Mid Century Jewelry Designer – Kay Denning

I love love LOVE enamel on copper jewelry. I started off as a fan of Matisse jewelry (which I have seen
Joan wear on Mad Men many times), but then found the work of Kay Denning. Don’t get me wrong I
still own and admire Matisse, but it has definitely been pushed into the background when it comes to
searching and acquiring. Here are some pieces in my currently collection:

 

Aren’t they pretty! These are my favorite pieces.

 The yellow bracelet was one of my first pieces :) 

Bracelets, bracelets, and more bracelets

Yes she did make necklaces too!

How to spot a Denning? Well I find it quite easy, since her work is very distinctive. But a few things to
look for are, first the style. 95% of the pieces I have seen feature a designed made by large “cookies” or
globs of colored glass with a contrasting color background.

  See the raised "cookies"

Also there is of course her signature (which is usually in green on a white background)…obvious I know lol. But I have seen her work mislabeled all the time, and I’m constantly surprised by how many different words people read.  Generally most of the large items like bracelets and necklaces are marked, but rarely (if ever) are earrings and pins.

I have scoured the web and found very little information on the artist other than it seems she made
jewelry during the 60s for Bovano of Chester, CT.  There is one particular color combination that seems like it was quite popular, due to how often I see them.  That combo is the classic red, white, and blue (I wear mine every 4th of July)

 On occasion I have seen pieces that are not the "cookie" style, but rather look almost stenciled.  These are more rare it seems but they do come up on ebay every so often. 

I'm sure I will be collecting Denning for years to come, but I tend to buy it sporadically now.  Prices have sky rocketed, or at least sellers perceptions have warped.  If you do a search on Denning right now on ebay you will see bracelets in the price range up to 250 which just seems crazy to me.  I can understand wanting to get as much as you can for your item, but a lot of them have been "sitting" online for months.  Some of them are worth more than others (at least to me) but a lot of it is just overpriced.  But...if you love it as much as I do keep searching, there are some great pieces at reasonable prices...that is if I don't buy them first LOL. 

Becca

PS.  Check out my Collection here on the blog!