Chicago - December 13, 2005

The Shape of Things

Sherzada Jewelry

Pity the humble square — it gets such a bad rap.

Being square is the opposite of being cool. Square pegs don’t fit into anything. And square meals? Fine, they may be healthy, but they’re more boiled bland chicken than buttered filet mignon.

Jewelry designer Sherzada Ornelas gives the old geometric shape a second chance with Sherzada, her funky yet classic line of jewelry. Inspired by the graphic dresses she remembers her mother wearing in the ’70s, Ornelas creates necklaces, earrings, and bracelets of semiprecious stones and crystals based on the clean lines of the square and its longer, leaner brother, the rectangle.

Ornelas has a penchant for picking colors with punch. (The red onyx and amethyst designs are hard to keep in stock.) Whether you choose a tile-inspired necklace or a bracelet with spectacularly sparkly faceted stones, you’re sure to turn heads.

Proving once and for all that it’s hip to be square.

Available online at sherzada.com.