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n the fourth edition of our “Three Questions” series focusing on the brands who will be exhibiting their collections at the inaugural COUTURE Coconut Grove this November, we are highlighting characteristics some designers share that make the art of making fine jewelry so compelling; accomplishing the impossible. These designers push the boundaries of the capabilities of their chosen medium and they obsessively approach every project with a passion that has only gotten stronger throughout their careers, whatever the duration.
Header image feature Sevan Biçakçi
These designers push the boundaries of the capabilities of their chosen medium and they obsessively approach every project with a passion that has only gotten stronger throughout their careers, whatever the duration.
Melinda Risk
Image courtesy of Vanessa Fernandez
Whether they’re just getting started, like Melinda Risk, they’ve been considered pioneers of the craft for decades, like Sevan Biçaçki, or they are continually crafting increasingly complex designs entirely by hand, as with Vanessa Fernández, these designers have never met a design challenge they didn’t want to overcome. For these designers, making jewelry is a calling.
Image courtesy of Melinda Risk
COUTURE: What three words describe your brand DNA?
Melinda Risk: Storytelling. Eclectic. Secrets.
Image courtesy of Melinda Risk
C: What is your favorite part about being a jewelry designer?
MR: I love learning new techniques to use in my pieces and I love making tiny things!
Image courtesy of Melinda Risk
C: What is your favorite material to work with?
MR: I love combing all materials to tell my stories so I could never pick just one but if I had to choose it would be high karat gold.
Image courtesy of Sevan Bicakci
COUTURE: What three words describe your brand DNA?
Sevan Biçakçi: Heritage. Storytelling. Craftsmanship.
Image courtesy of Sevan Bicakci
C: What’s your favorite part about being a jewelry designer?
SB: What I enjoy most is making things that seem impossible. A bird in flight, a flower, or a small world carved inside a gemstone. Some pieces take months, sometimes years, because there is simply no faster way to make them. That has never bothered me. If a piece needs time, you give it time. There’s a thrill in that slowness, in refusing to rush what deserves patience.
I also enjoy sharing the atelier with painters, sculptors, calligraphers, and ceramic artists. They each bring a different way of seeing the world, and those conversations often find their way into the jewelry.
Image courtesy of Sevan Bicakci
C: What is your favorite material to work with?
SB: I don’t have a favorite material. I enjoy working with anything nature has given us, whether it is considered precious or not, as long as it has been responsibly sourced. Every stone and every material has its own character. My role is not to force an idea onto it, but to understand what it wants to become.
Image courtesy of Vanessa Fernández
COUTURE: What three words describe your brand DNA?
Vanessa Fernandez: Handcrafted. Feminine. Bold.
Image courtesy of Vanessa Fernández
C: What’s your favorite part about being a jewelry designer?
VF: My favorite part about being a jewelry designer is the love and pride I feel working at the bench, challenging myself daily in the studio, handcrafting and preserving the integrity of the jewelry arts.
Image courtesy of Vanessa Fernández
C: What is your favorite material to work with?
VF: My favorite material to work with is gold, fine color gemstones and unique diamonds.
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