Mette Saabye

Jewellery maker

Beyond expectations

Mette trained at the Fuji Studio Goldsmith School
Her techniques include mokume gane and stone cutting
She is inspired by her perception of the world

Mette Saabye's indecision led her in the direction of becoming one of the most innovative and reputable contemporary Danish jewellery makers. After finishing school, Mette wanted to keep studying but because she couldn’t decide between archaeology and taxidermy, she opted for jewellery and she was hooked. “When I started working at the Fuji Studio Goldsmith School, in Florence, I realized that I was having too much fun for it to be just a short adventure”. Back in Copenhagen, she trained as a jewellery designer at the Larsen Studio and then went to the Institute of Precious Metals. “Jewellery has become my language, my way of communicating observations, opinions and experiences to people all over the world. My language is based on materials, form and function that is easy to understand," she says, and her studio, in the Latin Quarter of Copenhagen, is at the heart of the jewellery community.

Interview

Why was your Florentine experience so important?: At the Fuji Studio, where I had my first encounter with crafting jewellery, I learned techniques such as lamination, mokume gane and granulation, which have played a great role in my career ever since. These techniques connect me to my predecessors, on whose shoulders I develop my design.
Do you challenge tradition?: Through my work, I feel connected with different times and cultures and I deeply appreciate the glimpse of everyday life it gives me. I enjoy challenging tradition and by doing so, I try to be critical in relation to what I have learned and how it is supposed to be done.
How would you define what you do?: I investigate life and express the beauty and magic of it. I like to change perspectives and investigate how the perceptions of materials, events and feelings can be and expressed in different ways. What is beautiful to you is not necessarily beautiful to me.
What do you love most about your craft?: The contemplation while working. The contemplation I experience is like a meditative one. It’s like being in a symbiotic state with the materials. It's like a dialogue between me and the materials, where everything else is left out.

Mette Saabye is a master artisan: she began her career in 1996 and she started teaching in 1997