Flights of Fancy: The Botanical and Bejeweled Universe of Mindy Lam

Jewelry artist Mindy Lam presented "Flights of Fancy: The Botanical and Bejeweled Universe of Mindy Lam" from May 1 through June 7, 2021. The exhibit showcased hundreds of one-of-a-kind brooches and other pieces created especially for this popular exhibition. 

View a short video of "The Botancial and Bejeweled Universe of Mindy Lam."

View a full-length video of "The Botanical and Bejeweled Universe of Mindy Lam."

View the press on the exhibition in The Berkshire Eagle, Rural Intelligence and The Berkshire Edge.

As a child growing up on her family’s farm in Hong Kong, Mindy Lam escaped into an imaginary secret garden hidden in the verdant grasses and abundant wildflowers growing near the creek where she played. Her friends were the woodland creatures: the birds, frogs, ants, spiders and owls. Her imagination flourished in this natural yet magical setting, the inspiration for her BBG exhibition, for which she has created a special series of her signature jewelry. 

Like a spider spinning a web, Mindy spins 14k gold, copper or stainless steel wire around tiny bits of bejeweled and vintage flowers, animals, bugs and birds with accents of sparkling crystals and semi-precious stones. Each unique piece in the exhibition looks freshly plucked from a fairytale garden. The unique Homme line of lapel pins for men are sought after and collected by men and women alike. 

A hallmark of Mindy’s style is her technical ability to sculpt and visually transform hard materials like metal into illusions of fragility and softness, creating metal lace by repetitive braiding and weaving of wire that appears from afar as diaphanous as thread. Mindy’s metal lace dresses, cuffs and choker necklaces are surprisingly soft to touch and evoke contemporary haute couture fashion as well as the splendor of the Renaissance. 

Lam’s imagination has brought her a long way from her family’s farm; her jewelry was a favorite at famed luxury clothier Henri Bendel in Manhattan and has been featured in the Museum of Fine Arts Houston; in Vogue, Elle and Glamour magazines; and on the fashion runway. 

For this very special exhibit, the Leonhardt Galleries was transformed into a magical fairyland, with Lam’s dazzling adornments staged throughout. Located in the original C 1700s section of the Garden’s renovated Center House, the intimate galleries lent themselves to this unique exhibition, where three distinctive “gallery rooms” create a backdrop of wonder and intrigue. One room featured the Homme Couture Collection in a fairy tale setting: within each one-of-a-kind brooch lies bejeweled creatures and floral elements made with precious metals, crystal, stones and vintage brooches. A smaller gallery room featured an installation of a manmade ornamented garden containing nearly 500 Mindy Lam Classic original brooches, earrings and a lariat coming to life. The Wedding Room featured Lam’s signature metal lace gown, a wearable sculpture originating with a single, delicate thread of wire. This gallery also showcased her couture collection designed especially for once-in-a-lifetime events.