Mushrooms:

A tasty addition to various meals. A possibly potent poison. A powerful and transformative psychedelic. An important part of our ecosystem. And now, thanks to Mosh Jewelry, also astonishing wearable art. One wouldn’t typically associate mushrooms with jewelry. However, for one Chantal Zimmermann, they are all that and more. Mushrooms are jewelry and they are art. This is why she started her jewelry business, Mosh Jewelry. Her phenomenal and unique jewelry store is comprised of necklaces, earrings, and more made of real mushrooms (along with other unique treats such as terrarium earrings!). She takes real mushrooms (that she foraged herself, sustainably) and using resin, turns them into pieces of wearable art.

Many creatives and artists take inspiration from nature when creating. However, for Chantal, the natural world is everything. When she is in nature, the rest of the world falls away and her mind goes still. She is truly her happiest in nature and this passion shines through in her work. Her obsession with fungi occurred about 3 years ago after a hike up Constantia Nek. There she was shown the adjacent pine forest on the way down and told to look down at the mushrooms by her brother. What was described as love at first sight turned into a strong connection with the fungi world. Through a mixture of foraging and learning more about them and their benefits to us and the world around us, fungi became a key point in Chantal’s life. 

And what began as curiosity, intrigue, and appreciation for fungi turned into creation. And from there, everyone who comes into contact with Mosh Jewelry feels the same mixture of emotions. Chantal still laughs and giggles seeing people’s faces when they realize that real mushrooms were used in the making of the jewelry. And their astonishment is understandable, it’s like nothing anyone has ever seen before. Cape Town is known for the weird and wonderful, we all know this. It’s a place where people feel free to express themselves however they want. It’s also a city where so many people care about nature (and mushrooms, with their various uses *wink wink*) And with the growth of veganism, psychedelics, and consciousness towards our planet,  it’s no wonder why a business like this has been growing in its success. This also explains why festival-goers and market-lovers are the most likely to have seen Mosh Jewelry around.

Her stall is becoming well-known in the Cape Town festival and market scene. And whilst our high-vibing festival goers and excited market-attendees enjoy seeing this unique jewelry stand, chances are Chantal is enjoying it even more. “I love meeting all the beautiful humans while doing this. It also gets me out of my comfort zone. I speak to all people of different ages / social groups and really broadens my insight of the world.”  

There’s something special about Mosh Jewelry and not just because it looks cool or that it’s a real mushroom or functioning terrarium. It feels bigger than that. You get to hold a piece of nature with you wherever you go. A reminder of the earth on which we walk and the various parts of the natural world that keep us alive. That’s something beautiful.

For more of our Visceral features, click here.