Interview

• When did you first start expressing your creativity?

  I started at a very early age, in primary school. I was always making something: tiny sculptures, pearl trinkets, switching to my first pewter jewellery in high school. I wanted to explore the possibilities of different materials, and metal is what I found the most inspirational, the most potent.

• How much tradition is there in your creations?

  I like to employ old skills in my innovative designs. Some of my works are inspired by postwar monuments of old Yugoslavia. The works by sculptors such as Dušan Džamonja and Miodrag Živković I admire the most – I love the hidden narratives within the abstraction. But then, I also like to use filigree, a really traditional technique.

• Was there a eureka moment in your professional life?

  Yes, the discovery of filigree! I was never interested in traditional jewellery, and I had considered filigree a generally boring technique. But when I got into it, I realised that it can also be exciting. I use it to make the craziest designs now, and at the time it surprised me and made me step forward. Two of my pieces will be featured in a book “Contemporary filigree".

• How did you master filigree?

  Along with classical silversmithing techniques, I invented some of my own. But I learned filigree from North Macedonian masters. We exchanged experiences and I travelled there to study. I use it to make rings, my specialty, and I always combine it with other techniques, adding to my own contemporary designs.