February Artists of the Month

Thierry Astesano, Maureen Costigan, and Helen McMullen are February Artists of the Month

The clean lines of Thierry Astesano’s silver earrings, rings and bracelets are elegant and understated. He also creates unique desk accessories such as his graceful bookmarks, money clips, and letter openers using the technique of forging, giving unique texture to each item by hammering. A native of the Mediterranean coast of France, Thierry became interested in making jewelry as a teenager. He later learned to work with fine metals at the North Bennet Street School in Boston, from which he graduated in 1996. A resident of Cambridge, Thierry accepts custom orders in gold and platinum, as well as repairs.

Maureen Costigan’s warm and elegant hats and mittens are made with upholstery fabric and faux fur, and her faux-fur muffs with pockets can also function as purses. Colorful fabric and loom-knit dresses and tunics can be layered for multiple seasons, showing a vibrant personal style. Trained at the Boston University Program in Artisanry, she studied fiber and weaving. Maureen’s years of work in theater costuming refined her sewing and design skills, which she uses in creating her sewn and loom-knit clothing and accessories. A fascination with nomadic cultures together with her love of color translates into clothing design that echoes folk and traditional attire.

Helen McMullen’s passion for purity makes her soaps and body-care products soothing and enriching to the skin. She carefully formulates them using skin-conditioning ingredients including glycerin and super-fatting oils like olive oil and cocoa butter to soften the skin and prevent drying. Handmade in small batches, the long-lasting soaps include essential oils taken directly from flowers, fruits and plants to create clean and wonderfully aromatic scents. In addition, Helen designs glass jewelry in her exuberant personal style using many old and rare beads. More recently she has been setting stones and using other jewelry-making techniques to make unique and lovely necklaces and other fine pieces.