As featured in Unfolded Magazine Issue 09
"Jewellery excites me and has a story to tell" says talented
jewellery designer Tomasz Donocik, who I met up with on an
unusually rainy day in July. Around the corner from the historic
London landmark of Arnold Circus, seeking solace from the rain in
the small workshop, I got to view some of the exquisitely crafted
jewellery and talk about gemstones, metals and all manner of
materials used in his work.
Born in Poland, Donocik grew up in Vienna, Austria where his
passion for art really developed. Guided by his teachers at school
who gave him the opportunity to explore the artistic culture of the
country, '(it was) amazing and (the school) took us to exhibitions
all the time'. At 18, Tomasz applied to Central Saint Martin's for
a foundation course in art and design. Wanting to pursue a career
that allowed him to use his creativity, Tomasz chose to design
jewellery as a way of expressing his art. The university education
gave him the opportunity to experiment with ceramics, fashion,
textiles, jewellery and develop his exceptionayl craftsmanship
skills. Before this, in Vienna, Donocik was predominantly creating
installations, silk screens and occasional photography. Jewellery
excited him in a different way, as he learnt the process of
jewellery making, from first design to rendering and the techniques
needed to make the final piece. Tomasz had found a way to 'now make
a business out of my artwork.'
Donocik foremost considers himself a designer ‘who specialises
in jewellery’, which is where his love of incorporating different
materials can be clearly seen. He has undertaken work and projects
for many different companies such as Tag Heuer, LVMH, YKK,
Swarovski and recently collaborated with another designer for a
collection of gloves. The work, and avenues for design, it seem,
are continually evolving and there is also a 'new scarf collection
which is quite wearable' he says.
Of people he would like to adorn his designs upon, "I would
love Johnny Depp and Matthew McConaughey to wear my jewellery, for
ladies, it would have to be Eva Green." The fine jewellery does
befit a night at the Oscars.
A typical day is mostly spent at the workshop, 'sitting at my desk,
shifting paper from left to right' he says with a smile. With
jewellery, 'the creating stage is the most exciting stage, but
running a business takes a lot of other skills, managing, chasing
up stone dealers and so on'. His experience, on graduation, working
for Stephen Webster 'taught me a lot about the professional side of
making jewellery, weight, size, wear-ability and so on. The
environment teaches you more about the practicality of design,
using manufacturers and working to a clients brief - making it more
accessible, you have the crazy ideas of course, but you have to
tone them down for it to work (commercially).'
Inspiration for the collections are drawn from 'walking around and
seeing things', but some are also based on novels, uniforms or
components of a uniform. From a young age, he has admired the work
of Jean-Michel Basquiat. A lot of recent work he says is 'based on
animal motifs and the four elements is based on mythological
stories'. This can be seen with the cocktail rings centred around
the symbolic creatures of the four elements, Earth, Fire,
Water and Air which so far depict Phoenixes, and a Medusa themed
ring with a snake wrapped around tourmaline with brown diamond
scales.
Jewellery in menswear is expanding. A few lar