Photography: Jason Hawke
Model: Tess Barnhart
Direction Olivia Gianettino
Special thanks to the Metropolitan Billiard Parlor in Morgantown, WV
Kenzie Kress fell in love with beads long before making her first necklace or pair of earrings. Growing up in Bridgeport, WV, Kenzie quickly became a collector of all things tiny. It wasn’t until the COVID lockdown that Kenzie started playing with her large collection of beads, gems, baubles and oddities and transformed it into her maximalist jewelry brand, Eyes Up Here.
Her designs happen organically, embracing the joy of play that first got her interested in bead work. She strives to bring that cheerful tone to her work with the warm cluttered aesthetic of vintage I Spy books that have been a source of inspiration from the very beginning. Nowadays, the young designer works closely with regional and international brands to create wearable art with a global point of view.
“The couple that I work with from Beads & Things in Athens, Ohio are awesome. They actually will close the shop for periods of time while they go on sourcing trips — countries all over the world, sourced directly from the artist,” she said. “Then I also work with a lot of manufacturers from the Czech Republic, with carved bone from Africa and a lot of glass and gemstones.”
Since moving to Pittsburgh, PA Kenzie has struck a balance working with these rare, international pieces while staying connected to her roots. She intentionally uses the brook trout, the state fish of West Virginia, as the lure motif in all of her work, nimbly blending the familiar with the eclectic.
“I feel like it all comes together in a way that’s true to my personality,” she said of her design style. “But from a lot of different artists and different places that’s very in the spirit of Appalachia.”
Look out for the next “Lure Couture” preorder and more by visiting eyesupherestudio.com
