Studio

The art studio is my sanctuary, a treasured space that always hides a promise of exciting creative discoveries.

In my art studio, you’ll find a myriad of unique vintage boxes, filled with tools and materials. There are rolls of finest leathers, piles of strangely shaped stones and beads in every size and colour, stacked next to baskets of colourful threads and antique buttons from the Victorian era.

Surrounded by some intricate Middle Eastern charms, solemnly sits an old Geisha figurine which I salvaged as a child from my great grandmother’s loft in Finland. Aquarelle papers and layers of natural parchment -similar on which medieval manuscripts were written- are protected in a large oak plan chest. My ever expanding crystal collection reaches from corner to corner, surrounding all the antique hand tools that I have patiently collected from various market stalls around Britain in the past 15 years. All with a story to tell, radiating their timeless charm.

I may contemplate a combination of beads and gemstones for a moment or for days. Every decision I make, needs to resonate within me as a balanced choice. Until I reach that moment, I keep searching for the exact right solution. In my work, I am a perfectionist. Sometimes a necklace needs to rest for a few days, so I can better sense what direction it wants to take. The materials give me many clues in the process of making. Some beads are drawn to each other faster than I can follow. Some need time to gently court each other, before realising they indeed are meant to settle side by side. When everything finally comes together, it’s a feeling I want to repeat again with the next piece of jewellery.