Oscar's pins and earrings feature vibrant colors and themes unique to New Orleans. His saxophone-playing crawfish, Mardi Gras masks and dancing alligators add panache to every outfit. They are made of light-weight plastic, so even the big, bold earrings are comfortable to wear. Best of all - as we all try to be fashionable for less - Oscar's remarkable creations are all under $20.
“I can design for any season. I'm quick to jump on trends,” explains Oscar.
An admirer of working women, Oscar created a woman with a briefcase pin that was a coveted give-away at an Avon Cosmetics convention. Similar pins, available at www.oscarofneworleanscom, can be blonde, brunette or red-headed, white or Afro-American. Most recently, he designed a tribute to Michael Jackson.
It is hard to believe that only four years ago Oscar found himself with an almost empty gas tank as he tried to escape the flood waters. “I waited to the last minute and barely got out,” he recalls. “There are always so many false alarms. When my favorite weather man said it was time to go, I finally went. But I hadn't filled up my gas tank, and all the gas stations were flooded.” “It took a miracle to find enough gas.” Oscar landed in Newnan, Ga., and for the next year, his loyal customers had to rely on the web to buy their favorite jewelry.
The lure of New Orleans was strong, and once he was able to find housing, Oscar moved back and reopened his stall in the French Market. “I chose to come back here because this is a very, very special place,” he says. “This is not like any place in the United States. The artistic atmosphere is very powerful here. It is one of the few cities that I can make it as an artist.”
Oscar has been involved with the arts since he was a child growing up in Kansas City, Mo. A musician, an actor and a singer as well as a fine artist, Oscar feels that New Orleans is the place he can most express himself artistically. In addition to designing fabulous jewelry, Oscar's goal is to establish a program to support young artists at risk in the New Orleans community.
Oscar of New Orleans is online at oscarofneworleans.com
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