Jewelry designer William Felder, a South Carolina native, has returned to Georgetown and Pawleys Island to set up a studio after 35 years in New York City, where he owned Christopher 19, a retail boutique located on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village. Christopher 19 was voted “Best Jewelry Store” by The Village Voice in 2013 and 2015. Felder grew up in Columbia and graduated from USC with a BFA in Art Studio, which led to his move to NYC in the early 1980's. After studying jewelry design at The School of Visual Arts and The 92nd Street Y, he set up a studio and wholesale jewelry business in the West Village with New York artist and designer Gregory Reeves, a collaboration that resulted in their first jewelry collection, Bobhouse. Their jewelry designs were featured in New York Times “Fall Fashion of the Times” issue in 1993 and carried by Barney's New York, Tokyo and Singapore. In 2006 they opened Christopher 19, which became a favorite of village neighbors and celebrities such as Susan Sarandon and Sean Lennon.
In December of 2013, Garden and Gun magazine featured Felder's leather and pearl lariat in the holiday issue of the magazine, describing it as a “necklace that looks just as good with a T-shirt as it does with an evening gown.” The lariat continues to be a southern favorite. Now operating from the South Carolina coastal region, William will continue Christopher 19's handmade signature designs. His current interests include forging brass wire and sheet into textural forms that reveal the metalworking process in their final manifestation. Pearls and semi-precious stones, as well as Swarovski crystal are added to hand forged metals to create a unique, wearable statement of personal style. The collection is currently available exclusively at E A Sansbury Salon and Boutique, 70 Da Gullah Way, Pawleys Island.
