Ladies and gentleman, meet Kristen Adam.

When Kristen was just a baby her mother was an established painter and maker of wearable art, as well as the head of the local arts council which was responsible for bringing art and culture to their relatively small hometown of Redding, CA. So as a wee lass Kristen grew up in galleries and art fairs, ballets and operas, and was always lovingly encouraged by her artist mother. To draw, paint, sew, photograph, dance, make music, or do just about anything her little heart desired to inspire her inherent creative spirit to bloom.

When Kristen turned ten her family decided to make a change and start up their own business together, a travel agency. This resulted in the luckiest of circumstances for a young creative person, as she spent a portion of the next 8 years of her life travelling the world. From that point on she would find herself immersed in the art and culture of countless magical places, all leaving a lasting impression on her, her artistic vision, and world view. As she got older, she became the master of DIY and created and studied intently with the dream that she could somehow, someday be creative for a living. Eventually after a lot of hard work, her time came to fly from the nest and she started her professional career as an artist. First as product photographer, then as graphic designer and web designer.

However, as wonderful as this time was for learning and showing her that it was possible to be an artist and make a living, commercial art was not her true dream. So she said goodbye to her safe job in design and set out to make her real dreams come true. It’s been a long hard road, but now she has finally reached her goal. Following the entrepreneurial footsteps of her mother she has created rococonouveau, grade A fancy design. An online shop of her very own full of the special fancy objects she truly loves to create. Founded in her cozy home studio by the sea, where she has been a designer of all things fancy in her beloved city of San Francisco for five wonderful years.

For as long as she can remember, Kristen has felt a particular connection to things of the past: vintage and period fashions, early 20th century classic film, vintage erotica & pinup photography, art deco architecture, art nouveau textiles & jewelry, and the gilded splendour of the rococo era. The goal in all her personal work is to merge the essence of these core inspirations with the modernity of the 21st century. Thereby preserving the beauty of these bygone styles in a way that is relevant to today’s aesthetics. Hence, the name rococonouveau.

The rococonouveau shop currently features Kristen’s favorite ladies fashion accessory design which she has lovingly named the Collarette. Collarettes are vintage inspired detached collars which lie daintily on the collar bone and fasten in the front with a ribbon. They come in several colors and patterns in one of two styles. The Buster Brown: a rounded, reversible collar which ties in the front with a bow – two collars for the price of one! As well as the soon-to-be-unveiled Madeline: a pointed collar with criss-cross ribbon which fastens in the front with a fancy button. All are painstakingly hand made with the utmost attention to quality, style, and individual personality. Kristen also favors using vintage and repurposed materials whenever possible, making her pieces as unique as they are eco-friendly.

But she doesn’t plan on stopping there! Kristen has big plans for rococonouveau and will be regularly designing new pieces to add to her collection. Keep an eye out here to stay in the loop about her latest inspirations and fancy designs, or “Like” rococonouveau on facebook to be kept in the know.