Three by Three: Guest Artists in Focus

QUESTION 2.  You’re self-taught, learning through experimentation rather than formal training. What was the hardest technical challenge you had to solve early on, and how did it shape your confidence with the medium?

• ANSWER 2.     I had to fail a lot early on. Pieces that pulled wrong, felt too heavy or just didnt sit right on the body. Working through the mistakes taught me how to listen more to the material, and how it falls. That process is what gave me the confidence to continue.

Destinie Rocke
Chainmailler

MEDIUM:    stainless steel and aluminum rings

BIO:    I was born and raised in Central Florida. I started my business a year ago, and pride myself in the fact that AI art cannot replicate the time and love put into making a chainmaille piece. AI holds no part in my small business.

INSTAGRAM:    @NocturneMetalworks

QUESTION 3.   Building Nocturne Metalworks means cultivating a niche community around handmade metal fashion. What kind of person do you imagine wearing your work, and how does that imagined wearer influence your design choices?

• ANSWER 3.     I imagine my community is filled with people that are unapologetic in how they move throughout the world. People that are drawn to the in between spaces of beauty and edge, softness and strength... People not dressing to blend in or follow trends. They are dressing to feel embodied, and seen. Each piece is made to feel like a choice, not a costume. Something that's different from the rest, that flaunts confidence in belonging to a community that values craft and individuality.

QUESTION 1.    Chainmaille carries strong historical associations with protection and armor. When you design pieces like bras or headpieces, how do you reinterpret that sense of protection as empowerment rather than defense?

• ANSWER 1.    Historically, chainmaille was always about protecting a body in battle. When I design my pieces, I try to shift that idea from physical defense to personal power. These pieces are not meant to shield the wearer from harm, but to be seen as an assertion of strength, and visibility. It's about reclaiming armor as adornment and redefining protection as confidence, and self expression.

Title 2

Title 3

"Aphrodites Embrace", a one of a kind bra and bottom set that took me over 30 hours to make."

All copyright and reproduction rights are reserved by Destinie Rocke.
Artwork may not be reproduced in any form without the artist's express written permission.

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Chainmaille bra and jewerly picture : "The Vampyres Embrace, One of a Kind Vampire Esc Chainmaille Drop"

Chainmaille bra photoshoot picture purple : "The Plague of Eden, a one of a kind drop featuring Uranium Beads."

Upclose Bra, and Bottom Picture : " Aphrodites Embrace, a one of a kind bra and bottom set that took me over 30 hours to make."

Chainmaille bra and jewerly picture : "The Vampyres Embrace, One of a Kind Vampire Esc Chainmaille Drop"

Chainmaille bra photoshoot picture purple : "The Plague of Eden, a one of a kind drop featuring Uranium Beads."

Upclose Bra, and Bottom Picture : " Aphrodites Embrace, a one of a kind bra and bottom set that took me over 30 hours to make."