-VERDANA-1.jpgadmin2020-10-15 22:44:592020-10-16 14:09:58Helena Fox Fine Art Open House – November 13 & 14, 2020
Despite so many weddings being postponed or held in a much smaller gathering than originally planned due to coronavirus, giving a gift to the happy couple is still a must to show your support and celebrate their marriage! Silver is a classic heirloom wedding gift and my functional silver objects are extremely popular to commemorate the joyous occasion. My designs are inspired by traditional silver forms, but are interpreted in my original, contemporary style. A unique, handcrafted silver gift will be cherished for generations to come and is such a memorable, lasting gift to receive.
My website Shop has a wide variety of options available and many can be personalized with hand engraving for a special finishing touch. Detailed below are some of the most favored of my classic silver wedding gifts.
Coronavirus is keeping more people at home these days, so stock the newlywed’s bar with fun silver accessories they will use while enjoying evenings at home together or for stylish entertaining (while being conscientious of social distancing of course!). Silver bar spoons, personalized decanter tags with their favorite libations engraved on the front, tumblers and cups, wine goblets, and wine coasters are all useful and beautiful gifts.
The silver tumbler pictured above and the silver wine goblets and wine coasters below all can be hand engraved with the couple’s initials and wedding date for a personal touch.
Let’s not forget the very important hors d’oeuvres for snacking during cocktail hour! Silver appetizer accessories shine and make serving the tasty bites even more enjoyable.
The silver and glass cheese tray shown above is the same silver and glass cake tray pictured at the top of this post. My Ziggurat Tray creates a stunning tablescape and is very versatile for many uses, including serving hors d’oeuvres, cheese, anti-pasta, cakes and desserts, or for a table centerpiece displaying fruit or flowers.
The silver cheese knife, spreader, condiment spoon, and appetizer fork were all forged and have a hammered handle. Due to the hammering process, they are very sturdy and functional. Plus they bring contemporary refinement to the setting.
A popular wedding gift is my Nest Bowl, comprised of hammered and woven sterling silver wire. The nest acts as a metaphor for building a new life and home together. Nest Bowl comes in three sizes, 4″, 6″, and 8″ in diameter, but can also be created in custom sizes. It functions beautifully for serving bread or crackers or on a vanity or dresser for holding items.
For serving up the main course, my silver salad servers and serving spoon make excellent silver wedding gifts that will be used frequently and not just on holidays. My husband and I use our silver serving spoons regularly and get a lot of enjoyment out of them!
A pair of silver napkin rings with the couple’s initials hand engraved on them is a lovely gift that can be built upon over the years. Starting them on any collection creates a gift you as well as others can give to help them complete the set.
Silver bowls, dishes, and boxes are also thoughtful silver wedding gifts, not only for their useful function on a coffee table, dresser, or vanity, but also for their beauty and enhancement of a new abode. Most of my silver bowls, dishes, and boxes come in a variety of sizes and too can be completed as a set in the future.
There are many more gorgeous heirloom silver wedding gift options in my website Shop Home category, so visit it for the complete selection. Elegant gift wrapping is free and it can be shipped directly to them.
If you do not see specifically what you are looking for on my website Shop, contact me directly at kaminer@kaminerhaislip.com to design a custom commission gift. For details on commissioning bespoke pieces, visit the Commission Work page on this website.
Cheers to the happy couple!
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Daughters of the American Revolution – American Heritage Award
I am so incredibly proud to announce I have been honored by the Daughters of the American Revolution two prestigious awards for the annual American Heritage Competition. My collection of handcrafted silver boxes Chorus was awarded the American Heritage Award for Crafts, First Place in the Other category!
The theme this year was “Rise, and Shine Your Light on the 19th Amendment” in celebration of the one hundred year anniversary of the women’s right to vote law being passed. The three birds symbolize a group of women together lifting up their voices and being heard, which directly relates to the suffrage movement. Just as women stood together and bravely fought for the right to vote, these birds collectively as a choir are rising up, harmonizing as one, and vocalizing their strength and determination. They are unified in their efforts, just like the women who courageously struggled for women’s right to vote and ultimately prevailed.
The second American Heritage Award I received was for the same entry and it is The Evelyn Cole Peters Award, which is awarded for excellence in any of the contest categories when an exceptional entry is presented. It is not given out every year, so it is a special honor. I was shocked by the first award, but the second award really floored me! It is such an honor and privilege to receive both of these prominent awards for my artwork.
I will receive the awards formally at DAR Continental Congress in June and I am so excited to highlight my wonderful Charleston DAR Rebecca Motte Chapter during this special event! Rebecca Motte’s father Robert Brewton and grandfather Miles Brewton were two of the most accomplished and talented silversmiths of colonial Charleston. Hopefully I am representing our chapter namesake well!
Through both this award and my involvement in DAR, an exceptional national non-profit organization and genealogical society, I strive to honor my American Revolution patriot and family heritage. For more information on DAR and our dedication to promoting patriotism, preserving American history, and securing America’s future through better education for children please visit http://www.dar.org/.
https://www.kaminerhaislip.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/logo-silver-jewelry-kaminer-haislip-340x156-VERDANA-1.jpg00adminhttps://www.kaminerhaislip.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/logo-silver-jewelry-kaminer-haislip-340x156-VERDANA-1.jpgadmin2020-03-18 14:05:362020-03-18 14:25:38Daughters of the American Revolution – American Heritage Award
Photo credit: Joanna Hamilton of JLHamilton Photography
Church Communion Tray Commission
In October 2019 the silver communion tray pictured above was dedicated to First Presbyterian Church in Aiken, SC. The entire process from designing it to making it to the dedication was a great experience I so enjoyed! This Blog post highlights this very special commission project for a church my family has been members of for four generations.
Photo credit: Joanna Hamilton of JLHamilton Photography
The church contacted me in the spring of 2019 and asked if I could make a custom, silver communion tray for them. The current tray they were using was not the right size or shape for the communion bread loaf, so they needed a more appropriate, oval shaped tray. During the communion ceremony the church also uses a silver chalice and flagon, or pitcher, both shown above, as well as small round silver bread trays to pass the bread throughout the congregation. All contributed to the design elements incorporated into the tray.
I worked very closely with the church’s committee on the design and met with them to discuss the project in depth and look at the existing church silver together. One extremely important item was the size and shape of the bread, because it would determine those elements of the tray. I did several rounds of drawings with numerous options for them to choose from. The existing silver pieces were so gorgeous they provided a lot of beautiful design inspiration!
Top view drawing of tray by Kaminer Haislip
The drawing above was the final rendering of the top view. I also provided other renderings of additional angles of the tray and all were drawn to scale of the actual object.
Photo credit: Joanna Hamilton of JLHamilton Photography
The chalice and some of the small, round bread trays have a bead rim in their design, so that element influenced the bead rim on the tray. Both the chalice and the flagon have very curved, flared shapes as part of their surface design that include on the chalice a chased floral pattern and on the flagon around the spout, so the tray handle design is a combination of those two motifs. The tray plate has a very slight curve, so when seen from the side angle it looks like angel wings lifting up. The dimensions of the tray plate were based on the size of the bread loaf used for communion.
The chalice and flagon both have an interesting past and during the Civil War they were hidden from the Union soldiers in a cistern. During both the Revolutionary War and Civil War, silver was frequently plundered from churches and private residences. Now it is not uncommon for historic silver pieces from the American South to show up in auctions in the American Northeast and England.
The chalice was made by Rogers Brothers Manufacturing in Hartford, CT between the dates of 1853-1861 and has the date 1856 hand engraved on the front of it. The flagon was made by Reed & Barton in Taunton, Massachusetts with the date unknown. Reed & Barton was founded in 1824 by silversmiths Henry Reed and Charles Barton, so we know if was made after 1824. I am still researching what the numbers stamped on the bottom mean and likely they hold the key to the date it was made.
Once the design was finalized and agreed upon, I created the tray out of sterling silver sheet and wire. It was an extremely challenging piece to make! The dimensions are 15.5″ length by 9″ width, so it is a very large and heavy object. The shape and curve to the tray plate required a lot of attention to detail and many rounds of hammering to get it in the correct shallow curve. The bead rim was a careful application on top of the flat, rectangular rim. In order for the slightly curved tray to stay stationary on the alter, I added a silver foot. The handles were the finishing touch to a very complex design.
The interior and exterior of the tray has a high shine, mirror finish, which to achieve over that large of a surface required many, many hours of sanding and polishing. The end result is stunning and worth every minute of time!
Photo credit: Joanna Hamilton of JLHamilton Photography
The perfect finishing touch was the gorgeous hand engraving on the back done by the very talented Kristina McClure, the only hand engraver in Charleston.
Photo credit: Joanna Hamilton of JLHamilton Photography
Photo credit: Joanna Hamilton of JLHamilton Photography
The inscription commemorates the dedication of the tray in celebration of First Presbyterian Church being located on Barnwell Avenue in Aiken, SC for fifty years. The worship service on October 27, 2019 was the church’s Jubilee celebration and the tray was dedicated then. It was a lovely service and a special day enjoyed by many. It was an honor to have created this silver tray to commemorate this momentous occasion. I love the idea that it will be used and enjoyed for many generations past mine and likely by my future family members.
Hand engraving by Kristina McClure
Hand engraving by Kristina McClure
If you are interested in commissioning a custom object or jewelry piece from me, then please check out my website Commission page that has examples of drawings and finished pieces. My Commission Policy outlines the details of commissioning me to make something unique and special for you. Thank you for your interest in my work!
Helena Fox Fine Art welcomes Charleston Silversmith Kaminer Haislip
CHARLESTON, SC, March 1, 2019 – – Helena Fox Fine Art, LLC is pleased to welcome Kaminer Haislip, Silversmith to the gallery.
We are thrilled to announce that silversmith Kaminer Haislip will be joining our gallery in March. Join us on Friday March 1, 2019 to welcome Silversmith Kaminer Haislip to the gallery—artist reception from 5-8pm during the Charleston Gallery Association spring artwalk.
Ms. Haislip’s work expands
our idea of what can be done with sterling silver. Using basically the same
techniques as colonial silversmiths Kaminer creates sleek and sculptural
objects for the home as well as sophisticated jewelry. Many of her pieces have
hidden meanings—such as the ‘nest bowl.’ In the object you see the layering of
larger and smaller sterling wires that intertwine to create a bowl shape, much
like you might see in a birds nest. Many of her designs are modern
interpretations of the world around us, such as her ‘Oyster’ series of jewelry
which echoes the familiar shape of an oyster shell in sterling wire.
‘I like silversmithing,”
Kaminer explains, “because it is midway between sculpture and jewelry.”
Laughing she adds, “although my parents wanted me to make jewelry since it was
more practical as a career.” After earning her MFA in silversmithing from
Winthrop University in 2005, Southern tastemakers began seeking her out for her
striking pieces. Among them Southern sweetheart and founder of lifestyle brand
Draper James, Reese Witherspoon. She found Ms. Haislip through the Garden and
Gun Made in the South awards where Ms. Haislip was a runner up in the overall
home wares division in 2012.
Join us on March 1st and give our newest artist a warm welcome. Jewelry and home objects will be on display with a larger selection available through Saturday March 2nd.
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