We feel that the landscape of creative work is being more publicly valued, and the Norwegian fashion industry is gaining a stronger position, both here at home and abroad. We find it easier to navigate now, compared to a few years ago. It is inspiring to see the development in jewelry design over the past years, and incredibly fun to see such great diversity! We feel great freedom within the inspiration of our design, and never compromise on our vision. We always work within a theme that gives us great pleasure, and love to make jewelry that can be worn regardless of age and gender. Our customers value our DNA, and encourage and support individuality.
In terms of challenges, working with precious metals that follow global currency exchange can be unpredictable, and over the past year prices of metal have been very high.
We see sustainability as a common responsibility where everyone, from individuals, to government and industry, must contribute to find better solutions. The awareness of sustainability suits our brand, as people seldom throw away a piece of jewelry. All of our precious metals can be re-melted and made into new jewelry, leaving no material waste. Our products are also seasonless, with two launches per year, and all of our jewelry can be repaired.
We are concerned that new and old jewelry can be combined, and this is a common thread through our design work. We are conscious of not making our collections too large, and think carefully when bringing a new product into the world.
The simple, clean and sober in Norwegian design may reflect the time we live in. We all need to make smarter choices now and in the future, and we experience a strong tendency of the need for closeness and honesty, which may be lacking in, for example, social media. In this, quality and a prolonged product lifetime is becoming ever more important. Designers need to meet these challenges by designing products that last, and that can be repaired. Norwegian designers are taking responsibility in these areas, which makes us very optimistic about the future of Norwegian design globally.
Our parents are silversmiths. They started the business in the early 80's, and we practically grew up in the workshop. Running a craft business in the eighties and nineties was hard work, and we have been involved in the process since we were children. For a long time it was uncertain whether we wanted to pursue our professional careers within the family business, but after graduating we found it exciting to develop the business further, and to shape the brand according to our visions for the future.
Our inspiration is often rooted in the art world, and we spend a lot of time on drawings and paintings that follow a vision. We are lucky to spend a long time on the path of developing a piece of jewelry, where Anne creates conceptual paintings and drawings that slowly, but surely turn towards product design. We always have a lot of fun with the design process, although deadlines can be challenging for us. Since we are sisters, we talk freely, and have high tolerance for each other's opinions and disciplines.
None of us are educated in design, but we have backgrounds in art and music. This has been both a strength and a challenge. At times, our ideas are probably a bit too wild. We are constantly working to create jewelry that speaks to many people. We really like the contrast between the irregularity of art, and the compromises you have to make to create a good piece of product design. It's fun to start with an irrational and insane idea, and then haul it into a piece of jewelry that can be worn by many.
