Spot the designer - Monica Wickström/ Finland

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

I wanted to be a designer when I was a child. I fantasized about to be an all-round designer, all from ceramic, textile to furniture designer.

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

I started when I was a child doing rings from copper and brass, very much ready-made things as screws and nuts. I used glue to join the elements. The passion for ready-made things in new concepts has always been very important for me as long as I can remember.

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

My first really important project was the multifunctional jewelry in 2002; bracelet, ring and wine cup, all in one piece. There I joined ready-made as the artistic decor of a functional object, which actually is functional in several ways when you are wearing the cocktail bowl as a bracelet and ring. “Alone or Together” is from Gioielli in Fermento 2018.

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

I get my energy from nature especially by the sea, walking along beaches and on cliffs, but also by traveling to new places.

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

For me, the connection between traditional and contemporary design when we are talking about jewelry is the technique used in a specific context. In traditional manufacturing the materials dictate the technique, when in contemporary jewelry the material and the technique are controlled by the context and the conception.

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

I don’t have any piece that could be a self-portrait of me because I express myself mostly in new ways where I explore different items and material from everyday life. Very often I am recycling different trash. The concept is important as well as the change of the context. But if I have to choose one, it would be “Keep Floating 2018”. It is an object which I made from a stone I found in 2018. In 2017 an old friend, who lost his wife almost the same time my husband died, became my support. In 2018 we got even closer when an old friendship became love. At that moment I found the stone, whose shape reminds of a broken heart. To that broken heart, I joined a whole heart of cork. Stones and cork have always been very important and dear for me. So I guess this piece is the nearest one to be a self-portrait of me.

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

Apart from silver and gold, I have used very different materials; plastic, glass, textile, wood, natural stone and amber, elk and hare droppings, potato, eggshell, paper. For the moment, I want to work more with wood, leather and skin.

How do you see the future of contemporary jewelry?

I think the future of contemporary jewelry will be even more expressionistic where the material is recycled and the technique supports sustainable development.

Find more about the designer Monica Wickström