“Festival
   
Category

ENG

Category
Jewellery brand. Louise Konrad
Photo: Fraser Smith

What’s your background?
Before jewellery I worked in many different jobs such as nursery nurse and different occupations in nightlife. I decided to study anthropology and as I prepared for an adult baccalaureate in Switzerland, I discovered my passion for jewellery making. I turned my life around, much to the shock of my parents (sorry Mom and Dad), put all my eggs in one basket, and moved to London to start my jewellery brand. 

When did you establish „Louise Konrad“? How did it come about? 
2 years ago, when I quit my other part-time job. The very first ring I made in 2019 and pursued it more like a hobby to compensate with something haptic for all the studying at adult baccalaureate. Shock disclaimer: In the end, jewellery made me happier. And to my surprise, people wanted to buy what I created. 

Can you tell us a bit about your creative process and inspiration?
I try to expose myself to new sensations as much as I can. Simultaneously I need my routine and self-care to maintain sanity. It’s a healthy mix of both. My intuition tells me what stimulation I need at the time and I think this is based on my life so far. What inspires me in general is stuff that connects people, like music, any form of culture, emotions, etc., any concept of freedom and emotions or moods. 

How do you maintain your technique and knowledge of materials and trends in the jewelry industry?
I would learn new techniques to realize a new design, meaning I don’t limit myself just because I haven’t integrated the technique. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not exactly some jeweler prodigy, I’ve shed tears due to trying and then breaking something! Regarding trends, I’m trying not to get too influenced by trends, but I like being aligned with the zeitgeist. I know what I like so I just follow my gut feeling and I’ve been lucky with it so far. 

Jewellery brand. Louise Konrad
Photo: Louise Konrad

How important is sustainability to you in jewelry making?
It’s very important to me. One good thing about sustainability in jewellery making is that you can just melt precious metals together and therefore recycle them, also synthetic gemstones get more and more attention. I find it very interesting as sustainability comes with so much innovation; hence things that have literally never been done before. 

What is your earliest fashion memory?
My earliest fashion memory must be my mom’s Thai fashion magazines PRAEW and music videos on MTV. I loved these magazines because their main purpose was aesthetics, they made me feel closer to Thai culture and they always came with samples haha! Music videos on MTV in the early 2000s were just something else. I will never forget Christina Aguilera’s outfit in „Dirrty“ or Kylie Minogue’s in „Can’t Get You Out of my head“ – literally. 

Louise Konrad
Louise Konrad. Photo: Kane Layland

How will the jewelry industry evolve in the next 5-10 years?
I think sustainable and ethically sourced materials will become the main focus. I reckon 3D printing is already bringing a big change in physical design and will get incorporated more and more. I think digital developments, like the use of AI, NFTS, or the Metaverse will be interesting for this industry as one of the very factors that make jewellery, jewellery – physicality – is no longer necessary. The use of jewellery can be re-invented.

Louise Konrad – www.louisekonrad.com, www.instagram.com/louisekonradjewelry/

Zhang Wuyun was born in Shenyang in 1981 and studied at the Affiliated High School of China Academy of Art and Luxun Academy of Fine Arts. Currently, he creates and lives in Hangzhou.

Caro Jost and Tom Rebl show the world that art and fashion have always been intertwined. A fashion show with models, who themselves come from the creative scene half-ad-libbed poses.

Yi Lian specialized in media art works including video, installation, photography, and so on. He is good at setting up a theater in the darkness by scheduling lightning to reduce the depth of the space.

It all starts at Operngasse 4, from where a Shuttle bus takes us to Neuhaus in Carinthia – the location of the private art museum Museum Liaunig. A unique leading exhibition awaits us there.

Aimi Kaiya, is a talented self-taught artist residing in the vibrant city of Bangkok, Thailand. Though she originally pursued a degree in Clinical Psychology, Aimi’s true calling was found in the realm of art.

Young Prophecies and Machines are two series that developed from a mound of suddenly and unexpectedly found children’s drawings by the artist Jeremias Altmann. They came to light only in 2009.

By redefining perception, and exposing the relationships and boundaries between subjects, substances, systems, and worlds, we perform this ongoing immersive act. You might need to find a way to ‘enter’.

Fanzineist Vienna Art Book & Zine Fair is an annual international independent publishing event that focuses on presenting self-published publications and independent works in the fields of art, design, literature, culture, and more.

Within numerous dialogues with Contemporary Matters (collective based in Vienna and active in Seestad), Aurianne Chevandier discusses the prefabricated and instructive aspects of a predefined city.

The Socia Collective consists of two brothers, Ihor and Artur. In our musical-performative videos, we initiate the process of materialization of the sound by giving it a graphic form.

Substratum of memories main subject of analysis is the interpretation of the relationship that 3 participants had with their spaces. More in specific, rooms which had a special meaning.

Another Saturday, midnight in my room. Radio on, „Kiss of Life“ and „Only Angel“ playing. A trace of my essence lingers, hearing the love song on FM. Beautiful words fill my head.

Juan David Cortés is based in Mallorca, after living for 15 years in Madrid. Besides commercial work and teaching, in his personal projects, he tries to combine autobiography with documentary.

Lana Sharp is an artist and musician exploring the confluence of healing and art. Lana channels the archetypes of a witch and sacred clown. In the interview, she talks about the losses.

I’ve always been intrigued by Ophelia since she is a mysterious and fascinating character. Her femme fatale-like ethereal innocence is present at first, and then the energy is released in details.

Born in Mariupol, Ed Kolodiy is a painter and graphic artist, an author of objects of art, video installations and performance art. Graduated from Grekov Odessa State Art College (Odessa, Ukraine) in painting.

Liu Xuanzhu graduated from the Mural Painting Department of China Academy of Art in 2014 with a Bachelor’s degree and graduated from the Painting Department of Venice Academy of Fine Arts in 2019.

The show „cache“ continues the earlier series „It’s never gonna be the same“ and deals with the topic of finiteness and the attempt to find a way of how to deal with what was lost.