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Eternal Union Pendant by Olga Yatskaer |
Home > Winners > Design #49020 >Interview |
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FS: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
OY: This design is in fact one shape that looks like two interconnected shapes, thanks to the fine engraving. It looks simple yet full of meaning. This shape represents the two bound together as one, or the one being an unbreakable and endless union of the two. Like the best of our feelings, combining the lovely, the beautiful and the endless. The further it materialized, the more I felt in love with it. Some would find in it a touch of ancient Celtic jewelry or even of the Herakles knot. You can see an eternity symbol, an 8 and maybe other symbols that make us think.
FS: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
OY: I wanted to create a design that consists of one single endless curve, and to make the observer believe he is looking on two shapes, a kind of optical illusion turned into jewelry piece.
FS: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
OY: From the most immediate ones, the Eternal Union pendant is going to get siblings. There are earrings coming up, and the work on a ring and bracelet designs is in progress as well. I plan to present the Eternal Union for the Exhibition @ Mood in Como, Italy between 6th June and 26th June, organized by A’ Design Award. I have already started commercializing the actual jewelry pieces, and plan to promote this design to the world through my company, Queensberg. Eternal Union pendants can be ordered through Queensberg. They are available in yellow gold, white gold or rhodium-plated sterling silver.
FS: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?
OY: The first sketch was conceived in February 2016. The first piece was produced in March/April in silver, this is when the design was really completed. It was first exhibited in May 2016 in Chateau de l'Ermitage in Wavre. A version of the piece in yellow gold was created shortly after.
FS: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
OY: I wanted to try and create a metal-only piece, which would have a new interesting shape and pattern. I just decided to pursue an inspiration, like with most of my designs.
FS: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?
OY: The Eternal Union pendants are produced and marketed by my company Queensberg, just like all my designs.
FS: What made you design this particular type of work?
OY: When designing a jewelry set, I would often start with the pendant, just because pendants can represent any idea most precisely with nearly no constraints. This was the case with Eternal Union as well.
FS: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?
OY: Not to my knowledge. The design was born just out of inspiration and naturally evolved as I defined its details.
FS: Who is the target customer for his design?
OY: Everyone who likes to wear it. The actual piece is produced in several versions being yellow gold, white gold and rhodium-plated silver, because different customers prefer different colors and metals.
FS: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?
OY: While I haven’t really seen or heard of similar or resembling concepts so far, I would think of several elements that make it different. First, the baseline shape looks quite simple but has a secret in it. It resembles two different shapes but there’s only one. Then there’s also the engraving, which combines both freehand approach and symmetry, while being very fine. When light shines down on it, one may think there are stones set into the piece, while there are no actual stones. Maybe it’s the combination of all these elements that sets it apart.
FS: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
OY: Just like all my designs, the sketch came first. It had no name to begin with. The name appeared as the design evolved. First there were two open shapes coming close, and this was just a Union. Then the ends of the shape suddenly came together and joined as one in their miraculous twist, and I was impressed by the result. And then it became the “Eternal Union” as we know it today.
FS: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
OY: To capture the idea, I used a piece of paper and pencil. The 3D modelling was made using Gemvision Matrix.
FS: What is the most unique aspect of your design?
OY: I believe it is a combination of several aspects that makes it unique. This design is one single shape, creating an optical illusion of two separate shapes through symmetric twists of the curve and fine engraving. The engraving also creates another optical illusion of stones being set into the piece.
FS: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?
OY: I have created the entire design end-to-end myself. With that, there were technical experts involved at different stages as well. As an example, making high resolution pictures of such a miniature piece is a real undertaking, especially when it goes about the lighting, shadows and reflections. I involved professional photographers for that, to make sure the picture is reflecting the actual piece as closely as possible.
FS: What is the role of technology in this particular design?
OY: Technology was very useful to reflect all finest details, while ensuring that the design would be practical in production and finishing.
FS: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?
OY: The initial creation of this particular piece was mostly driven by fantasy and emotions. The purpose was to design a simple yet appealing and wearable jewelry piece, combining the classic and contemporary influences. The risk with a simple design is that someone else may have already created it sometime in the past. Therefore, once the shape was conceived, I made a research to make sure it does not resemble any other piece. I searched through my library of books and publications on jewelry design. I also googl'ed the images of Celtic, Greek and Etruscan pieces. So far I concluded that this design is indeed something new and unique.
FS: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?
OY: This design is particularly demanding for fine details. The first challenge was more technical, to place a fine engraving on already fine piece. It demands more time, attention and precision to make sure that all details are reflected, that the lines are deep enough to sustain the finishing yet not too deep to keep the piece stable. The second challenge was to reflect accurately this miniature piece in all finest details on a very high-resolution picture. Even for professional photographers, it is almost as complex as making a picture of a small mirror under a microscope.
FS: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?
OY: I really liked the design and was wondering what the design community would think about it. “A’ Design Award” looked like the most appealing contest to try.
FS: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?
OY: Before designing Eternal Union, most of my models would combine metal with precious stones or enamel. This was one of my first attempts to create a metal-only model, as well as a model representing the optical illusion.
FS: Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to interview you.
A' Design Award and Competitions grants rights to press members and bloggers to use parts of this interview. This interview is provided as it is; DesignPRWire and A' Design Award and Competitions cannot be held responsible for the answers given by participating designers.
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