Jewellery for your home

Born in Cape Town, raised in Australia, attending a high-school in Japan, jeweller Lauren Joffe has returned to the Mother City with fresh talent and an international rep. Body adornment aside, bejewel your home with her gorgeous vessels!

What did you want to be when you were a kid? 

A princess, a ballerina and a character in whatever book I was obsessed with at the time. Anne of Green Gables was a big one. 

What do you do now?

I am a contemporary jeweller and object maker. I love making vessels, in particular. My working method is to engage with traditional processes, specifically casting and enamelling in both metal and glass, to discover new interpretations and possibilities. I enjoy “pushing the boundaries” as it were with traditional techniques. My approach to composition begins with drawings or photographs and is often informed by the interaction of materials.

What was the first thing you designed?

The first thing I made out of metal was a plain copper ring band. It had a huge solder line and was pretty awful, but I was extremely proud of myself. I keep this on my workbench.

How did that happen?

How did I end up as an artist? I think serendipity and a Saturday afternoon walk around galleries in Melbourne definitely played a part in my decision to pursue creative goals. I was totally captivated by the contemporary jewellery in a particular city gallery and once I decided to change directions, everything seemed to fall into place easily. I was accepted into a very competitive fine arts programme at RMIT University in Melbourne and specialised in Gold and Silversmithing. The four-years of my degree have been some of the best years of my life so far. Having the space and encouragement to be innovative and open-minded in the way one approaches one’s art has certainly been significant in my development as an artist.

What are some of your biggest accomplishments as a designer?

Being awarded two Emerging Artist grants by the Australia Council for the Arts, for which I am extremely grateful, has been a huge encouragement. I’m also really proud that I was selected as one of the Emerging Creatives at Design Indaba 2012. As an artist, you want to exhibit your work as widely as possible, so being successful in having my work exhibited internationally in Australia, Japan, Europe and the US, feels like a great accomplishment. 

Should form follow function or should function follow form?

One of my mentors often tells me that form ought to follow function. But when I’m experimenting with techniques and materials, and the result is a hole in the side of a glass vessel, it’s not functional, but it is still a beautiful object to me. 

What do you covet most at the moment?

Time with my good friends and family in Melbourne. I wish they all lived in Cape Town too. This and I’d really like to be a mum. 

Do you have a design philosophy? If yes, what is it?

Conceptually I am motivated by an interest in the Japanese aesthetic tradition and concept of beauty, specifically in the celebration of the natural and its defects. I value things that are nuanced and modest, and believe that elegance permeates a form or object by its suppression.

Advice for aspiring designers? 

Play a bit. Be confident in your design aesthetic. I’m clear in the choices that I make because of this. 

www.laurenjoffe.com

More of VISI’s hot design talents featured at www.visi.co.za/fresh

Also check out this year’s Design Indaba Expo Emerging Creatives here.