I have a huge obsession with jewelry, as we are all well aware of by now. In this day and age, it is extremely hard to find something unique to wear that represents you and your personality and your own style without wearing the same thing as the girl next to you. Women in general are always searching for something different that makes us stand out in a crowd. When I was introduced to Kasia Piechocka and her jewelry collection “About The Man Who Loved Fishing” I thought I died and went to accessories heaven. Ladies and gentlemen, you want something unique? Here it is. Her debut collection was inspired by her late father who, obviously, had a great passion for the sea. Her entire line was created for both men and women to wear and love. Yes, men and women wearing the same pieces. They’re not masculine, they’re not feminine. In my opinion, this is the perfect element to an accessory because you can really dress it up or down depending on your mood and the look you’re going for. These pieces are also so unique you can really model an entire outfit around them alone. Who doesn’t love that? I was lucky enough to interview Kasia about her debut fine jewelry collection so you could be the first to get a glimpse at her new line! Kasia grew up in a small village in West Poland surrounded by forestry and lakes. It didn’t take her long to realize she had a love for art and design, so at the age of 15 she moved to the city to study Fine Art. After college Kasia moved to London where she has been for the past eight years and still lives today. World, meet Kasia Piechocka!
RR: How did you get into design as a whole? More specifically, designing jewelry?
KP: I was always interested in art as a child; it was something that I had always excelled in at school. My time at Fine Art College was where I really learnt to use my artistic skills in design work. Lessons in sculpting, technical drawing and photography all helped me realize my potential in design. Although my skill set pointed towards becoming a designer, my true passion and dream was to become a painter. Even after graduating from College and moving to London, I was still aiming to be a full time painter.
Four years ago, when I was working in London, I came across the short courses that Central Saint Martins (CSM) offer. I decided to do a short course in jewelry design because my college tutor had briefly recommended that I try it. I didn’t really know what to expect when going into the class, but from the very first session I knew that this was the path for me.
RR: Your debut collection, “About the Man who Loved Fishing” was inspired by your father. Tell us more about that.
KP: My father has and always will be a motivational figure in my life. He was always supportive throughout my studies and I really felt that my final year at CSM (and my graduate collection) was the climax of the education path he had supported me to follow. For this reason, I decided to base my collection around him, more specifically about my memories of him.
My father would regularly take me fishing as a child and I was always fascinated by how much he loved his hobby. My memories of him as a person and his passion for fishing have very much become one, this is the reason why the collection has a strong nautical feel behind it; hence the name, ‘About the Man Who Loved Fishing’.
RR: “About the Man Who Loved Fishing” is primarily a unisex line. How did you decide to go this route as opposed to a men’s line and woman’s line separately? How do you think it will be received by women since you used a male model to represent the collection?
KP: I have obtained some very positive feedback from my university, retailers and customers about my collection. Many people have commented that they like my collection as it is extremely wearable while still maintaining an element of uniqueness and originality. This was my main aim when designing my jewelry. I didn’t really think about designing jewelry for just women or just men, I wanted design a collection for anybody that wants to add a touch of luxury to their look.
I don’t think that women will or should be put off by the fact that the collection is modeled by males. I didn’t specifically want to have male models for the shoot; I just wanted models that would amplify the themes behind the collection.
RR: What do you look for in the models that will be representing your collections?
KP: When I was organizing the shoot, I was initially considering using professional models. However I struggled to find any that genuinely seemed to portray the bold, masculine image that I wanted my collection to have. It was then that I realized that the best way to find the right faces for the collection was to find real people that represented the theme I had designed around. The two models that I used have never modeled before. One is a software engineer and a keen rock climber, the other is an IT Consultant!
RR: Your line is so unique, unlike anything around, being that you are based out of the UK, do you think there is a difference in the way people there and people here in the US will view and react to your collection?
KP: I have received great comments from people from all sorts of countries and backgrounds. However, I am aware of the fact that, as with any kind of design work, there are always going to be people that are not fans of your work wherever they are from. For this reason, I don’t really differentiate between people from different countries.
RR: Where are you drawing you inspiration from for your future collections? What can your fans expect to see from you in the future?
KP: I personally found that designing a collection around a real person was a really effective process for me as a designer. I am planning to base my future collections around real people. I am inspired by hearing somebody’s impression of a person they look up to.
I want my fans to get involved in my work, so for my next collection I ask followers of my blog to ‘inspire me with a person that inspires you’. I ask them to email me and tell me about somebody that inspires them. I will eventually choose one of the emails, and design a collection based around that person. Whoever’s nomination I select will have a luxury jewelry collection designed around a person close to them, and will also receive an exclusive piece from the collection.
RR: What piece from this collection, “About the Man Who Loved Fishing,” do you think best represents the collection? If you had to pick one single piece from the collection that you are most proud of or that is your favorite piece, which one would you choose?
KP: That would be like asking a Mother to choose her favorite child…impossible!! A lot of peoples favorites from the collection are the ‘Green eye fish head ring and the Fishbone necklace.’
These are two of my personal favorite pieces from Kasia’s collection.
Want to see the rest? Visit Kasia’s site to view the whole collection!