Wood Works

All too often the emphasis is placed on what goes into an accessory without any consideration for what comes out of it. Luckily, the London-based label WOOD removes all the guesswork for the responsible consumer. When product designer Bethan Laura Wood tried her hand at jewelry, she created necklaces as ecologically friendly as recess dandelion chains—without the pithy residue. In her accessory line Link, concentric hexagonal chains are laser-cut from a single sheet of 3mm birch ply—a process that promotes what Wood describes as "minimal material wastage." WOOD also embraces "the marks left by the process" by integrating the discoloration from the laser, inadvertently adding dimension and the illusion of stripes.

Yes, sustainability is its operative goal, but WOOD's inherent element of fun sweetens the deal. Individual links range in size—some are double, even triple stacked—and intermittently dipped in neon, cerulean, and saffron paint. The simple geometry recalls deconstructivist forms with whimsy, not ostentation. Banal materials are transformed into sculptural conversation pieces that beg to be examined and touched…and, of course, worn.

A new accessory that goes with the grain.