Actually, I hadn’t thought exactly what I wantedto be, only what I wanted to study. As a kid I liked mathematics and drawing. Around the age of twelve, I thought I would like to study architecture, so I could combine them.
When have you started creating jewelry? How did this passion come about?
I first got in touch with jewelry making during my studies in Istanbul as an Erasmus student. Afterward I attended making courses in Athens and I got involved with contemporary jewelry through my attendance at Krama Institute. In jewelry making there are different aspects that fascinate me, such as small-scale design and construction, handmade process, experimentation with precious or non-valuable materials; how thoughts or senses could be shared through the pieces between the designer and the carrier, the way that the human body can complete the final piece.
What was your first project or significant piece for you and from what point of view?
It is one of the first pieces I made during my attendance at Krama for one of the thematic projects. “Escape” is a necklace made of sterling silver and heat shrink tubing. It is my escape route when I need to isolate myself or get away. The metal parts are like fragments that become points of the route.
How do you charge your batteries? What other passions and creative interests do you have?
I love reading books, sketching, walking by the sea and traveling.
What does the connection between manufacturing tradition and contemporary design mean to you?
Sometimes, when I observe samples of traditional craftsmanship, I find really inspiring their ingenuity, especially when I think about the minimal means of construction that were used. I consider manufacturing tradition as a basis where making solutions can be drawn and combined with contemporary materials and design experiments.
Is there a self-portrait piece that speaks most about you?
t is a ring named ‘Horizon’. The observation of the horizon by the sea, at the eye level, is like a constant search for the boundary between two different conditions; and that was the main inspiration for me. The most important and interesting thing fore in this piece, is how it's forms make you grab it and interact with it.
Which material have you not yet used is a temptation and a challenge for you?
Porcelain is a material that I would like to explore and further experiment. Its qualities and limits at the same time would be a great challenge for me.
How was the pandemic period for you as a jewelry designer?
It was quite hard, due to the circumstances, introversion and slowness prevailed with the positives and negatives. The beginning of this period coincided with my first year at Krama, during which there was a collective effort to continue sharing the progress of our projects and find ways to experiment with new materials or methods that were accessible. So, I would say that somehow it was a good period that gave rise to creativity and further exploration.
How do you see the future of contemporary jewelry?
I don’t know what the future will look like. However I am curious to see how contemporary jewelry, as a kind of applied art related to the body, will be enriched by changes both in the part of realization such as the means, techniques, materiality as well as in more intangible aspects such as meanings, thoughts and stories that jewelers will try to convey and the wearers will try to connect.
