As a student at Michigan State University in the late 2000s, DaTrice Clark and some of her friends held a get-together dedicated to making their own version of the popular, often expensive ripped jeans style.
Today, Clark is bringing that same knack for recreating fashion trends to the masses with The Designer Hack, a DIY accessories workshop geared toward fashionistas and novice crafters.
“My mind automatically reverse engineers designs,” she says. “If you can’t spend the money every time something new comes out, you can make it yourself and put your spin on it.”
Inspired by fashionable women she sees in Detroit as well as global runway shows, the accessories guru says her favorite jewelry to “spin” include elaborate designs from Dolce & Gabbana and Oscar de la Renta. At The Designer Hack’s July workshop, she taught attendees how to pay homage to a pair of feather statement earrings from Tory Burch’s spring/summer 2017 collection.
At this month’s event at Bamboo Detroit, Clark will be showing guests how to craft her interpretation of a $400 Lizzie Fortunato choker necklace that features layers of fuchsia and burgundy fringe. The workshop will teach participants how to make their own unique creation for less than $40.
“That’s our goal — a fraction of the cost but still the same luxury,” she says.
Just like previous events, Clark will show attendees how to mix and match materials, such as colorful rope, textured fabrics, and hardware details, to bring the piece to life. She’ll also provide a step-by-step pictorial and will be on standby to answer questions.
“A lot of people think, ‘oh, I’m not an artist,’ or I’ve heard people say, ‘I’m not creative,’” Clark says. “The Designer Hack is for everyone. It’s a judgment-free place to create.”
1. Apply a dab of E600 to the back of the green rhinestone and glue it to the gold earring post.
2. Make a tassel: Cut 12-inch strands of the green, pink, and red floss. Gather your cut thread, and make sure the green is in the middle for contrast. Wrap all the strands around the prongs of the fork. Cut a smaller piece of any color, pull underneath your wrappings through the opening between one prong, tie a knot to secure. Open jump rings using pliers. Slide wrappings off fork. Feed the jump ring through the smaller end of your wrappings and close with pliers. Take scissors and cut the loops of the opposite end to create more fringe. Trim to your desired length. Repeat to make four tassels.
3. Make a pom: Cut a 12-inch piece of thread from the blue floss, and wrap around two fork prongs. Cut a smaller piece of thread to tie in the center. Slide off the fork, trim the looped ends, and fluff. Repeat to have a total of two poms.
4. Cut eight, 3-inch pieces of wire.
Step 5
5. Thread wire through red bead until the bead is centered. Fold ends of wire downward and pull through the filigree earring base just underneath the top hole. Twist the wires that are now sticking out in back until bead is secure. Bend the wire down and trim. Repeat adding a pink bead to each side of the red.
6. Open jump rings and three gold coins to the bottom of the pendant. Placing one at the bottom and one to each side into the holes of the filigree.
7. Apply a drop of glue between the pink beads to stick the blue pom to.
8. String two tassels onto gold wire, feed ends of wire through pendant just under pom, twist and secure.
9. Add a jump ring to the green rhinestone post and connect it to the top of your embellished pendant to complete the statement earrings.
Step 10
10. Apply glue to the back side where wires are once trimmed. Do not cut the wires completely off.
To learn more about The Designer Hack and to sign up for this month’s event, visit triceclark.co
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