Some time ago M’Lady received (as a gift) a special Leather Jacket designed by Soeren Joensson or “Z” as his friend call him. The design was unlike anything I had ever seen. Instead of the typical cuts which make a jacket, the materials were cobbled together into a very unique pattern. It had loops all over it. Years after she received it, I made for her a series of clasps made of dragons: interlocking, solid rings of scales and teeth, wings which hooked into each other and the leather loops in which they were intertwined.
Upon several occasions, M’Lady was complemented, stalked and even assaulted to get the jacket and it’s hardware. Finely, at a Drum Circle the jacket was stolen off the chair where she was sitting: we found it weeks later: stripped of it’s sterling and left in a heap. Again I looked at the jacket and considered: what an honor it would be to be able to collaborate with Z.
A few years ago I was introduced to him through a good friend: Luna Shimada. Z is a force unto himself: For over 20 years he has produced leather and jewelry for bikers and rock musicians such as Ozzy Osborne and the Foo fighters. Other clients include J Leno, Cher and Dirk Losander. Z’s line of “Illegal Luxury Leather” is beautiful: skirts, jackets, vests corsets and more. Be sure to check out his website! It includes everything from T shirts to intense coats.
Over the past several years Z and I worked on several designs: pendants, rings, buttons and other ideas. Recently we settled on releasing our first piece: the Z-Skull Ring. The Skull Ring seems to change it’s mass: when you hold it in your hand the Ring feels very heavy, when you wear it the ring feels light. Deep set eyes in a very realistic skull which includes the famous “Z” logo in the temples and inside the ring itself (accompanying the “Merlin” logo!). The new Skull Rings now available in Copper, Bronze, Sterling silver; also now available: clad in 18k Yellow gold and a deep rich 14k Rose Gold. Each ring is hand made (my hands!), not mass produced: rare and carefully crafted especially for Z.
Now available only in a select store in Las Vegas and through the Friends of the Desert Pyrate!
Amulets by Merlin's Blog 