LeopoldineDesigns

Creating and making have been persistent fascinations throughout my life. Crafty from the youngest age, I'd spend most of my free time on the floor (such a big and endless workspace!), drawing, cutting, sculpting and putting things together.

It's thanks to my 6th grade teacher that I started making jewellery. I joined her after-school jewellery making club and took a liking to making my work practical and wearable.
I eventually went on to studying for a double bachelors degree in international business from universities in France and Finland, all while saving up for jewellery courses and tools. After dabbling in Precious Metal Clay and completing a certification enabling me to teach in the medium, I decided to try my hand at traditional silversmithing. I moved to Pretoria, South Africa where I enrolled in a National Diploma in Jewellery Design & Manufacture at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). I then completed a learnership programme in jewellery-specific CAD at Design@50, before going back to TUT to complete my BTech in Jewellery Design & Manufacture in 2018. I am finally able to start working full-time on my little business and couldn't be more excited and thrilled!

My work is inspired by several things ranging from my love of animals, to all things magical and celestial that make one dream and evoke a sense of mystery, the unique styles, forms and colours found in antique tribal adornments stemming from all four corners of the earth, and my cherished childhood memories of Halloween (my favorite time of the year). I sometimes see landscapes or cool shapes in the stones that I find which inspires me to associate the stones with animals in order to recreate a scene. Also the curiosity and mysticism of ancient amulets and keepsakes never cease to intrigue me.

Thank you ever so much for stopping by, I hope that you might find here, a little trinket worth holding onto.