Detroit is brimming with creative talent, as evidenced by jewelry designers, Nava Wiegert and Brianna Kenyon, the design duo behind Suum.  Detroit Style Review recently interviewed Wiegert, who proved to be just as intriguing as the pieces she creates.          

DSR: What’s the meaning behind the name Suum?

NW:  “One day a few years ago, Brianna and I lined up our micro metal components in robotic army fashion on the dining table of a close friend, Robert McAdow.  Always intrigued by his psychological mind, we asked him what they meant to him.  Without hesitation, ‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  It’s Gestalt.  More correctly, the whole is other than the sum of its parts.’”

“I later nested into a piece of paper and pulled some words out of that wine fueled discussion, in the inspired mood to finally name our art of parts, a task previously daunting.  I chose the word “sum” for manipulation.  To it I added a ‘u’ because that’s what you do to find a sum, add, which made the new word both greater than and other than its original self.  Inserting the ‘u’also signified the physical addition of U/You to our work as a crucial, physical component of its wholeness.  On my paper:  Suum.  It looked intriguing and made sense, at least to me, its creator.  Proud of it, I grabbed Google, which instantly informed me I was not suum’s creator!  Suum is ancient, Latin, and means his, her, its own.  It is reflective possessive, unisex, individual, ironically perfect.  Even more, paired with another curious looking word, suum cuique means to each his or her own.  So, it’s a made up word that isn’t a made up word that fits with precision as Suum Sums do!”

DSR: How did the two of you develop the “concept” behind Suum?

NW: “Obeying inborn curiosity and for the goodness sake of jewelry’s evolution, we broke a few rules and parts landed in our laps.  There was something beautiful about each individual part, but when it formed an alliance with others, it transcended its individual beauty.  Acquiring purpose, each trusted the next, until as a unit, they politely asked us to join them for completion.  They pleaded with us to keep the fixing torch away, assuring us we were all they needed to hold.  So, to answer your question, I don’t believe we designed the concept as much as we discovered something that invited us to work with it, something too gripping to not give it a voice.” 

“As humans, Brianna and I enjoyed the experience of this discovery.  As designers, we chose to offer this natural reward of discovery to the conSuumer.  It would have been inhumane to solder those parts together.” 

DSR: How did the two of you become partners?

NW: “We were friends first, partners second, friends still.  We met in a subterranean studio in Ann Arbor, seated beside one another in the wax room, both designers for jeweler, Matthew Hoffman.  Initially toiling in anonymity creating inert works (I, led by my right hand, she, by her left), we soon realized we shared an artistic ambition to snub stubborn tradition.  Merging minds and putting our strong hands together, we conceived a new understanding of the accessory, a mutual devotion to challenge a perpetually ancient premise:  to be no mere ballast, but an integrated instrument of design.  What began as a restless curiosity soon evolved into an alloy of vision that eclipsed a mere summing of its parts.”

DSR: What are the pros and cons of being Detroit based designers?

NW: “Detroit can turn and mill metal on one foot with its eyes closed.  It’s a natural manufacturing home for Suum.  Michigan has produced such precision product for us that Suum Sums have been compared to German engineering at its finest by several of the industry’s most respected, discerning eyes.  ‘aSUUMe not,’ we two girls with the muscle of Detroit say with a proud smile!” 

“Also, an inspirational gem for our industrial aesthetic, Detroit is so far the only diamond we have set in our work.  Its folks gleam with brilliance too and push us forward with their strengths, like Simone DeSousa of Re:View Contemporary who breathes art and discovers talent that rivals the nation’s best.  Story sharing, supportive bloggers such as yourself are also a great gift of Detroit for its artists and their progressive work needing a vessel.  Thank you!”

DSR: How would you best describe the Suum customer?

NW: “Man and woman drawn to any of the following:  the unusual, the unexpected, modern art, architecture, metaphor, mechanics, construction, precision engineering, partnership, teamwork, story, discovery, American innovation, conscious evolution.” 

“Equally, the man and woman repelled or bored by any of the following:  ‘jewel’ry, dusty notions, assumptions, stiff forms, rules.”

DSR: What sets Suum apart from other jewelry brands?

NW: “Thesaurus.com suggests these synonyms for the word ‘accessory,’ which well-describe the product of the others:  additions, adornments, attachments, bells and whistles, decorations, doodads, embellishments, extras, frills, ornaments, trimmings.  Such words do not describe Suum Sums because our chosen definition of an accessory isn’t a passive put-on.  Instead, it is an assistant, accomplice, co-conspirator, cooperator, helper, partner in crime.  We are separated from the others by pure, twenty-four carat definition.  Contrasting to the industry’s traditional use of the human form as a hanger for handsome things, Suum integrates both mind and body into form and function.  Suum Sums are wearable architecture that require the human form to build, support, and embody.  More than metal, they are the experience of acquired function and multi-faceted beauty when beings and design concept work together.  Ornaments be damned!”

DSR: Where do you hope to see Suum in the next five years?

NW: “I see Suum with conscious posture as a globally respected design innovator, our Detroit-made Suum Sums available across the nation.  We will remain curious, ceaselessly evolve, and continue to produce innovative, interactive products that contain parts with purpose, beauty, integrity, and possibility.  We will be forever thankful to those who have contributed to making Suum Gestalt.”

DSR: Where can Suum be purchased?

NW: “Presently, Suum is exclusively represented by Re:View Contemporary Gallery (444 W. Willis, Detroit)in Midtown. 

Photos courtesy of Suum; Photo 1 pictured left to right designers Nava Wiegert and Brianna Kenyon