To conclude this immersion into Olivia’s universe, this trip through the different countries she visited and historical periods she likes, here are more details about her projects and tastes.
© Emile DP Photography
What are your projects?
I start to sell my jewels to shops, it is a real change because people begin to think about my work as a brand. I would like to work with Australian gemstones that exist only there.
If I have more time, I would also like to go to India et follow a jewelry class because their methods are really different.
I spend more and more time in London because the market – for my jewels – is increasing and these trips allow me to get fresh air. The production in Istanbul is sometimes very intense. A day at the Grand Bazaar can be exhausting, I sometimes just want to go back home, drink a cup of tea and go to bed. It is fascinating, it is just very different from what I have learned during the past. It is a very masculine universe.
I would also like, one day, if it is possible, to live again in Australia. I have left my country ten years ago and I miss it.
Which jewelry makers do you like?
I have appreciated Mania mania collection, two years ago. Many brands progressively loose a part of their identity. At the beginning, it is really original and then, it becomes famous, expands itself and changes direction.
I don’t follow many jewelers, I prefer to look for references elsewhere because few designers use the same process.
Do you have favorite jewels?
I wear a ring on my little finger. Last year, for Christmas, I came back home, in Australia. Thanks to my mother, I discovered again the collection of jewels I had when I was 10. I took all the stones of this collection and I’ve made jewels. This ring is part of it, I made it with an agate.
I also wear the first ring I made, it is in silver and with a lapis lazuli. I always wear these two rings. Otherwise, everyday, I wear crystals around my neck.
It’s pretty funny, I work everyday on my new collection but I don’t wear it, I prefer to wear jewels I’ve made for myself. It is a bit like a chef, he doesn’t eat his dishes all the time because he cooks all day long. I really like to see my collection but, at the end of the day, I create slightly different pieces for my relatives and myself.
What are the main qualities to make jewels?
To respect natural and organic shapes. In the shops, I am always surprised to see that all the jewels look the same. Mass production wants it that way but, people like my jewels because, for the same model, there will always be a difference which makes it unique. People who buy my jewels like to know that they own this piece and nobody will have the same.
When I buy a stone, I respect its shape and I work around it, not the contrary. By the way, I indicate it on my website because even if a person likes one of my jewels and buys it, it will never be the color or the shape seen on my website because each gemstone is unique.
We are so used to buy standardized pieces – which are as we see it on a website – that we can be disappointed when we receive something different. They know it is handmade but they are sometimes surprised by the evolution of the stones color.
Which designers would you advise me to discover?
A person I know – in Istanbul – who creates handmade leather bags. Its is Burak Shaman Leatherworks.
Thank you Olivia!
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Photos : © Cleopatra’s Bling except if this mention appears : © Emile DP Photography. Photographs provided by Olivia Cummings and published with her approval.
