Ear Cuffs and Ear Wraps, Oh My!
Marty has been designing ear cuffs and ear wraps for 30+ years. Her ear cuff and ear wrap line has come to represent the “signature style” of Marty Magic. Though there is much talk about this trend on jewelry blog sites today, Marty considers herself and her friend Tabra Tunoa to be pioneers of the current resurgence of ear cuffs and ear wraps that began back in the early 1980s.
The history of ear cuffs and ear wraps goes back centuries — to ancient times, in fact — when they were referred to as “Kaffas” on the British Isles. Kaffas usually featured a large front-facing metal medallion supported by a curved wire that wrapped around the wearer’s ear. If you’d like to learn more about how they developed throughout the centuries and into modern times, you can check out this very thorough post over at the Sophie’s Closet Blog. In the 20th century, they’ve had moments of popularity, but over the past few years, ear cuffs and ear wraps have become almost mainstream.
Tabra began her jewelry career began in Barcelona in the early 1970’s where she taught art at an international school and took a night class in jewelry making. When she returned to Berkeley she connected with Esme Hecht from Lunch at the Ritz, an up-and-coming jewelry design company. Both had their own unique sense of style, and they traded days selling their work on the streets of Telegraph Avenue. In a recent email to Marty, Tabra writes that she designed her first “Ear Wrap” for a Renaissance Faire in Marin when she was 35.
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