Kaitlin Kerr

Last week was a doozy. On Monday, we got the news that @scoutltd had won the auction to purchase the Hamilton Hall and Furness buildings. That morning was filled with tears, some from sadness, knowing that the lineage of artists and craftspeople from UArts has been forever severed. It was heartbreaking to accept that those buildings were meant to exist as UArts, but years of mismanagement and greed led to their downfall. More than anything, though, there was relief. Relief that my alma mater wouldn’t be gutted by New York developers. Relief that the Avenue of the Arts still has a chance to thrive. Relief that, for once, the good guys got a win. For those who don’t know, Maricha (@thetinyjeweler ) and I (Kaitlin - @echometals ) have embarked on a new journey. We’re opening Alloy Atelier (@alloyatelier ), a joint retail and education venture. To bring our educational programming to life, we needed a substantial amount of metalworking tools and equipment, which, as you can imagine, is a serious financial hurdle. Through the grapevine, we learned that UArts had begun auctioning off its contents as part of the bankruptcy process. For six months, we tried to place a bid and failed multiple times before we finally had some success. The process was long, stressful, and deeply emotional. Last week, it finally happened. We moved a huge amount of equipment into our new space on the ground floor of @buildingbok . With the help of Michael (@studebakermetals ), Joe (@joepillari ), and John (@peopleinquestion ), we spent two intense days packing up what remained of the UArts metals and jewelry studio. It felt right to be there together in the end, and I’m forever grateful for the help. We truly couldn’t have done it without you all. Even with the excitement and gratitude of salvaging these tools, there’s still an underlying sadness and confusion wrapped up in it. So many generations of artists found their way in those studios and all of those tools are imprinted with their struggles and triumphs and discoveries. I feel like moving them jostled all this energy, good and sad, out into the world. CONTINUED IN COMMENTS

We are 1 year old today! What a wild ride. We are so grateful to all of our artists, educators, customers, students and supporters. Thank you for believing in us ♥️

Time flies and we’re turning one y’all! Come hang out with us for a fun night of snacks, drinks and cake. We’ll be debuting a few new collections including our charm bar which features many new artists to the gallery! Friday May 29th 5-9(ish) 😘 OOPS! Had the wrong day on the old post. Please forgive me I’m only human!

NEW! Eco-Printing & Scarf Woggle Workshop! 🏵 I'm very excited to announce a brand new workshop I'm offering this July in collaboration with Kaitlin Kerr (@echometals ) of @alloyatelier ! This extra special two part-workshop will be held over two consecutive Thursday evenings. In part-one, you'll create an eco-printed silk scarf using wildflowers. In part-two, you'll design and fabricate a metal scarf ring, known as a "woggle." Two craft practices coming together to make a custom wearable set! @alloyatelier is such a special place - part thoughtfully curated jewelry shop featuring local artist, part workshop space, all housed within the Bok Building. And yes, I'll be joining part two so I can make my own woggle! Can't wait to pair my plant dyed scarfs with a handmade piece of jewelry! ✨️ You'll find the workshop listed on both our websites. This workshop is capped at 8 students, so act fast if you're interested in joining! P.S. Thank you @risobitch for being our illustrious scarf+woggle model. Yet another talented artist and co-owner of @pet_riso also in the Bok! #naturaldyes #ecoprinting #jewelryworkshop #plantdye #phillymade

It’s been a busy week around here! Our old pal @pattonoswalt stopped by the studio last week, and we gave him a full tour of @buildingbok . From the auditorium to the rooftop view and everything in between, it was so fun to see Bok through fresh, outsider eyes. It left us with a renewed appreciation for the community we get to be part of every day. A little backstory to our connection: Kaitlin and Maricha (team Alloy), along with dear friends @emi.savacool and @_mallory_weston_ , used to listen to Patton’s stand-up during long nights in the undergrad metals studio at UArts. When he came through town, we saw his show and met him after. We gave him a gift and told him what we do. He was excited and immediately started pitching project ideas. We assumed he was just being kind (he truly is), but a few weeks later he emailed to start our first piece together. Below are a few highlights from projects we’ve made for him over the years, all created as gifts for people in his life. Thanks for reading along, enjoy! #1–3 – Patton’s recent trip to Philly #4–6 – Our first piece for him was a “memory box” for his late wife Michelle’s birthday, inspired by a vintage sewing box with compartments for meaningful mementos. The lid features an etched brass plate of their first home. #7–8 – A gift for his friend, sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison. An enameled box modeled after a Ritz cracker box, holds four pins and a tie clip representing famous works throughout his career. Continued in comments

The education side of things has been getting lots of love recently and for good reason. But let’s not forget about our beautiful gallery. Couldn’t resist getting out the real camera as disco o’clock sprayed the walls with dappled light.

Tink tink tink. Making a tiny 18k gold hammer for someone special. ✨ 🔨

This piece “The Whole Package” that I made in 2009 as a senior in college at The University of the Arts is part of the exhibition: Bows @brooklynmetalworks on view from Dec 7th-January 26th. “The Whole Package” reflects the pressure to present oneself as flawless and put-together, like a neatly wrapped package. Wearing it acknowledges the weight of expectations, of appearing complete and polished on the outside, even if things feel less certain within. The bow suggests the tension between image and reality, and the struggle to maintain a facade in a world that often values surface over substance. It’s a reminder of the masks we wear, the effort to meet ideals, and the hidden complexities behind a presented exterior.

Craft is resistance. Art is resistance. WE are THE resistance. Threw the syllabus out the window for my class this morning and after we cried and hugged, we pulled ourselves up and I taught them how to forge cuff bracelets. We got out the big torches and the big hammers and let it all out. Wrote our mantras in the insides to keep them close. Take care of yourselves so that you can take care of each other.

Thank you all so much again! Here is the proof of donation to @thepcrf . Please consider donating to them on your own. No amount is too small. ✌🏼 ❤️ 🇵🇸

Thank you everyone so much from the bottom of my heart for donating to this necklace raffle to support the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF). We raised $1,055 together! Congrats to the winner, Jay Shifman @southphillyjays . I’ll be in touch about pick up or shipping and I will post a donation receipt tomorrow. Here’s to a free Palestine. ✌🏼❤️🇵🇸

Hi and welcome!! We are so excited about our biggest and most exciting collaboration yet, Alloy Atelier, an experiential retail space in Philadelphia that will offer a curated selection of jewelry and crafts, along with hands-on workshops and classes. Our goal is to celebrate the spirit of craftsmanship by showcasing locally made, high-quality goods as well as providing workshops that foster hands-on learning and skill development. 👀 Visit our new website to read about us, our goals, and the future of our new space in @buildingbok 🏫 Don’t forget to sign up for our mailing list so that we can be in touch with you as we grow and begin to develop our class offerings and scheduling! 🤍, Kaitlin & Maricha