A STORY OF CLOUDS AND TREES

IN THESE interviews we present katarina radnić zmazek for cloud&co. jewelry and matija prša, jewelry designer for lili's contemporary art gallery

CLOUD&CO. JEWELRY, KATARINA RADNIĆ ZMAZEK

How would you describe your brand and your store? What can we find in your cloud zone?

Our brand store is a unique place in the center of Zagreb, a jewelry shop, filled with colorful handcrafted jewelry, inspired by elements in the sky, mainly clouds. Our jewelry is special because we offer our customers the opportunity to create their own combination of earrings, or they can decide whether they want to wear a necklace as a bracelet or as a necklace, and it is this playfulness that makes

Cloud&Co. a well visited place for gift hunting for your loved ones.

Our most popular item is the

Invisible cloud necklace. It is a subtle but very impressive piece of jewelry that has a combination of different small pendants on an invisible necklace. I definitely recommend you to come and see for yourself! This year we opened another shop in beautiful Dubrovnik (Boškovićeva 2/ Ulica od Buže), so if you are planning to visit Dubrovnik, you might as well stop by our shop over there.

What can you tell us about your latest collection? Where does your inspiration come from?

All of our collections are inspired by the sky and elements in the sky. Just like the universe itself the options and combinations are infinite. This time, fascinated by the sizes of planets and stars in constellations, we created another collection that you can layer into beautiful accessories for both daily and evening style.

As always, our motto is “Never take off jewelry”. We hope you will wear our jewelry forever or better say you will never feel like taking it off.

How is it to be an entrepreneur today? What motivates you?

It is hard, but worth it. I wanted to create a job that I would enjoy, a work place for me and my coworkers where we can decide what we do, work out of love and

I believe that it shows, because we grow each year, we always do something new, we get involved in interesting projects and I feel like people can recognize that personal touch that we give. Success and great ideas motivate me. And we have so much more to do!

LILI'S GALLERY, MATIJA PRŠA

How did your brand Lili’s handmade & unique come to its existence?

I've always loved working with my hands and creating. Wood is my favorite and most attractive material and so little by little

I started experimenting and making jewelry primarily for my wife. The colors, shapes and scents of nature, especially wood, are my main inspiration. When I see the beauty of a tree, I get an idea of how to shape the wood so that its beauty comes to its full expression. Seeing the jewelry by chance, one gallerist convinced us that the jewelry was special and persuaded us to display it in their shop. That's how it started.

The jewelry was named Lili's after our then three-year-old girl.

What can we find in your jewelry & home decor offer?

In our gallery you can find attractive jewelry of modern design which is also a kind of wearable art. The jewelry is handmade in a combination of wood with epoxy resin and each piece is unique. You can also find charming decorative as well as functional household items, such as vases, serving boards and clocks all made of solid wood with a strong emphasis on recycling.

Can you describe in more detail the process of making your jewelry?

The process begins with designing and sketching the shape, appearance and materials of each piece of jewelry. In addition to the basic material of wood, I also use rubber, brass or steel, and gold. In the same way, the process of making other objects begins, with my inspiration coming from unusual pieces of wood themselves. Overall, I process each piece by hand up to 15 times. The process begins by pouring resin over interesting pieces of wood. Resin can be mixed with paint, gold, silver and after at least 24 hours of drying begins processing through several types of sanding and polishing to achieve the desired shape. I polish the resin to a crystal shine and transparency, and in that, as well as in the shape of the jewelry or object itself, this uniqueness and top handicraft is brought to light.

What does it mean for you to be a craftsman and an artist in this time?

Becoming a craftsman and opening a gallery through selffinancing was not easy. But thanks to family and friends who believe in us, we were able to overcome the first step. Being an artist is a gift that a man, when he discovers it in himself, must not suppress, but should nurture, let it develop, fly and enjoy it. It is not easy today,

I think it has never been, nor will it be easy for those who aspire to be artists, but it is a wonderful, creative life and as such it should be embraced and one should be thankful for that gift.