The story of a jewelry collection, "Gentle Strenght" - The concept

Nandina buds in my garden 

For most of us, the first encounter with a jewelry collection is when we see it in a store, boutique or gallery.

For the maker of the pieces - this is the last mile in a fascinating journey.

Starting to work on a new collection, and decided to document the process.

Every collection has a starting point. An idea, an inspiration.

This collection is a bit different, as it is a personal statement rather than a design exercise around a theme.

"Gentle strength"

Lalique at its best - hair adornment
so delicate, yet functional and strong 

Its starting point?

The deepest source lies in my memories of father's gentle strength and calm. 

It is influenced by my love of nature. Looking at the tiny buds on the trees – you can only wonder how can something so delicate and fragile, face the spring winds – and still blossom.

It definitely has something to do with the deep admiration I have of Art Nouveau jewelry, and the genius of Lalique – but this is not new to those who read my previous post.

here it is if you missed it

I believe that jewelry, as a piece of wearable art - can be more than aesthetically pleasing.

It can reflect our beliefs as well as our style.

Jewelry can talk.

It can tell the world, in graceful lines and precious metal that true strength does not have to be aggressive,

Or pushy, or loud

That shouting – is not the only way, maybe not even the best way to make yourself heard

That if there is a lesson to learn from nature, it is that strength comes in many shapes and forms

To quote Henry David Thoreau:

“The finest workers in stone are not copper or steel tools, but the gentle touches of air and water working at their leisure with a liberal allowance of time.”

So there it is,

The root concept, the design compass for the emerging jewelry collection

“Gentle strength”

The graceful shape of ' snow bells'. When I was a child in Romania -
a close relative of this flower was the first to emerge from the snow. 

Who do I envision wearing it?

A woman who intuitively understands that delicacy and gentleness can be signs of strength.

Who does not feel the need to show off, but wants to express herself - 

in what she does, what she says, and yes….also in the choice of jewelry she wears.

A woman who will not spend 20,000$ on a necklace, but will also stay away from a cheap pair of Chanel imitation earrings. 

A woman who is gentle and strong at the same time.

Do you know such woman?

It is with her in mind, that I start designing the pieces in my new collection.

“Gentle strength”

Drawing in the studio

Returning to my workbench, to sketch (I have pages of sketches already…),

make models and start molding this concept in precious metal.

Will share the ideas in the next part ....

As always, comments, thoughts, stories ideas – welcome to share with me either here or on my facebook page www.facebook.com/akvjewelry

Bye for now,

Amy

Einstein, dancing dogs and thoughts about memorable art

We all know "A picture is worth a thousand words"
Sometimes, the answer to a complex questions can present itself in simple and unexpected forms

Or, as a very wise man said...









From complex laws governing the behavior of our world

... to leadership wisdom from Alice in Wonderland:

...and what does this have to do with dancing dogs?
read on and find out :)

I have danced for years.

Swan lake - the Bolshoi ballet dancers

To be precise from the age of 4 when my parents enrolled me to a ballet class, hoping I would loose some of the baby fat ...( did not help much ...)

Since we lived in Romania, classic ballet was on the cards from the start.

Until the end of high school, I went to dance lessons, twice a week - mostly classic ballet, with some seasoning of modern dance and flamenco.


In university while majoring in software engineering, I continued to dance - Waltz, Tango, Cha-Cha, Rock'n'Roll.......red dancing shoes, flowers in my hair..

Many years passed since.
Dance remained a passion, but a passive one.
I love watching great dance performances, there is nothing like a beautiful performance of the Bolshoi ..... right?

The Bolshoi stages new modern dance show

Nowadays, after 25 years in the software industry, I am spending most of my time experiencing the world of art and design.

Designing a .... bead :)

Whether studying great works of art, trying to master photography, creating new pieces of jewelry in my studio, I am surrounding myself with art.
Trying to find my own voice.

One of the questions that keep coming up, is how can a work of art go beyond being beautiful and be truly memorable.

I could probably write an essay with all things that came to my mind...
starting with the finest ingredients,
combine them in ways that make the whole more than their sum ....

but in this particular case, I got the clearest answer in form of
have you guessed yet?
...a dance show.
Specifically - 'Shadowlad' by Pilobolus.

Building on great dancers, very little costumes - a fluency of movement used to create naive pictures
for the 90 minutes of the show, the answer to my question was right there, in front of my eyes

I will always enjoy a good classical ballet performance, look for a good Flamenco show.
But its the Shadowland performance I would never forget.

After all these words, I think you deserve a taste of it, don't you think?
Click on the link ....and look for the dancing dog :)

Pilobolus Dance Theatre "Shadowland"

Until next post :)
Amy