Well-known jewelry designer Alex Sepkus died Sunday.
He was “a profoundly talented artist and a long-standing pillar of the COUTURE community,” according to an Instagram post from the Couture account.
“Alex emigrated to the United States from Lithuania in 1988, and immediately made his mark within the industry, launching his eponymous collection in the New Design Gallery of the JA New York Show in 1993,” according to the post.
“He is beloved among designers and collectors alike, and he will be greatly missed by his close-knit team and the entire COUTURE community. May he Rest In Peace.”
A post from his brand’s Instagram account noted that Sepkus was born in 1954 and “was extraordinarily proud of his heritage and was deeply committed to carrying on its traditions.”
“A man of faith, Alex was a founding member of the Sleepy Hollow Schola Cantorum in Westchester, NY,” the post continued. “Along with his wife, Dangė, Alex maintained strong ties to the Lithuanian community both personally and professionally.
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“An internationally celebrated artist, he was revered by the members of his team, many of whom had worked alongside him for decades.”
Sepkus once explained his design process. He didn’t tend to make sketches, but started instead with a wax model.
“I have no technical secrets,” he said. “The main trick is in the very intricate manual work that goes into the process. I can explain the process to everybody. But at the same time, I don’t think that I have ever seen a copy of my work somewhere. It is just so labor intensive.”
In a 2012 interview, Sepkus told INSTORE: “An older jeweler friend said that I was born a jeweler. So it seemed that making jewelry, for me, would be the easiest way to make a living. I started my own business in 1990 with an idea to make handmade jewelry that would completely be identifiable as an Alex Sepkus piece and to sell those pieces. My collection is a mosaic of elements from various cultures, time periods, nature, and what I find beautiful. I continually want to revive something familiar yet something totally new so that when a potential customer or collector looks at a piece, it evokes feelings and a lasting impression. Personally, I love putting together interesting collections of elements — like keys on a wall or medicine bottles on shelves, but in a totally unique and evocative way.”
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