Today we’d like to introduce you to Ollie Moder And Kylie Preston
Hi Ollie and Kylie , we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Kylie began experimenting with electroforming in 2017, supported by YouTube tutorials and a beginners electroforming kit. She has sold her work independently over the years under the name “Woodland to Seaside,” using organic materials found in her own backyard and the beaches of her family vacations. Although she loved her work, she found herself losing inspiration after a few years, and eventually stopped creating altogether.
We met in 2023, when Ollie started working at the same local nature center that Kylie worked at as a teacher. Our first real hangout was a T-Pain concert, where Ollie performed a horrendous parking job to really set the tone for our relationship. Our friendship wasn’t really forged until Summer 2024, when we bonded through wrangling many screaming children at the nature center’s own summer camp.
When Ollie learned about Kylie’s past jewelry experience, Ollie was ecstatic and expressed his interest for wanting to get into jewelry, though he was worried about doing it alone and not having the skills to pursue anything more than a silly hobby. Kylie expressed wanting to get back into jewelry, but worrying about doing it long term again by herself.
With each other’s support and encouraging words, we both began working. At first with little intention, but as both began producing pieces and giving each other ideas, it was clear that we work well together, and we felt like it was a connection and partnership we could really trust. Thus, “The Feral Forge” was born!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Honestly, we communicate really efficiently with each other. Anytime there has been any disagreement or anything we have had different ideas on, we have always been able to move on and find a joint solution or a different solution. We’ve found that a vital part of a good working relationship is being able to communicate and let things go. Know what battles are worth fighting and which ones aren’t, and caring so much about each other as friends means we know how to work with the other and what they need in conversations.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As “The Feral Forge,” our work blends well together, but Kylie and Ollie have different specialities individually with the pieces they make.
Kylie creates electroformed jewelry under the individual name “The Copper Coil”, most of which are pendants, rings, and earrings formed from insects, bones, dried plants, and any other organic material that strikes her interest. The electroforming process spoke to Kylie specifically because she always loved the details of the natural objects, like the intricate details of a cicada wing, and she wanted those details to translate into her jewelry. Electroforming worked out as a perfect medium for her because the chemical process of electroforming coated the organic object she works with in copper, so the natural item stayed incased in the copper forever, and keeps the details of nature that she was inspired by in the first place.
Ollie is still new to making jewelry and is learning everyday. They particularly enjoy working with bones, vintage toys and tchotchkes, and other random bits they find at thrift stores, antique shops, and estate sales. He is still actively exploring different ways to hang and wrap pendants and charms, such as using wire or using a small drill to create holes and sand down bones. A big thing they have learned is that there is no such thing as a dumb idea, and that anything can be a necklace or an earring if you try hard enough, such as bones, porcelain baby hands, and plastic croissants from a children’s play kitchen. Ollies art focuses on having fun and catching someone’s eye, and they are excited to keep learning as they continue to create! Individually, they work under the name “The Oil Well.”
“The Feral Forge” encompasses both of our work together. We want to keep the ability to work independently in the future if need be, but as for now, we love what we do together and hope to continue to inspire each other to create as we grow.
While we are extremely proud of the pieces we make as individuals, we are most proud of how we collectively inspire each other and allow for creative expression and we are both excited to see where the future takes us as friends and as people working together.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
If we had any advice to give it would be that it is never too late to start, and it is better to start without a full plan than to not start at all. You will figure it all out as you go.
Kylie’s advice is to always make space to create. She lost her joy from it when she was burnt out from her job, and not pursuing her art left a void that needed to be filled. Once she made space for her creative expression again, she found her joy again.
Ollies advice is to make room for the things you want to create, not just what you think other people want you to create. Both can absolutely exist in a healthy working relationship, but it is important to make space for trying new things and creating what you want to outside of what will just make you money. It helps keep you learning, and an important part of staying creative can be staying challenged too.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @_TheOilWell_ and @_TheCopperCoil_
