Childhood friends Erin McDermott and Kiki Slaughter bring their muses together to launch a collaborative effort, Coco Hill, a new brand that highlights both of their talents: abstract art and fine jewelry making.
Kiki Slaughter and Erin McDermott White met as children at Camp Seafarer two decades ago. As they grew up side by side – roommates at UVA and bridesmaids in each other’s weddings – each woman started her own successful career in the arts before bringing their muses together to launch their collaborative effort, Coco Hill, in 2015.
Slaughter, who hails from Charlottesville, VA, is an abstract artist who manipulates paint on canvas to create richly textured pieces full of color and layered with subtle evocations of places and things she loves. Today, she lives and works out of Atlanta, spending her days in her paint-splattered studio.
Erin McDermott White, who is based out of Charlotte, made her career in the arts as a designer and maker of handcrafted jewelry. Her jewelry line, made to transition from casual to formal, incorporates pops of both soft and bright colors, along with geodes, quartz, and corals.
As long-time friends and supporters of one another’s passions, Coco Hill grew out of what the women describe as a shared love for wearable art. Each piece of Coco Hill jewelry is made with hand-painted colorful canvas sourced from Slaughter’s art and then crafted into a piece of jewelry – a chunky pastel printed bangle or a fine gold chain necklace adorned with a splash of tasseled canvas – by McDermott. The name of their brand-new side venture was inspired by the newest stage of life these two women have to share – the births of their first children: McDermott’s daughter, Coco and Slaughter’s son, Hill.
