Kathrine Lindman

Capturing nature in jewellery

Having once dreamed of becoming a marine biologist, Kathrine has always been interested in the ocean. Yet, this passion led her down an artistic path, where she found ways to intertwine jewellery and life under the sea.

"I think for someone who is interested in the arts, there's an unbelievable number of things you can do," Kathrine Lindman tells us, "So maybe it was a bit of a coincidence that I ended up pursuing jewellery making in the end."

“Before studying arts and craftmanship at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts, I grew up in Kristiansund, by the ocean, and have always been fascinated by the ocean's plant and animal life." This shines through in Kathrine's collections, two of which are called Seashell and Seaweed. Seashell is eighteen years old, while Kathrine launched the Seaweed collection in 2016.

"Nature has the most beautiful shapes," she says, "it’s an artwork in itself."

Kathrine's inspiration from nature plays a central role in her design process. "I can take a shape from nature and cast it, and then I’ll keep it as it is or develop it further," she says. Her main material is silver, but she also loves to work with enamels. Having worked with enamel for twenty-five years, Kathrine considers it an exciting material. “You can almost paint with it, and the possibilities for different colour combinations and expressions are endless.”

In 2009, Norway's Ministry of Culture bought a silver and enamel bracelet from Kathrine as a gift for Michelle Obama, in connection with President Barack Obama being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. "It was surreal, and an absolute honour" she says.

Yet, for Kathrine, it was a major moment in her career, that opened several doors, both at home and internationally. Since 2010, Kathrine has worked with, Charon Kransen, a gallerist in New York, with whom she attended New York Jewellery Week—and Kathrine’s jewellery has been displayed in museums and bought by collectors in the United States.

In the future, Kathrine can see herself exploring her current inspirations further. "Working with seaweed has been an exciting process, and I still see plenty of potential for design," she says. But she is also interested in experimenting with multimedia installations using film, music, and images together with her jewellery. “Right now, I’m excited to have been acquired by two Norwegian museums—and I’m looking forward to future exhibitions.”

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