Alkimees: The Alchemy of Necessity and Fashion

  New Yorkers are known to go to extreme lengths for fashion.  Some may say those lengths are ridiculous; others a necessity. Whatever the case, it’s time to make Alkimees a part of your New York wardrobe.

   Alkimees are necklace-inspired earphones, complete with pendants you can change to your heart’s desire. When you’re not walking down the street or working out while listening to music, Alkimees can actually make the switch to a real necklace, then back to earphones whenever you want to pump up the jams again like some sort of acoustic super hero.

  Interested? Read on for an interview with the designer behind Alkimees and Amherst College student, Aiyanna Greene, as she gives us the DL on how Alkimees came to be, and how you can score a pair for an awesome price!

HC NYU What’s the inspiration behind Alkimees?AG My inspiration for the design of Alkimees came from a necklace that I imagined Cleopatra wearing. When I made the first prototype of Alkimees, I attempted to give the plastic earphone wires the texture and color of a necklace chain by wrapping them in beading wire (a process that took 48 hours to complete). While this prototype wasn’t unattractive and did look more like a necklace than generic white earphones, I decided to instead encase the plastic earphone wires in hollow snake chains to give them the exact texture of necklace chains. I also added interchangeable pendants to the earphones, making them more versatile than an actual necklace.

HC NYU What’s your favorite thing about Alkimees?AG I’ve never paid much attention to the feeling of wearing earphones or headphones because I use them out of necessity. I love that Alkimees look and feel like a necklace, but at the same time function exactly like normal earphones do. Wearing/using them to listen to music is a unique experience. Despite the fact that I enjoy their look and feel, I’ve always been more into earrings than necklaces so I also love that I can match the pendants with both my earrings and outfits.

HC NYU When can we start buying Alkimees?AG Today we launched a 40-day Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds needed to complete our first production run of Alkimees. Based on our estimates, the product will be manufactured and shipped to our “Early Bird” backers as early as October.

HC NYU For how much?AG Alkimees normally retail for $59.99, but our Early Bird backers will be able to pre-order a pair, along with two interchangeable pendants, for only $40 and have it delivered to them by no later than October.