Spot the Designer - Olena Levder/ Ukraine

What did you want to be when you were a child?

Every profession was interesting for me, I loved animals the most, but I didn't want to become a veterinarian because a tragic accident happened in my childhood.

When have you started creating jewelry? How did this passion come about?

I never dreamed of becoming a jeweler, but in 1999 I entered the Lviv Academy of Arts at the ceramics department. There I met a jeweler and became interested in what kind of jewelry design I could make. My first jewelry was made of silver combined with other materials. My creative vision is the surrounding world that affects people. Everything depends on the environment in which the human brain accumulates information, then creates a work of art.

What was your first project or significant piece for you and from what point of view?

The first jobs were iconic for me because the people I worked with liked them. The first major jewelry event took place in Romania in Bucharest 2022 at Autor Contemporary Jewelry. sincerely grateful to the organizers for such an opportunity.

How do you charge your batteries? What other passions and creative interests do you have?

People are connected with nature, we get strength from there. To recover, I go to the forest or on the fields. It happens when I have emotional tension, and the war in my country is a very strong stress, believe me! But there is one more thing that calms me down, I am starting to deal with flowers as a florist, my hobby. I don't know why this work calms me down, but it is my emotional balance. Sometimes there are days when you don't want anything.

What does the connection between manufacturing tradition and contemporary design mean to you?

Tradition is our roots, it should be known and respected, used in synthesis with modernity, it is our genetic code. And modernity is what affects us now, what surrounds us.

Is there a self-portrait piece that speaks most about you?

If you think about it, every work is our self-portrait, because we pass everything through ourselves and give it out in the material. I made a self-portrait in jewelry, sculpture, and ikebana. Leonardo da Vinci was a good psychologist, he said that if you want to learn more about yourself, take a self-portrait.
I have several self-portraits that show an inner state, they are different because they are affected by time and environment. Because the world changes and we change with it, but there are human values that are not subject to time.

Which material have you not yet used is a temptation and a challenge for you?

I really want to work with plastic jewelry wax, which in its technological properties is close to clay. I would make an exclusive collection. In the near future, I will turn my dream into reality.

How was the pandemic period for you as a jewelry designer?

When the pandemic started, I thought it was the worst thing that could happen because people started buying less luxury goods. But, I was deeply mistaken, because the most terrible thing is war.!!! No matter how cruel it sounds, but it is a reality, natural selection takes place during a pandemic, that is, the genetically strong survive, and in a war, the strong die, because they are the first to go to defend the nation, that is, their land, their home. In general, war kills everyone indiscriminately. The pandemic seems like a small problem. Pandemic, does not rape and torture, does not destroy houses, schools, the whole city, does not burn crops, Understand!!!

How do you see the future of contemporary jewelry?

Future modern design is always a reflex on the environment, the material has long been irrelevant, the information you want to convey is important. A small imprint of life.

Find more about the designer Olena Levder