Virgins Saint & Angels: Cheryl Finnegan Celebrates the Goddess
When designer Cheryl Finnegan left her job at Levi Strauss, her life with her husband and the city of San Francisco, she decided to move to the small Mexican town of San Miguel de Allende for six months. “I left my job, my husband, my house and didn’t know where I was going to land. I went to San Miguel and said I am going to be here for six months doing yoga. Well I can’t just do yoga, as I am an artist and a business person.”
Intrigued by the recycled plastic used in Mexico and the omnipotent images of Guadalupe, Finnegan began to create plastic bags in funky colors. “In order to brand the bags, I had a metal ring put on them with a key chain made of resin. For every bag I sold on the beach in Venice, California, people kept asking if they could just buy the key chain. I made on belt buckle for me, wore it on the street and within five minutes someone stopped me asking if they could buy it.” Out of this chance encounter was born the ultra hip, extremely successful brand Virgins Saints & Angels, a line that features handmade belt buckles, rosaries, necklaces, key chains, rings and hair pieces with iconic figures and images showcased on the pieces. “You get slammed with Catholicism in Mexico; the people wear their religion on their sleeves. I begin to wonder why I was collecting everything I could find with the [image] of Guadalupe on it? I realized that she made me feel good, that I found myself in her. She symbolizes love, nurture and a safe place.”
Finnegan creates her one of a kind pieces using local resources including hand blown glass, recycled beads and hand painted medallions. When she began, Finnegan was working a local outlet that created concha belts from a resin process. “I worked with them using techniques they knew and redid it, making it hip. Now I would say that ninety nine percent of their business is Virgins Saints & Angels. There are thirty five people working for me and we are all a family,” Finnegan exclaims. When Britney Spears was photographed wearing one of the belt buckles, the line quickly became must haves with celebrities. Finnegan was a bit shocked as she felt removed from the world, “I feel like the virgin is watching me. I design in a hole and don’t look at what’s going on in Vogue or what Gucci is doing in New York. I do what comes to me in my heart and it always ends up being what’s right.”
How does Finnegan counter those that say her designs are simply religious jewelry? “I think that people have overcome the religious obstacle. Religion is something more than a cross being a crucifix, it means something so much more. It’s the right time for people because they are ready and [open] to see the line. The designs feel really good – I can’t get on the plane without my Virgin Mary ring on.” The new Virgins, Saints & Angels line features the Gypsy Calendar girls. Finnegan chose to focus on these icons as they are women who made a statement, who were goddesses in their own right. “The Calendar girls did something for us as they were a subtle entry into feminism.” The theme of death and life will also be part of future VSA designs. “I just brought in the Day of the Dead. I added some skulls which are a bit of a stretch for me but I realized it makes sense, especially being here in Mexico. It is all about the celebration of life and death.”
A brilliant designer with a vision to create unique pieces using traditional methods and historical imagery, Cheryl Finnegan’s Virgin, Saints and Angels line are museum quality pieces with style and meaning. “I don’t fell like I’ve changed a bit [due to success]. My expenditures are bigger and I continue to grow adding a clothing line, belt strap line. In the end I am still in my hole in Mexico working.”
