![]() ![]() Cherry rings were formed from the remnants of a fallen tree in Baton Rouge’s Mid City. A set of hoops appears carved from marble but is in fact spalted, the remarkable result of fungi infecting a pecan tree and leaving behind admittedly gorgeous discolorations. A chunky cuff is adorned in the tight waving stripes of a Louisiana sinker cypress pulled from the bottom of Lake Maurepas. I can always tell exactly what it is going to be just by looking at it.”Īgainst a landscape as distinctive and culturally ingrained as Louisiana’s, Taylor’s ability to spotlight the mesmerizing details of regional trees with stunning, minimalist design elevates her work beyond statement jewelry. Taylor said that when it comes to designing each piece, the wood speaks for itself. The broad aesthetic of Taylor’s jewelry is simple: it is all made from wood, the starting point of so much human innovation and creativity, the bare bones for beauty and functionality in our homes and often the most stunning element of nature’s raw designs. “This is my favorite shop I’ve ever had,” said Taylor, practically spinning next to her band saw. “Our life is half making music, half making jewelry,” said Taylor, pictured with fiancé Denton Hatcher.“My dreams have totally come true.”Īfter their engagement last year, Molly moved into Hatcher’s home, bringing her jewelry business from her former Mid City space with her and setting up shop in the back of the recording studio. Today, the two spend most weekends touring the region as a duet, with performances from Mississippi and Alabama to Tennessee and beyond––in addition to regular stage appearances at venues across Louisiana. People will come tell us how much they were moved by her, and it’s always some old guy.” “She can make any grown man cry,” he said of her sound. It was a great way to get to know her.” Hers is a powerful voice, impressively acoustic and carefully weighted with the rootsy tones of experience-and makes a stirring harmony with Hatcher’s eclectic take on an old-country twang. “Her writing is so great, and she has a fantastic voice. “I had opened up for her a few times,” said Hatcher. Hatcher and Taylor had both been on the Baton Rouge singer/songwriter circuit for years before they started playing together, soon after they began dating. “Our life is half making music, half making jewelry,” said Taylor, owner and designer of Beneath the Bark Jewelry. In these creative, collaborative realms, the two are building their lives together. Just beyond the heavy curtain of Blue Velvet Studios, though, one passes into the bright, warm, sycamore-scented air of Taylor’s Beneath the Bark jewelry workshop. Here in the dark, cozy space of her fiancé Denton Hatcher’s studio has many a local songwriter (Thomas Johnson, Dalton Wayne, Ben Bell, Clay Parker and Jodi James, to name a few) sat to record their sound. In Baton Rouge’s creative space, Molly Taylor has staked out her place as a singer/songwriter as well as the designer of Beneath the Bark Jewelry.Ī visitor’s first steps into Molly Taylor’s home are swaddled in blue velvet and song. ![]()
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