Spot the Designer - Yolanda Zheng/ China

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

Actually, when I was young, I wanted to be an artist, well, at least a painter. I learned Chinese traditional painting when I was a child, and I found inner peace every time I was drawing.

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

I started to create jewelry in my college, I went to a minority tribe in China, and I saw them wearing beautiful jewelry. At that time I was so curious about those jewelries, and when I got back to the city, I started to create jewelry from the materials around me. My passion comes from my heart, because I hope to bring happiness to real life through my creation.

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

I still remember my first project, which was about cells and microbes. The process from design to final product took me a long time. I have a deep love for this project, because it is my creation from head to toe (from the concept to final handmade), just like my first child. I fell in love with the feeling of creation, I felt alive and existent.

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

I usually go for a walk or travel. I love going to historical places to see archaeological finds, and that sense of time travel fascinates me. As for other interests, I usually like to draw, because I'm not very good at writing, I do not believe what I want to express is as real as my drawings.

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

Although I like traditional crafts very much, new technologies are indispensable in the current jewelry industry. In particular, there are many three-dimensional expressions in my works, and new technologies such as 3D scanning and printing are faster and more convenient.

In addition, new technology also provides more possibilities for me to communicate with the audience, so I think I need to find a perfect balance between tradition and modern technology to express my artistic concept.

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

The collection called "A Flower Roots In My Heart", which is a reflection of my heart. As a Buddhist, I have been looking for inner peace. We are exhausted in this stressful world, so I decided to lighten the load on my mind and focus more on the happy little details in our daily life and live in the moment.

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

Titanium, I'm very interested in its weight (it is super light) and colors (it can be colorful).

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

To be honest, the pandemic gave me a good time to calm down. People can't go anywhere, they can't compete fiercely. It made me start to think about what is most important in our lives.

Of course, I was lucky enough to have the support from my parents to open up a studio of my own in my apartment. In fact, I had a very happy time during the epidemic, because I created every day and I cannot live without creating.

How do you see the future of contemporary jewelry?

I am full of confidence in the jewelry industry, because more and more people begin to know about this industry, more and more people learn jewelry-related knowledge. And the contemporary jewelry market is also being opened up a little bit, people started to accept all kinds of jewelry materials, not just the traditional precious metal jewelry. These things are very encouraging and give me confidence in the future of the industry.

Of course, there are many difficulties, in the development of new routes we will encounter many difficulties, such as how to make a variety of non-valuable materials to be accepted by more people, value and jewelry connection and so on are one of the problem to be solved.

Find more about the designer  Yolanda Zheng