alien jewelryy

Atash (Farsi for Fire) Necklace

Cubic zirconia, carnelian, sterling silver

Artist Biography

Gelareh Kolahchi (b. Tehran, Iran) is a jewelry artist and musician based in Philadelphia. She was born in Tehran and moved to a smaller city in Iran at a young age, where she grew up surrounded by creativity. Raised by an artistic mother who actively created work and exhibited her art, Kolahchi was exposed early on to the process of making, observing how personal expression could take physical form. Through this environment, she gradually began to find her own artistic voice.

At 17, she immigrated to the United States to pursue music, a practice she continues today. She currently releases music and performs at venues around the city, maintaining a parallel creative life between sound and object. During her final year of college, she discovered metalsmithing, where her interest in form, rhythm, and storytelling translated into jewelry. She has been creating jewelry since 2024 and now owns a small business through which she designs and sells her work.

Her practice is rooted in cultural memory and personal history, drawing inspiration from traditional Iranian motifs, organic forms, and organic, intuitive forms shaped by the hand. Themes of immigration, identity, and otherness run throughout her work. She founded her brand Alien Jewelryy as a reclamation of the term "alien," a word often used to label immigrants. Through her work, she transforms the term into a symbol of resilience, belonging, and self-definition.

All pieces are handcrafted using recycled and upcycled materials, including found objects and vintage elements sourced from thrift and antique shops, which she reworks into new forms. Each piece is cast in sterling silver and is entirely one-of-one. Due to a personal nickel allergy, accessibility and wearability are central to her practice, ensuring her work is safe for those with metal sensitivities. This commitment informs a brand built on care, inclusivity, and ethical production.

Kolahchi's work exists at the intersection of adornment and storytelling-wearable objects that function as vessels for memory, resilience, and belonging.

https://www.alienjewelryy.com