about

My interest in jewellery began with a childhood fondness for bracelets and necklaces but it wasn’t until much later that I became interested in the how-to of making jewellery. It was some time after graduating from university that I finally found myself a dedicated student of production ateliers, drawn into jewellery design by the endless possibilities -material, conceptual, formal- that it offered.

Today my designs explore ideas, shape, texture and colour through the lens of my childhood memories and a grown-up love for seeing the world from new perspectives. Although I use mostly traditional materials and techniques in my designs, I often incorporate  non-traditional materials and techniques in order to experiment with contrasts and concepts. I find it most interesting to explore the nature of “value” by using unconventional materials like -discarded wood, nonwoven paper, packing foam or rubber- in my work. In the process, I have found that it is possible to elevate so-called “low” materials through a series of creative choices.

I realise, of course, that whatever the starting point of my design—whether concept, material or form—after it becomes a concrete object, it is actually the wearer who determines its value, not me. I am filled with joy, nonetheless, at the thought that there could be a moment when the memories that a piece of mine may evoke in its beholder are similar to those that led me to design it in the first place.

Leyla Taranto