Studio space: to share or not to share?

On the plane back, working on a new post for SpaceUnseen, I started counting the number of studio visits I’ve made. One year and 3 months since the beginning of this blog and I’ve visited 25 jewelry studios in different cities around the world. I feel grateful and always surprised when designers answer yes to my request. (How weird must it be to get an email from someone asking to come snoop around your studio space?) Still, I’ve been having a blast and I’ve had the chance to meet extremely talented and interesting people that have a very special gift.

And the more studios I visit the more I realize that everybody is different. Studios are big and small, clean and messy, in one corner of the house or just a full space completely renovated by the designer. All spaces are unique, charming and special. Why?

I think the jewelry designer makes the space. It’s their tastes, their organization and inspiration that make the studio. The way they work also makes the space (which is reflected in the tools they have). And who they work with: some work alone, some share their space with other designers and some have their own big operation with a team working with them. And all of these differences have proved extremely interesting.

On one hand, designers who work alone seem to have a more conceptual, contemporary approach to design ( I would include the design duos in here). Designers who share their space with other designers (same field or not) like their individuality but love the fact that they can talk business, technique and cheer each other up. And designers who have teams, usually have them because they have considerable volume production, and the whole team usually feels like a big family.

I know there are pros and cons for each side, but I would love to hear your side of the story.

So what do you think or what have your experience been?

From top to bottom, from right to left:

Ana Sales and Mafalda Maya (M + M jewellery) in Lisbon, Beth Gilmour in London, Clarice Price Thomas in London, Claudia Endler in LA, Corinne Simon in Santa Monica, Dede Marconato in Hong Kong, Daphna Simon in NYC, Janis Kerman in Montreal, Malin Ohlsson in Hong Kong, Martha Keith in Charlottesville, Michele Mercaldo in Boston, Noemi Klein in London, Michelle Oh and Rachel Boston in London, Nomera in Hong Kong, the Obellery team in Hong Kong(Hugo, Bel and Kody), the OrriFinn team in Reykjavik (Helga and Orri), Sebastiao Lobo in Lisbon, Sophie Breitmeyer in London, Sophie Hughes in Boston, the Rebecca Overmann team in San Francisco, Katherine (Rosedale Jewelry) in Los Angeles, Khobe (studio DeLucca) in Long Beach and Tyson (T Morgan made) in Los Angeles.

London Calling

I just spent a couple of days in London and had a blast visiting a lot of jewelry studios. And I wish so many things, that I don’t even know where to start.

I wish I had more time to visit more studios because it seems that everything is happening in London right now. The jewelry design scene is outrageously alive and kicking, with amazing, very talented jewelry designers that are creating very innovative designs.

I also wish I could stay the whole day at their studios instead of a couple of hours so that I could see them work.

I wish I had run away with their jewelry, because all of what I saw was absolutely gorgeous.

I wish I had been in London a week earlier so that I could have visited the Goldsmiths Fair which would have been heaven.

And finally I wish I can come back really soon because there is so much more talent to see that I really want to go back.

But above all, I want to thank the amazing jewelers that I had a chance to visit, get to know and fall in love with their creation and jewelry process. Their studio visits will come up on the blog in the following months and I can hardly wait to share them with you.

Lisbon: a brand new world of designers

Finding young, talented designers in an “old” world of traditional jewelry is a breath of fresh air. My recent visit to Lisbon just confirmed this old adage. In an old world of tradition there are some very bright designers changing the jewelry design scene with a new enthusiasm and good vibes.

They are all very young, with an inspiring and contagious talent. They’re trying hard to make a living out of their passion for jewelry and having success along the way. They all have their studios in the old parts of town like Baixa and Calçada de Santo André, once neglected neighborhoods, now booming with tourism and making a well deserved comeback. These designers have very interesting stories, beautiful spaces and funny, vibrant jewelry to show.

Very much looking forward to show you this brand new world, in the meantime enjoy a short snapshot of the trip!

Hong Kong: a Jewelry Metropolis

If you’re thinking traditional jewelry, carved with diamonds, precious gemstones and jade then this is not the Hong Kong jewelry that I’m gonna show you. I’ve recently been to this city and had the fortune to visit 4 jewelry designers that are changing the jewelry scene in the city with their contemporary designs. Their studios and designs are fun, modern and captivating, while they manage to create everything themselves in their spaces. I was really impressed with them because they manage to pursue their passion in one of the most expensive cities in the world, where space in scarce and extremely expensive. So yes, made in China but not on a factory.

Stay tuned for the studio visits as I will phase them out over the next weeks.