It seems 2016 could be the year the maker culture takes over in Baton Rouge.
As 225 reports in a feature from its January issue, one example of that culture is Molly Taylor’s Beneath the Bark jewelry brand.
Like her music, Taylor’s design style is often improvisational. Her geometric shapes veer toward tribal and Native American influences—part of her heritage—but most of all, they are original Molly Taylor freestyle creations.
“I don’t like to do things all the same,” she says. “It sort of comes to me as I go. I choose an interesting piece of wood, and I let it tell me what it wants to be.”
Taylor’s Beneath the Bark brand has taken off since its beginning in late 2014 via a Christmas gift idea that quickly grew into a business venture. She carefully selects the material for each piece from scrap wood, all of which has been salvaged locally, leftover from her boyfriend Andrew Moran, the craftsman behind the reclaimed wood furniture company Mid City Handmade.
One necklace is made with Lake Maurepas driftwood, while others come from fallen trees gathered around Baton Rouge. All of the pieces are made by hand in the woodshop, some even with a massive antique lathe that belonged to Moran’s grandfather.
Taylor’s indie, upcycling lifestyle represents maybe the biggest cultural trend the Capital Region has seen recently. It’s a maker culture, built around local goods, small businesses and word-of-mouth advertising. Flourishing neighborhoods like Ogden Park and Capital Heights have supported the trend with art hops and festivals, which Taylor and other makers frequent to get their products into local hands.
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