THE HERON POST presents THE ARTS

Oct 1, 2026 | Chicago

A ring built around a fossilized ammonite. Another cut from distressed horn. A necklace of coral branches.

At Gillion Carrara's pop-up inside The Golden Triangle, the jewelry looks like it was lifted from a museum case.

For more than 35 years, Carrara has made jewelry from materials most designers would never approach: buffalo horn, bone, ammonite, coral and briar root which she sands over countless hours with the finest grit. 

It gives "precious" jewelry a new meaning. The value is in the age, texture and story of the material, not in a stone's carat weight.

The story starts in Italy. For three months a year, Carrara worked in a small workroom in the Tuscan hills near Siena, where a woodsman taught her how to find the best root and a butcher taught her how to age horn for setting in silver. "From the butcher I learned how to age and clean buffalo and calf horn," she has said.

Decades on, the Oak Park native is a Chicago fixture. She founded the Fashion Resource Center at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1987 and still teaches fashion and dress there.

The Golden Triangle is nearly impossible to tell apart from an immersive museum, and Carrara's becomes indistinguishable among the many artifacts.

Owners Douglas Van Tress and Chauwarin Tuntisak have spent more than 30 years collecting antiques, artifacts and design from around the world. Their taste in ancient and modern has evolved into unique pop-ups and museum-like experiences for the city of Chicago.

The pop-up drew local talent and fashion industry figures, among them Alexandra Carrillo, founder of By The Polish and a finalist in the Beauty category of the 2026 FGI Chicago Rising Star Awards.

A Chicago native, Carrillo turned an influential nail blog into a studio for custom nail designs and curated, fashion-forward experiences. Her work echoes Carrara's philosophy of material: that the smallest canvas, a finger or a ring, can hold a whole world.

Alexandra Carrillo will be honored at the 11th FGI Chicago Rising Star Awards on Oct. 10 at Public Works Gallery. Tickets and sponsorships are available at FGI.org/chicago. 

Gillion Carrara's work is also sold by appointment and at gillioncarrara.com.