Reader of the Week: Annalisa Leonardo Pedersen
jewelry designer
By Jihanah Rasul
Published: February 12th, 2008 | 12:00am
City: Copenhagen, Denmark
Before designing your namesake jewelry line, your career pursuits included fashion, pottery, painting. Do you have a fine arts background? Have you always had an interest in jewelry?
Apart from a few courses and good advice from other artists, I am a self-taught artist. I’ve always drawn, painted, and made art out of whatever materials I could get my hands on.
I've always loved jewelry, and as a young girl I dreamed of becoming either a photographer, a silversmith, or a ceramic artist. When I was in school I used to make necklaces and bracelets out of enamel and copper that I shaped on a gas ring in my mothers kitchen and sold to my friends.
You formerly owned a store in Copenhagen called Butik Gammelmont that carried your fashion line, Gammelmont. Did you decide to do jewelry as an extension of your clothing line?
I first became a fashion designer and shop owner. After a few years doing that, I needed a change and I started doing pottery, and that became my passion and profession for many years.
But I never lost my interest in jewelry, and about eight years ago I started taking some courses in silver work, and I opened my workshop shortly after.
The pieces in your jewelry collection are very delicate looking. How are they crafted?
I sketch my ideas on paper. Then I transfer the sketch to a silver plate, cut it and work on it, either by hammering or soldering, until I have achieved the shape and effect I'm looking for.
What inspires you the most when designing?
I get inspired by so many things; it can be flowers, animals, plants or textile patterns. If I'm working with gem stones, the shape of the stone helps decide what form the piece will take. The large amber necklace I've made is a good example of that. The amber that I found on the beach near my house, is in its raw form the natural center of the necklace, and everything else — flowers and leaves — are built up around it.
Where are your pieces sold?
They're sold at art exhibits, from my show room and now also on myspace.com/annalisaleonardo. Most customers contact me because they have friends or colleagues who owns a piece I've made.
Issue #35
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flora (2 months)
Wonderful stuff!!
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