A journey through the history and future of jewelry

CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY FAIR 3RD EDITION GALATECA GALLERY 22 - 24 MAY ´15

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF JEWELRY

PROJECT A IS A BIANNUAL CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY EXHIBITION, ORGANIZED BY ASSAMBLAGE CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY SCHOOL AND IS DEDICATED EXCLUSIVELY TO ITS GRADUATES IN ORDER TO PROMOTE AND SUPPORT THEM AS INDEPENDENT DESIGNERS.

PROJECT A CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY MAGAZINE

TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 “A JOURNEY THROUGH THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF JEWELRY” 30 PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS 128 “ TABOO” 132 “ THIS IS NOT A JEWELRY” 137 ASSAMBLAGE THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY 138 COURSES & WORKSHOPS 143 PARTNERSHIP WITH ALCHIMIA 144 TEAM & CREDITS

ISSUE #1 MAY 2015

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HOW WOULD THIS EXPERIMENT OF TIME TRAVELLING LOOK WHEN TRANSPOSED INTO THE CONTEMPORARY JEWELERY AREA? Assamblage Contemporary Jewelry School addressed this challenge to its graduate designers, inviting them to reinterpret or re-imagine the major art movements and bring them into the present, in their own styles. The result is the exhibition “A Journey through the History and Future of Jewelry”, presented between the 22nd and the 24th of May 2015 at Galateca Gallery in Bucharest, Romania.

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A special curatorial selection of the exhibition will afterwards be presented at One Design Week 2015, from the 19th to the 28th of June in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, with outstanding creations in respect of concepts, innovative design and materials.

The exhibition “A Journey Through the History and Future of Jewelry” is a game with time and historical periods, a logbook of contemporary designers with their personal historical perspectives. Each designer was asked to choose one out of the major historical periods and create a unique piece of jewelery. Artists’ submissions had to be inspired from the chosen period, yet to bear the designer’s personal concepts and adaptation to contemporaneity.

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF JEWELRY 22 24 MAY ‘15 ARTISTS’ SUBMISSIONS

ASSAMBLAGE CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY SCHOOL WAS FOUNDED IN OCTOBER 2010 AT THE INITIATIVE OF DESIGNER DAVID SANDU AND SOON BECAME A FOUNDATION AND A STRONG REFERENCE POINT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF DESIGN JEWELRY IN ROMANIA. IN FOUR YEARS OF ACTIVITY, THE SCHOOL HAS HELD APPROXIMATELY 80 TRAINING SESSIONS AND COUNTS OVER 300 ALUMNI. ASSAMBLAGE HAS BECOME A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE MEET TO DISCUSS, LEARN NEW THINGS AND INITIATE PROJECTS AND EXHIBITIONS TOGETHER. ASSAMBLAGE SCHOOL OF CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY HAS HELPED CREATING A COHESIVE COMMUNITY OF ARTISTS, WHO HAVE ACHIEVED AND ACCUMULATED TECHNICAL AND CONCEPTUAL NOTIONS FOR THEIR ASSERTION AS INDIVIDUAL JEWELRY DESIGNERS. LET US INTRODUCE YOU SOME OF THEM.

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ADELINA PETCAN

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Adelina Petcan graduated from Nicolae Tonitza” Art High school and currently studies Sculpture at Bucharest University of Fine Arts. She grew up surrounded by art and her mothers’s paintings.

Passionate by three-dimensional she attended sculpture lessons during her high school period. After that she signed up for jewelry making courses at Assamblage Contemporary Jewelry School. Jewelry making allowed her to transfer her passion for sculpture in something wearable, in a statement of elegance.

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www.adelinapetcan.com adelinapetcan@yahoo.com +40 744 320 645

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

ADINA ISTRATE

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“Naturalia is a collection of nature reinterpreted. Sensory perceptions, colors, ideas wrapped in materials and textures. I listened to the stories that every rock or material told me, I dreamed and I turned them into unique jewelry. They aren’t two alike, just as no two stories are the same.

I reinterpreted field flowers, grass, or monochrome or colored bouquets of flowers, leaves and sprouts. I introduced the human connection in relationship with nature. I found birds and nests on the branch and baby birds hidden after an azurite. I saw the grass and flowers growing through a hollow stone.

I use different materials combined with sterling silver: natural stone, natural copper, azurite, mosaic, handmade glass, silicon, enamel. The objects have different finishes, from silver cast forms up to the smoothness and and shiness of polished metal”.

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adina_i2004@yahoo.com fb: Adina’s Life Stories

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

ALEXANDRA UNGURELU EXPRESSION

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Alexandra Ungurelu is a graduate of the Faculty of Communication and Public Relations SNSPA. Over the years she developed an interest in colors and shapes and attended drawing and painting courses.

She recently attended a number of courses at Assamblage School of Contemporary Jewelry, under the direction of David Sandu, and managed to bring her passion for jewelry to another level. Alexandra is currently creating silver and gemstones jewelry as “Expression Contemporary Jewelry.“ In time, jewelry has gained a number of values that are not found in other objects, they are pieces created and endowed with feelings and beliefs that I try to transpose in metal and stone.

Jewelry has a certain power to move through time and space, to represent a particular moment in a person’s life and to capture an emotion.

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www.expressioncj.com alexandra@expressioncj.com

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

ALINA CARP

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I started studying contemporary jewelry at Assamblage Contemporary Jewelry School in Bucharest, Romania, under the guidance of David Sandu.

Afterwards, I completed my studies at Alchimia Contemporary Jewellery School and Le Arti Orafe in Florence, Italy.

Everything that followed has been a dream come true. —

www.alinacarp.com alina_krp1@yahoo.com +40 720 999 706

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

ALINA PREDOIU

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“Bijuterii cu Alint came to life in the spring of 2011, both natural and fantastic. I began timidly, in a play, with a sketch, two, three drawings, then a collection of necklaces.

Gradually, I took several courses at Assamblage School of Contemporary Jewelry, then visited national and international fairs of accessories, precious and semiprecious stones, and designer jewelry; a unique and challenging stage that followed up with powerful new arguments, ups and downs, a period with many stories that I tried to include in my creations.

What inspires me?

It’s simple: emotions, thoughts or impressions arising from the naturalness of the day, season or memories, intense feelings, my soul reflections at certain times. This is the way I learnt to communicate and tell my story to the world”.

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www.bijuteriicualint.ro alina.predoiu@bijuteriicualint.ro +40 744 553 534

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

ALINA SIMION

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“Jewelry was a way of finding myself.

After a long search, I discovered it, as my personal manifesto against conventionalism. I attended a series of contemporary jewelry classes in early 2012, under the guidance of David Sandu. I launched my first collection “Silver and the City” at the jewelry fair “Autor 8” and ArtXpert Gallery, in the exhibition “Jewelry Design Fair”.

In 2013 I participated in the “Autor 9” with the second collection “Silver Graffiti” and then in the same year, at Autor 10, with “Destination: Unknown”.

In 2014, I participated with “La maison de mon ame” at the event Made in RO organized by Designist during Romanian Design Week.

In my opinion, the true revolution starts with the freedom of speech and the desire to overcome the limit of perceptible reality. Jewelry expresses a special, tantric, explosive energy and so, the objects in my collection have attitude and character. I use flowing and asymmetrical lines, which denote sensuality and bring an eternal feminine glow”.

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simionalina@rocketmail.com fb: Alina Simion

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

ALIS LALU

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“I was born in 1982 in Constanţa, Romania. I studied International Economic Relations and worked in the economical field for 6 years, and in January 2011 I attended the courses of Assamblage School of Contemporary Jewlery, under the direction of designer and mentor David Sandu.

I then had the chance to discover designer jewelry and experienced the emotion of crafting my first ring.

Afterwards, things came naturally: a few months later I quit my corporate career and dedicated myself to my true passion: jewelry.

I want my pieces to be worn by those who see jewelry more than an accessory, but rather a way to express themselves”.

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www.alislalu.ro atelier@alislalu.ro

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

ANA BARBU UZURA

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“I started collecting all sort of objects early and I have three shoe boxes filled with more or less precious stuff to prove it. I gathered all this stuff between ages 7 and 18, but I have to admit some of them I have no recollection of. Nevertheless I continued collecting, till age 27 I had three more boxes and I started to ask myself what to do with them. Jewelry was an easy answer. I wasn’t very confident about what I was doing, but I did it anyway. In the same time, that is 2010, I started working in performance art, as a member of a group called EGG No EGO. This made a connection between body, object and action, a connection that I still very much enjoy working with.

When I make stuff and also when I make actions I like putting objects in a context where they have never been before, finding a place where they fit, although we don’t see that in everyday life.

I work with concepts like utility/inutility, transformation, wear, aid, medium, animated/unanimated”.

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howtomakesomethingoutofnothing. tumblr.com annabarbu@gmail.com

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

ANAMARIA DOBRAȘ

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She began flirting with contemporary jewelry eight years ago, just before she began her studies at the Faculty of Arts and Design in Timișoara.

Currently he is a graduate of the Master of Product Design of the same institution. During the last years she successfully graduated courses of precious metals and started her own workshop, under the brand of Ddjewelry. Her creations are deeply marked by her preference for experimentation, both in terms of textures, as well as in terms of composition. Her style is focused on contemporary jewelry, but also on the various elements added to the objects that illustrate a preferential inclination to Gothic - Baroque.

“Through my work I want to bring joy to people, and my goal is to create pieces that, in addition to their material value, also carry in them a sentimental value. An attachment to the object, so that, once endowed with feelings, the wearer will metamorphose into an eternal jewel precious to the soul”.

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www.ddjewelry.ro studio@ddjewelry.ro +40 740 037 490

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

ANCA PANDREA

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“I rarely wear jewelry, few and discrete, so the passion for designer jewelry, created by my own hands, came as a big surprise. It’s amazing how, under repeated beatings hammer, flame and fretwork, an inert piece of precious metal comes to life and is able to tell stories.

The journey from a sketch to a final piece is what brings me, again and again at my working desk. But I think a jewelry is finished when it gets to be woren. The material transformes itself and it transformes me, but also transformes the personal story of the person who manages to penetrate the intimacy of the relationship between me and the object”.

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www.ancapandrea.com hello@ancapandrea.com

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

ANCA POPESCU

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“Being a graduate of the Construction Institute, I thought that I can live my life in a comfortable way, having a decent income; although it provided me no pleasure. One day my inner Me couldn’t do it any more and I said “enough”. Then I have discovered gems and started by “collecting” them, combining and designing unique jewels using so called hand-made techniques. I remembered that in my youth I imagined myself being a jeweler. And I said: Why not now?

So I graduated Assamblage School of Contemporary Jewelry. Now I can say that the future has no limits for me. My story shows that there is no age limit for dreaming and accomplishments!

Once I started on the path of designing jewelery, I had to decide what I had to do in this field where a lot of wonderful well-known artists were already telling their own stories.

So I decided to combine the hand made style and classical jewelry, without renouncing at the most important demand that the jewelery has to be beautiful and decorative for the wearer”.

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anca.popescu61@yahoo.com fb: Anca Popescu

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

ANDREEA BOLOLOI

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“I’m from Timișoara and I graduated the Graphics section, at the Fine Arts and Design Faculty. In my second year of college I’ve discovered jewelry making and I enjoyed it so much that I was always searching for new techniques and trying to develop my skills on my own. My attention to details grew during college, when I was most comfortable working on small canvases. A few years later, I attended the Contemporary Jewelry School Assamblage, wanting to discover new ways of working with metal and to make another step towards my artistic evolution.

I like making necklaces, having a special care for details and finishing touches. It’s a real challenge to use a line in order to create volumes, surfaces and textures, because at some point, the line limits your creativity. I let myself constrained by these limits, and sometimes I try to overcome them. I usually combine the shine of the silver plated wire, which imposes elegance and preciousness, with textiles – waxed cotton cords and silky thread – to minimize their sumptuousness and make them easier to wear”.

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www.andreeabololoijewelry. blogspot.ro andreea.bololoi@gmail.com

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

ANDREI BERINDAN

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“I graduated the Arts University, Painting Department. In 2014 I had the opportunity to attend one of the courses of Assamblage School of Contemporary Jewelry and from that moment my old childhood passion started to take shape. I love working with wood as an organic material, which is why the silver jewelry that I design is accessorized mostly with it.

My inspiration is the past, the present and the future, human behavior, society and technology”.

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ab.contemporaryjewellery@ gmail.com fb: AB Contemporary Jewelry

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

ANDREIA POPESCU

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“I was born in Bucharest and I graduated the Academy of Economic Studies. I have been a contemporary jewelry designer for almost 4 years and also a teacher at Assamblage Contemporary Jewelry School.

I use silver, gold, precious and semiprecious gemstones. In my collections I also use unconventional materials that are not specific to classic jewelry, this combination giving my jewelry a touch of originality.

My daily inspiration comes from everywhere around me: forms, sensations, feelings. —

antoinesjewelry@yahoo.com fb: Andreia Popescu Art Jewelry +40 722 234 488

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

ARINA NIŢULESCU

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“The recent change I’ve made in my career, from research and restoration in architecture to design jewelry, wasn’t perceived as a big change.

The things that have changed were only the object scale, the materials that I still try to make friends with and, I admit, the disappearance of a real customer, who was, most of the time, uncomfortable. The rest goes on in a natural, architectural way: the presence of a concept in a collection, the documentation preceding any new project, the search for suitable materials and techniques, and unfortunately, as in architecture, multiple objects remaining only on paper, in the planning stage .

I do not want to create finery, but to materialize ideas. The impression of a collection with heterogeneous structure is given by the fact that I am not trying variations of form or technique, but I’m expressing an idea through as many various resources as I can. And the world of contemporary jewelery is very generous”.

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arina_nitulescu@yahoo.com fb: Arina Nitulescu

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

BIANCA GRINDEANU

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Bianca is a graduate of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest.

She worked in sales, marketing and advertising, and based on her experience she started on her own a small business specializing in the creation, production and sale of gifts.

The switch to design jewelry came when she met David Sandu, under the guidance of whom she become, a year later, the first graduate of Assamblage School of Contemporary Jewelry. She works with recycled metal, thus registering in the current of Eco-Green Jewelry. She melts old, broken jewelry and gives them a new life, a new identity. —

www.biancagrin.ro studio@biancagrin.ro +40 757 577 872

PROJECT A CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY MAGAZINE

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

CAMELIA LUPU

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“I graduated the Academy of Economic Studies in 2009 and, for a while, I took a classic route in multinational companies, though I always felt drawn to art. So, in 2013, I attend the jewlery courses at Assamblage School of Contemporary Jewelry. I taught myself to work with different materials and tried to combine glass and silver beads to create unique jewelry. I like to use color in my creations so that they could inspire joy. I think my pieces are fit for passionate people, who love colors and appreciate asymmetries as a proof of uniqueness.

Using various combinations and materials, jewelry is in a continuos evolution, just like an organism because, even if it doesn’t have a voice or inner self, it has life and energy, it is born from a concept, transformed through ideas and it ages in time”.

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fb: Camelia Lupu +40 722 981 587

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

CARMEN WATKINS

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“I am not a simple person, nor easily understood. I struggle in contradictions and shyness is my number one enemy. It’s been a lifelong endeavor to harmonize and reconcile with myself, and in my little workshop I succeed – within me tranquility descends, imagination breaks the boundaries, while my hands are playing hide-and-seek with the silver, uncovering each other with childlike joy.

In an increasingly standardized and sterilized world, I consider myself fortunate to have lived my entire life in an artistic environment first as a ballerina and lately as a poetess and a jeweler. Given my everlasting love for poetry and dance, I try to entwine them into my jewelery, so that the final result can arouse emotions and reach for your hearts”.

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fb: Silverhymes by Carmen W. silverhymes@gmail.com +40 722 408 531

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

CORINA CUBICI

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“At first I didn’t imagine that I will be studying and working in fashion and in the related world of jewelry.

The most important element for me is the mounted stone that can be highlighted in a special way in jewelry. The balance of elements , stones, design and functionality of jewelry are the things that interest me the most. The complexity of the my pieces has grown with time and i hope it will keep doing that. The way in which a person makes a piece of jewelry is like the style of drawing in which one creates.

When you are allowed to work freely, you transfer your own personality in the work. Weather it is an individual piece or a collection based on a favorite or a given theme, a creative person can not create without transfering a part of their personality and creative spirit in work”.

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corina.cubici@yahoo.com fb: Corina Florina Cubici

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

CORINA MARDARI

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“After a prolonged studentship finally ended in two bachelor’s degrees by the University of Bucharest, to which I added a couple of years spent as a business law attorney, jewellery making became formally my new profession. I attended the only silversmith training course available in Romania in 2006 (UCECOM) and ever since the mystery of making a jewellery revealed itself to me, my own workshop could come to life and the first pieces of jewellery emerged.

Starting 2013 I have frequently benefited of the professional perspective of Assamblage School of Contemporary Jewelry. The change was equally astonishing and natural, a daring return towards my inner self and to the challenge of the first passions I nurtured – technique and aesthetics, interwoven in a playful dynamic in author jewellery.

I believe in abstract beauty, in the beauty within our minds.

Jewelry should be platonically seductive. And ludic as our thinking.

My jewelry is about freedom, daring, searching yourself, escaping routine and rules, about finding the hidden beauty of the Inside”.

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www.corinamardari.ro corina@corinamardari.ro

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

CRISTINA POPA

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“I’m a Bucharest born architect with an enormous passion for jewelry creation. Much like the most exciting projects I work on, the process of crafting hand made jewelry fascinates me, as it gives me the opportunity to have full creative control, in all dimensions, but on a much smaller scale, and therefore, on a more demanding level.

My goal is to bring out the natural beauty of the materials I choose to work with, attempting to maintain the purity of their form. After participating in the “Assamblage” jewelry workshop and following all stages of modelling, designing and working with metals and semiprecious stones, a form appeared throughout my sketches, taking root around the Pyrite stone, and thus, the “Katzengold” collection emerged”.

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fb: Huginn Jewelry huginnjewelry@gmail.com +40 723 459 601

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

CRISTINA RADU CRISSARA JEWELRY

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“I graduated “Basic One” in 2013 at Assamblage Contemporary Jewellery School, under the direction of David Sandu. So far I have created four collections, “La Vie En Rose”, starting from the beauty and perfection of roses, ”FabuLACE“- jewelry made of silk lace turned into silver, ”Fancy Bubbles” - a collection of jewelry made of silver and a collection dedicated to men - “Mens Cufflinks” - collection that includes 6 pairs of silver cufflinks made entirely by hand.

Crissara spread their story in handmade silver and precious stones.

With a repertoire that includes rings, necklaces, bracelets and cufflinks, this newly launched brand will become the place of reference for those who love accessories made to mesure.

In the development of collections, discover new techniques of metalworking and interesting textures to enrich the jewel, an expression of timeless beauty. I invite you on a journey very personal because jewelry is always about you”!

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www.crissara.ro cristina@crissara.ro +40 742 040 517

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

DANA BONEANU

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Born: 31 may 1969 Designer and Textile Artist “Exploring and interpreting the contemporary materials and techniques. From textile art to jewelry was a natural transition because I love tridimensional works.

My work was based on researching old for creating new”.

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fb: Dana Boneanu dana.boneanu@gmail.com

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

DANA TUDOR ALLIAGE “I approached jewelry design in 2008.

Everything was born from the desire to generate a possible “dialogue” between jewelry and its bearer.

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I wanted from the very beginning for my jewelry to speak for itself and be friendly with the one who wears it.

Jewelry is in the best position to deliver a message, through the way they manage to synthesize the idea from which they start. An idea that is easily read through the final object (or a set of objects) but in the back is has a great effort, countless tests and experiments.

Designer jewelry for connoisseurs is a journey into a story that reveals the artistic universe, that can say a lot about the artist and his vision, but also about the one who chooses to wear the jewelry”.

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www.alliage.ro contact@danatudorjewelry.ro +40 723 695 355

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

DIANA VASILE

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“I graduated the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics, an area in which I also began to practice as soon as I graduated. My passion for jewelry began to show itself in during college, when I toyed with various materials, usually extremely colored gemstones. Naturally, I reached a point where I wanted to learn more about jewelry and emerge from the area of a hobbyist and collector, so I started the Assamblage courses to learn how to make the pieces that I held in my imagination. My inspiration comes from everything around me, and usually right at that time, I see something that haunts me and fascinates me so I have to get the idea and run with it to the limit.

I think my jewelry can be worn by people who not only see but also the shape of the idea behind it, and not afraid to express themselves and for people that see the beauty beyond the symmetry of a piece”.

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www.temper.ro diana@temper.ro

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

DIANA PANTEA

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“The moment I started making jewelery was rather bizarre, as I didn’t really know much about it.

It intersected my path while I was searching for an occupation that I would actually enjoy doing. I had no idea that one day I would be able to create my own jewelery pieces.

I had a timid start in 2012 with a basic course in silversmithing at Assamblage Contemporary Jewelery School in Bucharest. I got captivated and fascinated by jewelery making and after a few more short courses I decided to go on studying more about the world of jewelery. I am a student in the second year at Alchimia, Contemporary Jewellery School in Florence, where I’m continuing my exploration and study in the field.

Right now I’m a student who wants to know everything about jewelery and it’s secrets: from history and technique, to concept or unconventional materials experimentation”.

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fb: Diana Pantea panteadiana@gmail.com

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

ERIKA POPLICEANU

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“Sociologist by profession, I rediscovered the passion for textiles a few years ago and since then I keep pushing their limits by combining them with metal, stone or wood in pieces of jewellery that share their story through their power and simplicity.

I create mostly necklaces and brooches, based primarily on crocheting that yields airy or dense textures according to the thread and material used”.

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fb: atelier44 www.atelier44.carbonmade.com

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

GABRIELA RĂDOI

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Gabriela Dora Rădoi was born in 1984 in Hunedoara, Romania.

Passionate about art history since childhood, she began creating wooden jewelry as a student. Gabriela graduated UBB as Master in Tourism, Geography and Environmental Ecology and worked as a designer in the field of Ecotourism programs.

In 2013 she begins to take classes at Assamblage Contemporary Jewelry School and starts experimenting with precious metal jewelry.

“What began as an exercise of relaxation became an obvious passion. When sitting at the desk I loose track of time. Finally I had found the grace that haunts my existence, the purpose. I discovered my sense in a jewel among the tools, with blackened hands. I work with symbols that transcend time and eras to express a feeling. My creations are born from a fugitive thought, growing on paper, are then carved in wood, cut from leather and welded in metal, then arranged on body, where they take their final shape. The images come to me from organic forms, medieval weapons and nomadic life”.

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www.ateliergobi.wordpress.com ateliergobi@gmail.com +40 736 063 933

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

GABRIELA SECĂREA

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“I created the first jewelry in 2012, made of colored copper, gold or silver plated wire and leather combinations. I started after three visits made over the years. At Poble Espanyol Museum, Barcelona, I first saw a woven bracelet made of copper wire. In India, I fell in love with the multitude of semi-precious stones.

In Thailand I had the chance to visit a lot of jewelry workshops. Then I began to attend some courses to be able to learn different techniques and I started to work with silver and precious stones.

In the creative process my ideas and the raw material (wood, silver or wax) are equal partners. We both come half way, we meet in the middle and decide together where to go from there. My work is an ongoing dialogue between myself and the external environment, discovering new situations or happy accidents. From all the chaos inside I try to sediment ideas and bring up original and representative pieces”.

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www.briellebijoux.ro +40 743 042 382

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

IOANA ARDELEAN

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“Design jewelry represents a way of exploring design and a constant fascination, as I like the gestures and ideas behind objects: the idea, the message that becomes palpable reality and of course the idea of beauty behind objects. I have discovered jewelry from this perspective but also the privilege of the craftsmanship that involves both the hand and the mind in the process of transforming the material.

I am seeking for the qualities of the metal, its natural expression.

The objects that I design are rather from the perspective of the architect - structures aiming for strong expression that conveys the idea of beauty. The aesthetic I am interested in, is not that of the composition or of the finishing, but of the states of the material and capturing a specific moment from the process.

I believe in the idea of unique objects - the ones created by the hands and thoughts of man, in their cultural expression. I see them as a source of joy and beauty – as palpable realities, as samples of the continuity of the world”.

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fb: A 47-a ioana_c_ardelean@yahoo.com

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

IOANA STREZA & ALEX BURLACU CONTEMPORIA

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“Contemporia was born out of the vision and passion shared by two contemporary jewelry designers.

Ioana Streza and Alex Burlacu started working together in the field of jewelry since 2014, a year after graduating Assamblage Contemporary Jewelry School and setting up their own workshop. They participated in exhibitions, competitions and fairs.

For both of them contemporary jewelry is the ideal means to materialize ideas and this is the reason they want to develop Contemporia project together.

Contemporia jewelry is designed to be an extension for the personality of those who chose to wear it, not only elements that complete an outfit. It is dedicated to open minded persons who love art and see in jewelry an object in which the creator has invested first of all soul”.

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www.contemporia.ro bijuterie@contemporia.ro +40 746 175 826

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PORTFOLIO OF ARTISTS

IRINA MOISE PINKMOSS

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“Pinkmoss” is an understanding of the extra-sensorial. It is born from the desire to connect with the universe, nature and all that surrounds us.

“Pinkmoss” is closely related to the phenomena of nature, that shows us that there is beauty everywhere, a special beauty created from the most bizarre elements.

In definition, “Pinkmoss” is a traveler spirit in time and space, it’s s history and rediscovery in the same time.

An interior extroversion, “Pinkmoss” teaches us to connect with the universe, to see and feel more.

We learn to listen to our instincts, to rediscover the joy of life, to interact more with our emotions.

—

www.pinkmoss.ro irina@pinkmoss.ro

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IZA VIȘOIANU SNOB

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“It’s not made by snobs. It’s not for snobs. But it’s made with a snobbish approach.

When it comes to designs, details or quality we believe we should be very hard to please in oder to get the best results in what we do. We chose to create beyond mainstream, trends and standards and to get inspired by our needs, our taste and our intuition”.

—

www.snobdot.com

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IZABELLA PETRUŢ

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Izabella (b. 1983) acquired a BA (2007) and a MA (2009) at the University of Art and Design in Cluj Napoca, Romania and completed the GJ3 Specialization courses at Alchimia, School of Contemporary Jewelry in Florence, Italy (2012) with professor Ruudt Peters. Now she is living and working in Vienna, Austria and is a member of Atelier Stossimhimmel, Vienna.

Izabella’s work focuses on contemporary jewelry. “Each piece is unique and carefully handmade. Each item is the result of an elaborate process meant to reveal multiple levels of underlying themes, emotions and thoughts. The jewel enriches the owner just as the owner enriches the jewel and together they reveal a shared identity”.

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www.izabellapetrut.com contact@izabellapetrut.com

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LAURA ŢÂRŢĂU

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Born in 1988, she studied at Bucharest National University of Arts, Faculty of Decorative Arts and Design, Department of Ceramics, Glass and Metal.

“Continuum is a work atmosphere in which water has the most important role in the interrelation of the component materials, glass and metal, merged with a hot processing.

The spiral path leads us to the center of life, “projecting“ the image of the portal between the two worlds. The repeated rhythm of life itself is the meaning that spiral brings on us, holding the ultimate goal - Evolution”.

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fb: Laura Tartau laura_tartau@yahoo.com +40 722 558 425

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LOREDANA CLEJA

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“My name is Loredana Cleja, I have a degree from the College of Architecture - Furniture and Interior Design - University of Architecture and Urbanism “Ion Mincu”. After completing my studies I worked as an architect for a few years and I developed an interest in product design. Only recently I decided to start my career as a jewelry designer. In the summer of 2013 I took the first course at Assamblage School of Contemporary Jewelry (Basic One), followed by a workshop in 2014, “Alternatives” - Resin in Contemporary Jewelry.

I like simple forms with strong accents, I believe this is the aesthetic principle that defines my creations so far. I am constantly trying to simplify the forms, to remove all unnecessary details. One idea grows stronger as the object that embodies it is defined by ever simpler lines. Each jewelry is unique, and speaks its own story, part of the greater story represented in my collections”.

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fb: Loredana Cleja Contemporary Jewelry loredana.cleja@gmail.com +40 729 103 344

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LUCIENNE BUGA

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“I started my journey at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in ClujNapoca, as a pharmacy student and continued with an MBA in public helth at Chişinău. Meanwhile, I attended private courses in drawing, tapestry, interior design, Japanese ikebana, stone collections, to finally arrive in Bucharest and study under the guidence of David Sandu at Assamblage School of Contemporary Jewelry. In 2011 I completed my studies at the specialized jeweler collage “MondoStudArt” in Chişinău and in 2015 I attended a course at Alchimia Contemporary Jewellery School.

Only by experimenting, the artist leaves aside what he knows and searches for bold, new lands for his artistic practice. Therefore the experience is the opening towards an artistic adventure. The adventure is a game; the game is uncertainty; uncertainty is opening and... and everything starts all over again”.

—

www.luciennejewelry.com contact@luciennejewelry.com +373 69 212 871

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MĂDĂLINA STOICA

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“I graduated from Assamblage Contemporary Jewelry School in October 2012, then made my debut at Autor 9 with the collection “Initial”.

In September 2013 I was selected to exhibit in Goteborg Klimt 02 within a project organized in collaboration with Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art, Gibca. In December 2013 I was selected “Alliages” (Lille) for a collective exhibition-permanent throughout 2014. In April 2014 I was selected to attend with the collection “Synestesia” at Sieraad Art Fair, international jewelry design fair.

In a crazy world being normal it’s a great challenge, so going with this principle, I try to say through every jewel: It’s good to be me! I chose to use the archaic signs of circle and rhombus as a return to my roots and reinterpreted them in a contemporary form. I used brass to emphasize the feeling of ancient; my pieces are autonomous beings, they have free will and I have done nothing but “listening” the metal voice and bring to light their existing form. All the pieces are crafted without using any casting techniques or other processes used in mass production”.

—

fb: Madalina Stoica 3 +40 729 535 648

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MIHAELA IACOB

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“My older passion for fashion design, followed by a Master’s degree in the study of images (“Labyrinth” and “Column” were the main themes of the final project) led to an unexpected result – handmade textile accessories, stories in images that speak about the “Road to Essence”. In the winter of 2013, the road led me to Assamblage Contemporary Jewelry School, where I became acquainted with metal.

Although paper (especially the newspaper) has accompanied me everywhere for a long time thanks to my work in the media, I rediscovered it as main material for accessories in the summer of 2013, when for my first collection - “Epithelium” - I used a combination of paper and textile”.

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fb: Mihaela Iacob Contemporary Jewellery mihaela.iacob70@gmail.com +40 723 144 825

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MIHAELA IVANA

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“I graduated from the Faculty of Psychology, with training in psychotherapy and I have an experience of over 7 years in human resources development and psychological counseling. Creating jewelry came naturally after I attended the courses at Assamblage School of Contemporary Jewelry at the end of 2011 and, since than, I started to define year after year my theoretical and practical knowledge about jewelry. Jewelry is the beginning of a new life and an ongoing experience.

Jewelry must be more than a tone to the clothes you’re wearing, it can generate the mood and joy of everyday. The people who make jewelry are in a continuous process of transformation, a feeling which they transpose afterwards through their work”.

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fb: Mihaela Ivana Bijuterie Contemporana mihaela.ivana@gmail.com

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MILENA BUICULESCU Using a unique approach to fusing glass techniques, dedicating most of her time to custom made architectural glass projects, Milena’s work portrays the essence of light and texture, color and transparency transposed in generous space.

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Awarded the Prize “Art of Fire” and recognized as an outstanding new artist in glass art, Milena graduated from Faculty of Decorative Arts and Design, Ceramics - Glass - Metal Department, from the National University of Arts Bucharest, in 2002.

After graduation she took training sessions in Murano - Italy, Germany and Austria. In the same time, Milena starts working in her own Studio in Bucharest where she develops her first project, HOTart. In 2007, she starts working both as an artist and a manufacturer of custom made glass solutions for large spaces, aiming to add value to the architecture and redesign the space. Just more recently she added to her plastic expression a new medium: jewelry. In June 2014 attended the courses of Assamblage Contemporary Jewlery School, under the direction of designer David Sandu”.

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www.milena-design.ro office@milena-design.ro +40 723 544 786

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MONA VULPOIU UTOPIC ART

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“My name is Mona Vulpoiu and Utopic Art is my brand since 2005.

The brand was born from a passion for accessories and jewelry. With each year that passed my wishes and my imagination grew bigger and took shape in another form in the creative process. The materials used in the work were always different, they merged together very nice , forming accessories and jewelry that seemed from another world, a utopian world, a world that is far from the daily system of cohabitation, a world where life is painted in watercolor, pastel colors, where angels and fairies form the eternal dance of love .

I graduated UCECOM school of jewelry, I was an apprentice jeweler in several workshops in Bucharest. In 2014 I graduated Assamblage Contemporary Jewellery School, the modeling wax and centrifugal casting module”.

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www.utopicart.blogspot.com utopicart@gmail.com +40 721 917 255

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MONICA STĂNESCU

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“I followed the School of Fine Arts N. Tonitza and later I studied Visual Communication and Graphic Design at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Düsseldorf, Germany.

After more than 10 years working in advertising, I felt the need to express myself creatively in a whole new area.

The choice was easy, in fact jewelry chose me. I was always fascinated by jewelry, especially those of silver and now I work authentic pieces for people at least as passionate about this area as me”.

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www.mostjewelry.ro monica@mostjewelry.ro

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OTILIA MIHALCEA OVAL

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“Our design is at once filled out and disembodied. Correspondences with objects and shapes as we know them are rendered almost obscure.

We yearn to evoke what is beyond the realm of the visible, finding vital inspiration and meaning in what is considered void, in the subtle relation with what could be”.

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www.ovaloval.com o@ovaloval.com +40 745 579 993

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RADA URECHE

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“With a Bachelor’s degree in Law & Public Relations at the Babes Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca, I always felt this wasn’t the path I wanted to follow. I’ve always had a passion for jewellery but I fell in love with it when I first walked into the workshop at Assamblage Contemporary Jewellery School. That was the place where I saw and learned that from basicly nothing, you can create anything. After finishing the courses at Assamblage, I started setting up my own studio in Arad and shortly after that, jewellery making became my way of life.

“Jamais” by Rada Ureche identifies with me and vice versa. All my creations reflect moments, wishes and feelings. The raw materials I work with come to life through passion. With each piece I create, I discover new worlds, and so new stories are created”.

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www.jamais.ro rada@jamais.ro +40 742 079 878

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RODICA RICHARD

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Born in 1968 in Bucharest, she graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Bucharest, after which she continued her studies in France, specialising in geriatrics.

In 2008 Rodica settled in Lisbon, where she attended contemporary jewelry courses with Catarina Silva and Teresa Milheiro. In 2012 she graduated courses at Assamblage School of Contemporary Jewelry.

“I like things that make people beautiful and that reveal a bit of their soul and their way of being, by the mere fact that they have chosen to wear them. What guided me in my work has been the hope of making them understand it and love its destiny”.

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rodicarichard@yahoo.fr

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ROXANA HODOROG

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“I was born in Bucharest, I graduated the International Relations Faculty and undertook a Master of Science in Management in Liverpool, UK. After working for over 15 years in the corporate world, meeting David Sandu in November 2011 and attending his jewelry classes made a real turn in my life. It was the beginning of a beautiful journey towards my inner self, which I wish to never end. Ever since then, I have been creating jewelry as a passion, but equally because I wish to share pieces of my feelings and thoughts.

I like to experiment and I’m in a continue pursuit of finding new ways of expressing myself. I try to transpose in my work the things that impress me.

Beauty is everywhere around us, we just need to allow our eyes and soul to see it”.

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www.silverjoy.ro contact@silverjoy.ro +40 724 278 785

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STELIAN GAGIU

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Born in 1981 in Drobeta Turnu Severin, Stelian Gagiu is a Romanian artist who graduated the painting departament of Faculty of Arts, University of West in 2006. In 2008, he finished a two-year master at the Faculty of Arts, University of West.

He is a member of United Artist from 2007. Stelian Gagiu is an artist who works in a variety of media painting, photography, landscaping, jewelry design, with influences as diverse as avant-garde music (Mr. Bungle, Fantomas).

By focusing on techniques, materials and concept, Gagiu considers making art must be created so that there is perfect harmony between technique, materials and concept. His artworks are notable for their mixed media and concept. —

www.creativeimages.ro +40 740 065 911

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TEODORA RUS

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“My name is Teodora Rus, I am a graduate from the Faculty of Decorative Arts and Design, Product Design Department, within the National University of Arts, Bucharest. I studied architecture in high school and product design in my college years. This fact led me to search first for logic and meaning in things around me, removing me from the plastic, abstract part that can not be understood at first sight. When I began to straighten my interest in jewelry, I accepted a challenge, to learn to express myself more freely through art.

In my opinion, art is a journey into another dimension and the artists travel to these dimensions and bring with them captures of the images they discover”.

—

fb: Teodora Rus teodora.rus1@gmail.com

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THE START OF A COMMUNITY

ASSAMBLAGE THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY Compared to Romanian cultural landscape of four years ago, when jewelry design occured sporadically or at a hobby level, things have evolved enormously. Once Assamblage Contemporary Jewelry School was established, a new generation of artists and jewelry designers started to emerge and develop, active and involved in the cultural life.

BUT WHERE AND WHEN DID THESE CHANGES START AND WHAT IS THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY IN ROMANIA? The art of jewelry is an extremely subtle witness of the transformation of societies, reflecting extremely fine cultural nuances of different historical eras. Author jewelery was established as a distinct art since the early 70’s in Western cultural environment. In Romania, however, because of the restrictions imposed by communism and later because of cultural ambiguity of the transitional period, contemporary jewelry takes form only towards the early 2000’s.

Assamblage Contemporary Jewelry School is thereby formed as a useful and realistic tool, much needed by the Romanian design. Soon it becomes a mechanism increasingly large and complex, ever-changing. This mechanism has generated an increasingly strong creative community, which began to express itself and to take part in the development of contemporary jewelry. Most of the Assamblage Contemporary Jewelry School graduates are now independent and active designers in the field of contemporary jewelry, participating every year at national and international jewelry fairs and exhibitions. Their projects gain more and more visiblity and the community is developing in a steady pace. The need for a national association came natural.

The year 2015 thus brings a new and important point of reference: the launching of Assamblage - National Association for Contemporary Jewelry, a collective tool for organizing, promoting and supporting Romanian jewelry designers. The association will be officially launched on the 22nd of May 2015, during Romanian Design Week, at the opening of the third edition of Project A. Assamblage is a non-governmental organization that aims to recognize and promote contemporary jewelry as an independent art form. The purpose of the association is to increase the visibility of the domain of design jewelry in the artistic community, media and consumers, nationally and internationally.

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AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSOCIATION

Promotion and visibility Information Community & networking Events & exhibitions Education & training Consulting Mentoring & support Active involvement of the members in the association

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ASSAMBLAGE COURSES & WORKSHOPS Assamblage Contemporary Jewelry School offers a diverse range of jewelry courses and workshops, from introductory courses to themed workshops dedicated to specific work techniques. Courses and workshops are conducted in an intensive format, ranging from 2 weeks to 2-3 days, and can be attended independently of each other.

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1.

INTRODUCTORY COURSES

BASIC 2 INTRODUCTORY COURSE

The introductory courses in jewelry are made up from successive modules in terms of difficulty and complexity of projects: Basic 1, Basic 2 and Basic 3.

All three modules are held in a two-week intensive format course, of 7 hours/day.

Continuing the notions learned at Basic 1, students will have the opportunity to deepen the already-known techniques and have contact with new situations and technological contexts. The course emphasizes more the technical side, but also allows a greater freedom for the creative side. The works carried out are of high complexity and newly learned working techniques will allow a wider range of artistic expression.

BASIC 1 INTRODUCTORY COURSE Basic 1 is a course for creative people who want to discover means of artistic expression through jewelry.

It adapts to people who have never had contact with jewelry, as well as to those wishing to learn the art of manipulating metals and precious stones at a professional level. Notions as rolling, bending, welding, sizing components, finishing methods, will be studied seriously and articulated in a coherent system of understanding and working with precious metals.

BASIC 3 CONCEPT AND COMPOSITION IN CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY Introductory course Basic 3 is composed of a complex system of stages, with emphasis not only on acquiring new skills and technical concepts, but also on their engagement in academic projects. The course will follow a complex and complete process, from: Idea - Concept - Drawing Object - Essay.

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2.

THEMED WORKSHOPS

METAL AND COLOR ACTION AND INTERACTION

Themed workshops are training sessions dedicated to special working techniques. The themes chosen for the workshops are independent from the main courses and can be developed into individual techniques, with spectacular results. The techniques can also be integrated within broader technical contexts learned at introductory courses.

The workshop introduce some less traditional coloring techniques. Natural oxides, enamel, acrylics, pigments are used in innovative ways. In addition to laying the foundations for these techniques the course aims to open up the appetite and challange the participants to experiment.

CASTING IN DELFT SAND AND CUTTLEFISH BONE

WAX MODELING AND CENTRIFUGAL CASTING This class teaches the main techniques for modeling wax then transforming it in metal (silver) through casting.

Mastering this technique creates the means for spontaneous ideas to be shaped more easily. Craved wax also gives the unique opportunity of having a palpable mock-up that can be modified or improved before becoming the final product.

RESIN IN CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY Resin is a material with many uses, as it is or embedded with different materials in order to create a jewel that can truly tell a story. Resin can be colored, bent, polished, drilled and finished in many ways. It also permits incorporation of different objects inside of it, so that unique pieces with special meaning and personality can be created.

FINISHES AND TEXTURES Divided into four chapters, the workshop teaches how, by using power tools and accessories, as well as chemicals and electrolysis, spectacular finishes and textures can be obtained. The course will prove very practical especially when a series of objects that, although start from the same base, could be developed into individual parts by using different finishing methods. The purpose of this workshop is to provide creative opportunities to those who want a wider range of artistic expression.

This workshop teaches two silver casting techniques, which date back to antiquity: casting in Delft sand (or ground) and in cuttlefish bone.

JEWELRY REPAIR INTENSIVE COURSE Assamblage organizes an intensive 5-day workshop focused on shop practice, with teaching material related to specific cases encountered in a workshop while repairing jewelry. This course addresses both independent jewelers and companies that have jewelry stores or pawnshops and wish to offer an additional service - that of jewelry repairs.

INTRODUCTIVE COURSE IN JEWELRY DRAWING The 6 weeks course provides a basic introduction into the techniques of drawing, using various instruments and specific materials (coal, markers, liners, ink, watercolor). The aim of the course is to help jewelry designers to give their concepts a material shape.

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3.

SPECIAL SESSIONS Special sessions include lectures and workshops conducted at longer intervals of time or just once. They are organized in collaboration with various partners and propose different techniques and themes used in contemporary jewelry.

NUNOME ZOGAN

BY ELISA DEVAL, ALCHIMIA

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“Nunome Zogan” is an ancient metalworking method that originated in Asia. The technique has also been used in Europe as “Damascene” in Korea as “Pomok Sannggam”.

In Japan, this technique was used to decorate samurai swords and accessories, as well as precious deposit boxes and hair ornaments. The workshop presents the process used to inlay intricate gold and silver patterns on a base metal sheet. The color contrast between the different metals and the beauty of pure silver or gold is emphasized by coloring the piece with the japanese patina called Rokusho.

MARRIAGE METALS

BY DANIELA BOIERI, ALCHIMIA “Mixed metal and treatment of surfaces” course is an exploration of the techniques for mixing metals, how a collaboration or interaction from metal sheet or wire at the melting stage can create fabulous organic results.

The course essentially offers to students the opportunity to invent their own marriage of metals. It demonstrates different techniques and methods for mixing silver, copper and brass with and without soldering and it also explores a range of surface treatments and textures. A selection of students explorative results is used to create a final piece of jewelry.

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PARTNERSHIP WITH ALCHIMIA Starting from 2014, Assamblage is a partner of the prestigious Alchimia – Contemporary Jewellery School in Firenze, already developing a series of common projects.

In May 2014, two sessions of the Nunome Zogan course were held at Assamblage, with designer Elisa Deval as guest teacher. In 2015, Marriage Metals course, held by Daniela Boieri is added.

THE ASSAMBLAGE ALUMNI PROJECT A Project A is a biannual contemporary jewelry exhibition, organized by Assamblage Contemporary Jewelry School in collaboration with art galleries and cultural institutions.

The event is dedicated exclusively to its graduates, being aimed to promote and support them as independent designers. The first exhibitions - “This Is Not a Jewelry” and “Taboo”, constituted strong evidences of the positioning of jewelry as an independent art form.

The third edition of the event brings a contemporary jewelry exhibition and installation of large proportions, under the theme “A Journey Through the History and Future of Jewelry”. Forty four designers accepted the challenge of reinterpreting or re-imagining the great currents from art history and bringing them into the present in their own styles, turning the installation into a real pop-up museum dedicated to art and design.

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TEAM & CREDITS Project Founder

DAVID SANDU

Event Coordinator IOANA ANDREI

PR Manager

VALENTINA BUZĂMURGĂ •

Graphic Design

OTILIA MIHALCEA

Installation Designer

ARH. IOANA ARDELEAN • ASSAMBLAGE

26 Carol Davila St, Bucharest 5, Romania contact@assamblage.ro www.project-assamblage.ro www.assamblage.ro