Industrial esthetics and minimalistic lines lover, Rachik Soussi is a jewellery designer and teacher who combines white metals and gemstones as a painter who explores his colour palette. Welcome to his world.
Could you please introduce yourself?
My name is Rachik Soussi and I am a jewelry designer since 2003. I am also a jewelry teacher at the AFEDAP and at Paris Ateliers. My former experiences are very different, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. Jewelry was almost a coincidence more than a wish, contrarily to those who have always knew what they wanted to do. It was different for me. I tried many different activities. When I started jewelry, something happened, I didn’t want to miss it so I developed it and I started courses to learn this job. It was in 1997.
How did you discover jewelry?
One of my friends, Pierre Lavandier, is interested in many things. He had this great idea to teach me how to make chain mail. It all grew from there. Working on chain mail would allow me to escape. I started to understand people who knit. I am not patient but with chain mail, it is really different. There is no need to be impatient except if you have an urgent order. Once you have enough chain mail to cover your finger, what do we do? I found myself thinking of a way to attach the chain mail on itself to create a ring. I did it but once you got a ring, what do you do? I ‘ve got the idea to add metal, to create a frame. But how can you make a frame? So I started to look for a school and, by chance, one of my good friends knew Franck, director of the school where I trained. There have been little signs like this one, the kind of sign you see when something important is happening. Everything worked together.
How would you define your universe?
This is about industrial aesthetic, material staging, variations, combinations and comfort.
My jewels universe is related to what I love. I love geometry, minimal lines, very tight. Very clear and impressive lines are difficult to make. It is a simple result but it appeals external factors such as light. I really like my pointed discs collection because it is based on a simple dot, that is called embossed metal. It is magic, you see the volume appears. It brings a play of light, a link between light and body that I liked right away.
What have been your background before jewelry?
I worked as a salesman, to make a living, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, it was a sort of day job. I have done many different jobs, it would be a long list. I worked in a night club for a while. Among my experiences, I was really interested in trying to become a education specialist and to workin this field. I started as a facilitator, then I have been the director of a recreation centre for mentally disabled people. Then, I got back to a foster home but it gradually became difficult. It was quite rough and I decided to protect myself. After all, I was very proud and happy for helping them for awhile. It was really interesting.
When have you decided to launch your activity?
Je studied for two years at the AFEDAP. During this period, my project was to create models and sell it. I took advantage of this period to create pieces while studying. After this course, I set up my own business, it is not recommended and I would not necessarily recommend it because you cannot always afford it, you don’t have enough time nor experience, etc. I started my activity quite quickly, I don’t regret it but, at the same time, I made some mistakes, it was not easy. I began jewelry quite late, I was around 35, I was arriving late so I needed to catch up lost time. That’s why I set up my business quickly but I think, it was not the only reason. I wanted to start and to develop my activity but I was not mature enough, at this time. I had to mature while running my project, that’s a lot! It was and it is still a big challenge to complete!
What are your first memories of creation? How was it?
When I studied jewelry, I obtained the result I wanted, my ARMURE (Armour) collection. It is funny because the notion of chilvalrous collection was not my first inspiration, this definition comes from other persons. I was not thinking of chivalry, it just happened. Putting chain mail under metal reminded me an armour, chain mail itself reminds chivalry. Etrier’s ring reminds a horse and a knight. Everything is unintentionally interconnected.
Another good memory: a gypsy friend was sad to see his father’s ring go to his brother, it was a kind of heritage. He wanted his son to receive a ring from him. He asked me to made a model, the ETANE BAROCK ring, from his son’s firstname. I love this piece, it is very baroque, like this atypical friend.I wanted a very original and classy ring that looks like him. When I brought his ring, he was so moved, he started to cry. It was very touching to see him crying especially when I asked him to give his son’s name to this ring.
How does your creative process work?
When I look at something I like, I try to keep a distance, to see what I could do with it, through a material. And, when I look at a material I like, I will directly imagine a jewel. Roughly speaking, here is my process, I compensate a skill I don’t have by getting it from persons who acquired it previously. I am not copying them, I just use some elements and combine it to make my own jewels and obtain the result I want. This process is interesting. I don’t have limit, there is no standard process. I am a challenger ahah! I don’t like ease. The more it is difficult, the more it keeps me out of breath because I need to find a solution. You fail, you start again, you find solutions, I love it! I am guided by aesthetic, by the shape. When I started, what I wanted to make was not important. I needed to ask myself: which jewel would I like this person to wear? I was visualizing from the outside what I wanted to do rather than just choosing a direction that can block you.
Where do you find inspiration?
Everything around me inspires me. I like charged baroque but, at the same time, very aestheticized, not tasteless. I like when colours go together but in an unexpected way. For example, regarding gemstones, I found a spessartite garnet which is orange. I combined it with a 13% grey gold (with more palladium). It is funny because, like a painting, there is no coulour chart when you create. You need to figure out how to combine two materials, two shapes, two universes or two colours. You need to look for combinations and find which materials can go together. Even for a jewel shape, its general volume, some things don’t go together and you can’t explain it, it is just the way you look at it. I like to believe that I sometimes find a good balance for my piece. I am very inspired by the Middle Ages to make jewels that remind armours from this period. I am often guided by the way I imagine my future piece could be worn, before I make it.
To read the 2nd part : Rachik Soussi – 2/3 Know-how
Photos : © Rachik Soussi sauf mention © Jena-Jacques Lemasson, © Aline Princet. Photographies fournies par Rachik Soussi et publiées avec son autorisation.
