Sophia Georgiopoulou

When did you decide to become a jeweler?
I have always made things with my hands. Embroidery, sewing, knitting, crafting, drawing and painting gave me a lot of pleasure when I was growing up. However, I did not pursue a Fine Arts Degree. At university, I studied Literature and particularly the Classics. After completing my studies, I began teaching college and at the same time got drawn into learning the basics of jewelry making. In 2004, I stopped teaching and started taking classes in metalsmithing. I became fascinated by the way a goldsmith can transform inert metal into an object of beauty. In November 2010, I established my studio Kosmimata.

Where does your inspiration come from?
I am inspired by the amazing jewels produced by the civilizations that flourished around the Mediterranean basin in ancient times. The way the craftsmen of old achieved such a degree of perfection in their pieces using a few simple tools, their ingenuity and their skilled hands always poses a challenge to me as a goldsmith. In my work, I try to combine the traditional jewelry making techniques with innovative design. Currently, I am exploring the way granulation can be used to create shape and volume as well as embellishment.

Apart from creating jewels, how to you spend your time?
When I am not working in the studio, I read, listen to music, draw and paint. I improvise with a variety of embroidery stiches to be used in my jewelry and of late, I have started an art journal that reflects my love for crafting. I am also experimenting more and more with photography since I photograph my own pieces. Occasionally, it takes more time to take a very good picture of a piece than the actual making of it!

What jewel do you most cherish?
I cherish a filigree chain that I inherited from my great-grandmother. It dates from the 18th century and the craftsmanship on it is superb. It is a manifestation of the skill and the love of the craftsman who designed and made it. Whenever I get discouraged by technical issues in my work, I take it out, touch it and think that this piece was made only with gold wire, fire and unbelievable skill. It has become a kind of talisman.

Who is your ideal customer?
My ideal customer is someone who understands the degree of effort, skill and love that go into making a piece of jewelry. It is the customer who comprehends that the piece is the actual crystallization of a very complicated and long process that may start with an exciting abstract concept and end in a concrete, beautiful piece.

In five years I’d like to have “mastered” a number of techniques that will allow me full freedom with the metals I love to work with, namely gold and silver. I am interested in building a body of work that will be relevant to the present time but also represent, in terms of techniques and skill, a link to the jewelry making traditions of the past.
I am also exploring new ways to combine precious metals and textiles, as well as the untapped possibilities of metal clay.

Three jewelers whose skills and imagination I greatly admire are Chris Nelson, Lorena Angulo and Wanaree Tanner.

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Trobareu més informació sobre ella a la seva web, la seva botiga on-line, el Facebook, Flickr i Twitter.
You will find more information about her at her website, online store, Facebook page, Flickr and Twitter.

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