DI: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
: I want to create adaptable jewelry based on simply technique to create the most possible open concept.
To reach it : use a basic and universal principle of modularity.
DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
: To reuse an existing modularity technique .
More, this technique had to be not expensive, easy to find, easy to customize and esthetic.
DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
: Continue to develop it, with other forms and other materials. Also, I'm looking for a company for the industrialization and the commercialization of this concept.
DI: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?
: About 2 years (a great part for the legal aspects!)
DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
: This is my own inspiration, dreaming only to create a new concept of adaptable jewelry. This choice of modularity technique is the consequence of a lot of previous criteria for the technique I was looking for.
DI: 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?
: I want to sell or lease the production rights
(I want to continue to work as designer, to continue to develop this concept and also to develop other concept of adaptable jewelry - Currently I'm developing an other concept, named Mosaic, I'll present it next year to this competition)
DI: What made you design this particular type of work?
: I think that being civil engineer and at the same time having no classical knowledge in jewelry, when I have dreams of jewels or concepts, I'll find other ways to achieve it that somebody with all the jewellery knowledge.
DI: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?
: I do not think. Perhaps unconsciously?
DI: Who is the target customer for his design?
: Actually, it is for people thinking out of the box. Young or older people, without distinction.
This concept can be applied as well for pret-à-porter than for high and precious jewelry.
So I think that a marketing should be done with the goal that not only people "thinking out of the box" like it.
DI: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?
: I think that Jewel box is apart for these points :
- When it will be in production, the ratio between the production cost and the possible sale cost is very good (plastic is not expensive!)
- Very open concept : allows to create jewels as well for high hashion that for pret-à-porter or luxurious jewelry. In the time, possibility to edit new color plates according to the clothes fashion, new designs on the cover plates, new forms, new materials. This concept is open like the toy from which it comes and this toy is year after years renewed since more than 50 years!
- New look (this appreciation is, I know, subjective!)
DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
: This name was found with a friend, Gwendal Jossart (he made my website).
We wanted it in English to be international.
This name is not protected because, I do not like it really. Also, I'm jeweler designer, so I'm rather focusing on the product.
DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
: No design tool.
I'm always working with materials, my studio is my laboratory!
DI: What is the most unique aspect of your design?
: Princess dreams with engineer technique!
DI: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?
: I collaborate with Serge Flecijn who is attorney.
For the technical points, I'm alone.
DI: What is the role of technology in this particular design?
: For Jewel Box, the technology is really the base of the concept, the point on which all the concept is developed.
All the Jewel Box concept depend on the choice of the technology used for the modularity (I'm now developing an other concept of adaptable jewelry, GRAVITY : it is based on a other technology, so the design is completely different)
DI: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?
: My design is influenced by a mathematical (geometry) thinking : I was looking for all the possibilities of bricks combinations.
This was a very important study to protect my design with a lot of patterns (part of jewels) and already design the patterns as it will be in a industrial production (and for some case, not as it is with my prototypes) .
This was also a very important study to create different models with very different architecture (for some jewels, the cover plates are to change, for others, the pile up of pieces is to change (Collection Mademoiselle, sautoir, earrings)
DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?
: Design for a designer is easy and pleasure, but the communication and the marketing to let discover the design, it is really difficult! Also, it is very expensive!
DI: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?
: I want to sell or lease the production rights. For this, I've to show Jewel Box. So I'm participating at awards hoping some prices and some publications in the press.
DI: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?
: With a great surprise, I discover that I've always new ideas, it never stop!
DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
: First, I developped Jewel Box : this concept is based on the use of toys building bricks for it's modularity, a technique old of about 50 years.
Second, I developped Gravity : this concept is based on the threading, a technique old about thousands of years.
Actually I'm developing a third concept, Mosaic which will be the third part of this trilogy.
To discover next year ...