Design Challenge and Design Ideas

A collaboration jewellery design between Edge Only and Electronic Sheep to mark knitwear brand Electronic Sheep’s 21st birthday. The first challenge was creating a design that represented both brands equally. With the common ground of music as a major influence on our work the cassette tape concept evolved. The next was a technical challenge – to realise imagery created by designers from a graphic/textile background into jewellery scale. Taking into account the variables of 3D design including pendant size, weight, print depth, legibility and production limitations of molding and casting. If the recesses were too shallow or the cut outs too small, the cassette would not come out of the mould cleanly or details could be polished off during finishing. If too thick, it could become too heavy/expensive. Unisex appeal and price were key. We wanted the design made in Ireland and hallmarked in Dublin Castle, yet sell for under €300.

How the brief was fulfilled

A collaboration between knitwear brand Electronic Sheep and jewellery brand Edge Only, the brief was to create an iconic piece of jewellery to celebrate 21 years of Electronic Sheep. The goal: For it to be ethically made in Ireland, be a high quality statement piece, have unisex appeal, be accessibly priced and to capture the personality of both brands. Edge Only and Electronic Sheep share a life long love of music so this was our starting point. The ‘Mixed Tape’ cassette pendant idea related to Electronic Sheep’s music inspired knitwear and their recent collection ‘The Beat Club’. Music is also the focus of Edge Only’s ‘Rock & Roll’ collection with Jenny a former DJ/music presenter. The retro style of the pendant attracts our younger customer and is nostalgic for those who loved making/receiving mixed tapes. To create universal gender appeal, it was important it did not look dainty – that it had substance, weight and scale, while not being too big/heavy for everyday wear. A standard length belcher chain for women and a longer, chunkier curb chain for men were added. To address weight and scale, Edge Only suggested making it 3D in order to cut out elements in the design similar to a real cassette. This dramatically reduced the weight of the silver pendant and improved the aesthetic, allowing for true-to-life details such as corners screws and tape head recesses.

The plain ‘A side’ provided optional personalisation – customers could have it custom engraved. The fully illustrated ‘B Side’ let both brands stamp their iconic designs on it. Electronic Sheep’s hand illustration for the pendant B side has a lot of imagery on it – a 21 key, skull, heart, anchor and lightning bolt. It was a huge challenge to get everything on the cassette so this is where Edge Only’s manufacturing experience and Sé’s CAD skills kicked in. The point sizes of words and logos were increased to a minimum 0.1mm to ensure legibility.

The result exceeded expectations in every way. A joint creative and commercial success. The ‘Mixed Tape’ became the playlist for Electronic Sheep’s 21 years in business.