Karin Andréasson Jewellery ~ Trinkets & Treasures

Here at Love My Dress, we pride ourselves on bringing you details of brands and designers whose work is seldom featured elsewhere and on other Blogs (not yet, anyway).  Our latest divine discovery is brought to you courtesy of a Swedish Born designer named Karin Andréasson.  Karin moved to London in her teens and it is from here that she decided to set up 'Karin Andréasson Jewellery' – a collection of jewellery and headpieces ~ after she graduated in a 3D Design Degree, specialising in glass.

This talented designer has recently introduced a new range of jewellery and bespoke headpieces, brooches and neck-pieces just for Brides. There is versatility in each of Karin's designs, meaning that a neck-piece made from a Victorian veil adored with 1920's dress beads could easily be teamed with a feather headpiece made from dyed goose feathers, crystals and vintage lace. 

"I believe it is so important and very exciting for the Bride to be part of the design process.  To be able to pick and choose amongst a large selection of beautiful colours and materials makes this part of the wedding preparation a lot of fun and so much more of an experience than just getting something off the shelf.  The end result is a beautiful piece, tailor made for the Bride and, or her Bridesmaids" 

Imagery Copyright (c) 2010, Karin Andréasson Jewellery

I loved Karin's designs from the moment I saw them; they so beautifully mix sophistication with a little playfulness – demure with a little daring. Perfect for Love My Dress readers.

Karin's latest collection, 'Trinkets & Treasures' has been created using one-off old materials, such as turn of the century lace, crystals, vintage ribbons and hat feathers.  Karin pays homage to different styles from different eras and hand-crafts her finds into stunning pieces like the two above – aren't they just dreamy?

So what brought you here? …"To be honest, I think I've been designing in one way or another for as long as I can remember.  For me it was a childhood preoccupation that started with collecting shells and other things I found on the beach where I grew up to sweet wrappers that I arranged around my bedroom.  After coming to England to improve my English I enrolled on a 3D Design degree course specialising in glass but even then, my great passion was jewellery.  Within 6 months of graduating I was making my own jewellery and had given up all thoughts of designing glass for the rest of my life." 

Why Vintage?…"Vintage just suits my own style.  That said, I don't just obsess about vintage.  I like to mix vintage pieces with new designs.  The vintage elements bring a different character and feel to their new iterations and that's what I like and as I said, it suits my style – and that's not just in my choices in jewellery but in the way I dress and style my home.  It is also in keeping with the advice that I've given from my earliest collections and that is to wear my pieces with your own jewellery." 

Do you have a muse when it comes to designing?…"I don't really have a muse other than my own inspirations.  Like many designers, my inspirations come from all around me but I don't design with any one person in mind.  But if you were going to pin me down I'd say that my muse was me.  I must be able to see myself wearing one of my designs or it won't make it into a collection.  I also don't really follow other trends like the current trend for over-sized jewellery.  I wouldn't wear that kind of jewellery and so I won't design an over-sized collection just to be on trend.  That said, I may want to do an over-sized collection in three of four seasons time simply because I want to suddenly."

What are your favourite materials to work with?..."I think the simply answer to that question is the materials with the most character.  The best thing about working with vintage materials is that I constantly come across interesting materials such as some Victorian Jet from 1880 that I bought in Paris.  Working with that sort of thing or the 1950's hat feathers is inspirational and so much fun.  Trying to fashion them into a new life from formerly dress or hat embellishment to a headpiece or brooch and showing them off to their ultimate potential is a challenge and a joy."

Can you provide a price guide?…"My retail prices start at £120 and go up to £280 for my current jewellery range and the retail prices for my head pieces are in between £50-180. At my market stall on Broadway market I sell discounted lines, one offs to one off prices a discounted articles, so defiantly worth making a visit… "

Oh so beautiful, I wish I had it all!

For further information, visit Karin Andréasson Jewellery website, or email Karin. Alternatively, you can telephone +44 (0) 7970 617 849.  To purchase online, visit the shop section of Karin's website here.  Karin Andréasson Jewellery is also stocked at Anthropologie, Beyond The Valley and the Designers Guild. 

♥