Kaminer Haislip, Silversmith : The Marriage Of Function And Form
By Holly Hamilton, Realtor, Broker Associate, Daniel Ravenel Sotheby’s International Realty
August 2016
Artists and artisans in Charleston are just one reason so many of us find living here a delight. Kaminer Haislip, one of the great silversmiths of our era, had just popped around from her studio at Redux when we met up last week. We took our tea and mineral water to the courtyard at Kudu Coffee, a favorite local watering spot. Immediately after her first sip, I started with the questions. I had a lot that I wanted to ask her, but I had honed the list to a mere six dozen. But first, I had to know why she became a silversmith. Relentless curiosity demands satisfaction.
Her handiwork should have give the biggest clue to what I now see so clearly. Kaminer Haslip must daily marry function to form. It’s how she seamlessly streamlines the world around us. She happens to do this with precious metals.
A true master silversmith, she studied her craft under internationally acclaimed English silversmith Alfred Ward. She knows historic and modern silver techniques. From her time with me, I could write an entire blog on how colonial America forged its own silver style and call it “the melding pot” of American smithing. That’s for another day.
Beginning her path to mastery sculpture inspired her first step. This hammer and anvil wielding porcelain doll began by tinkering in her family’s hardware store. Then, she took a shop class in Aiken, SC. When it was time to pick up a blowtorch, her classmates, well-mannered southern men, all offered to do that dirty work for her. She donned a mask, wielded her torch, and persisted in her labors until a sculpture was born. After all, she had to figure out how to marry function to form. And she most definitely has. Check out her instagram for even more details on the “how.”
It’s no surprise that her drive for seamless function and beauty has attracted attention. She designed and personally makes the most perfectly southern silver magnolia bowl for Reese Witherspoon’s lifestyle company, Draper James. Her coffeepot woke up judges during Garden and Gun’s 3rd annual prestigious Made in the South Award. She is internationally known. Her designs grace many a wish list (I want the magnolia bowl). The list goes on … and on.
A rising southern star with feet firmly planted on Charleston SC streets, Kaminer does what Charleston herself does, she adds her contemporary touch while preserving the historic framework.
From Art Walks to coffee shop encounters, Historic Charleston is a great place to call home.
UPDATE May 2023 Her most recent show with Leigh Magar was not to be missed : Interwoven: The Art of Indigo and Silver was at the Aiken Center for the Arts. Her work can regularly be found online or at Helena Fox Fine Art on Church Street here in Charleston, SC.