Asymmetrical Matchmaking
What earring camp of design are you in? Do you always make earrings that match, or do you occasionally create a mismatched pair? Or are you one of those rare birds that abhors the symmetry of a matched pair and avoids it completely? I have lately come to the conclusions that I am a bit tired of matching earring. I couldn’t say why but I’ve started grabbing just one of two different pairs and wearing those as a set. My decisions, however, are not random. I have a lot of earrings with similar designs or techniques and I choose the new pairing with an eye to there being some kind of recognizable connection between the newly partnered set because recognizable connection is what makes a pair of earrings a match.
Design is all about making connections for the viewer of the work. It’s about developing a relationship physically, visually, or conceptually between the elements of an item (or set) so that people see the work as cohesive and intentional. That doesn’t mean that everything needs to literally match or mirror, as it is often done with earrings. People seem to think earrings in a pair need to match unless you’re going for some funky or edgy aesthetic.
However, I’d like to show you that earrings can be created unmatched or asymmetrical and still look contemporary, sophisticated, or otherwise just fabulous. There is a whole range of things you can do to throw off the symmetry between a pair of earrings. It can be subtle like a color change or rearrangement of the same elements, or it can be extreme like a size or visual weight difference. Regardless of the chosen differences, the earrings in a well-designed unmatched set will feel related in some fashion, often having several matching elements but not symmetry between them but it could also be that they are complete opposites or are unrelated visually but are grouped in our mind through common concepts. Let’s go on and I’ll explain.
Creative Match Making
Let’s start with subtle mismatching in our matchmaking of earrings. This can be done by changing just one aspect. Color is easy to change up, but it can also get complicated as there are characteristics of color itself that need to be matched to make two different colors work together such as saturation and value. If you have a great grasp of color, then try that out. Otherwise, you might start with something a little more straightforward like size, shape, or texture.
Here is a brilliant example by Bettina Welker. These earrings are sophisticated but relatively simple in design. They get a boost of energy by the simple but discordant change of texture in the pair.
Placement is also an easy way to throw they symmetry off while keeping the same visual weight and size, aspects that can help ensure the earrings look like they belong together. This pair from Jagna Birecka does just that in a very simple way. She just turned the first order of strung elements upside down for the second earring. The fact that both end elements are round makes the changeup not quite as jarring or wonky as it could be while still being immediately noticeable.
When the color palette and primary shapes are the same, it really doesn’t matter where the elements land on an earring. If the color palette feels the same and some other big design elements such as shape and size are equivalent, you can change up the placement of the pattern and the balance of color between the pair and they will look quite matched and sophisticated. This set by Nikolina Ortzan is a great example of that. She uses the same set of colors in each earring (and the pendant) and has nothing but circular shapes so you might not even notice that they are not the same but you certainly feel the energy the disparity exudes.
If you like this kind of mismatch, peruse through Nikolina’s Flickr photostream. She employs this approach quite a lot and very successfully.
Concepts, not just visual elements, can create the connected relationship between the pair in an earring set. It was hard to find really great sets in polymer (it’s not like people are hash tagging #ConceptuallyMishmatchedPolymerEarrings on Instagram) so let me demonstrate conceptual relationships with a couple of other materials.
For instance, the classic Moon and Sun icons are easily recognized as related and are often used in jewelry. In this enamel and gem set pair by Diego Percossi Papi, the designer also ensured a recognizable relationship by using the same style and types details. The curved and very pointed ends of the moon echo the wavy and very pointed ends of the sun. The colors and materials used also remain consistent between the two. There is also a consideration of balance. Even though they are visually quite different forms, they feel equal. As Diego puts it. “The moon is longer to compensate for the sun that weighs more in color and size. The sun would be much more invasive, with its large areas of enamel, which is a form of balance and respect for the moon.”
The great thing about conceptual relationships is that you can really stretch the differences visually and have few, if any, commonalities between the two earrings if the concept is strong. Take this xylophone and its hammer. We know they belong together, that they come as a set so the instrument can be played and so they “match” conceptually. These cute fabricated earrings by Candyflaps and Sprinkles are made from vintage xylophone parts, and can still be played!
Combine conceptual images and strong design elements and it might take a second for people to realize that they are unmatched. Luann Udell’s Shaman Mask earrings are the same size and shape and are both faux ivory and well as being face masks, However, the faces have different expressions and shading. They are similar enough in how they are rendered and in what they are to give them a strong relationship on top of the already strong connection in shape.
You can also develop a relationship between two different earrings when they are two halves of one thing, such as this scene that spans the pair of polymer earrings created by Tishaia. Each earring is well composed on its own but creates a little scene when side by side. She has more obvious halves too which you can find on her Instagram page. I just thought this one was gorgeously done. 
Mix and Match
Okay … ready to mismatch some earring sets? Isn’t it just great to give yourself permission to go unmatched?
Understanding that earrings in a set should have some commonality, you can easily create new sets, maybe even from elements you already have. Pull out your box or bin or drawer of unused elements and start mixing and matching. Lay out beads and other pieces in sets when you find elements that have at least a couple of matching or related color palettes, shapes, sizes, or other design elements and see how you like them as earring pairs. I bet you’ll find at least a few. You can strengthen their connection by using the same spacer beads, dangles and/or findings in the final construction of the earrings. Lay these options out and see what you come up with.
You can even take the beads that are alike and change up the spacers and findings to give them some of that asymmetrical energy. Dangles are particularly effective. You can even add dangles to just one side, like Valeria of Jewellry for World on Etsy does here.
If you want to change up your findings, learning to make your own unique ear wires is a great place to start mixing it up. Here is an easy tutorial from Janet Liu of Crystals and Clay, with 5 designs to get you jumpstarted on creating your own ear wires or it might be a good refresher if you haven’t done it in a while.
For Love of Hot Water
Who is tired of hearing about my house drama? I think I am! This week we lost the use of our one working shower when something got sucked into the hot water line and killed the old show faucet. The glamping quickly turned into a more standard camping experience as running water and showers were absent most of the week. Luckily, we have family nearby so there were trips made just for showers!
On a positive note, we are also now in the “putting things back together” stage. This past week was all running pipes and gas lines and new electrical in the walls and attic. Nothing photo worthy. But, whew! Nice to be past the destruction phase. We get to start drywalling next week. Very exciting!
Yesterday was the first truly nice day since this all started. High of 73F and sunny! Much time was spent out in the yard. But today we have a high of 58F and its spitting rain. The wildly varying temperature range reminds me of Colorado (where we’d say “Don’t like the weather? Wait 15 minutes.”) who just got walloped by a winter storm this past week. Weather is just being funky this year. Is it out of whack where you are too?
Well, I hope that, regardless of the weather, you have time to hit the studio to mismatch and have fun trying out earring combinations. Or just getting time to play. For my US readers, enjoy your family and friends on this Memorial Day and take a little time out to remember the folks who gave their lives defending and fighting for us and for others around the globe. Have a great coming week!
