KIKA OLSENK
Sensations guide Karina Olsen, also called Kika, in her creations. “It’s as if through drawing I wanted to touch someone and I could touch the way I was touched by that inspiration. And through design to pass it on to people,” says the designer who is passionate about stones and graduated in Gemology at Gemological Institute of America in New York. Karina created Olsen K, her first solo project, with a purpose that goes beyond designer jewelry. For years, in the same period that she dedicated herself to creating jewelry, she worked as a volunteer in shelters, but there came a time when that alone was not enough. He decided to unite his greatest passions: stones, design and social work. “The years of experience creating pieces with a variety of metals and precious stones, added to my training in Gemology, allowed me to look more broadly at what I was doing”, he says. And, from this connection between loves and inspirations, his collections brought, more and more, his universe, which starts from nature. “Nature is the center of everything that guides me. From cinema to architecture, through travel, culture, art”, she says, who brings to her drawing something she read, saw or felt.
Regarding the relationship with the stones, Karina felt uncomfortable with the way gems are treated without their high shaping and consumption-disposal process, not valuing the professionals involved in the production chain and the overvaluation of size and quantity, and not the design, the history of each jewel. “This concern made me question how my love for gemology and design could serve the planet in a more fair, conscious and profound way, sharing, through the beauty and process of each jewel, some of the lessons and opportunities I had”, says Karina.
At the same time that it was realized with the beauty and history of stones, the desire to contribute and do more around the world motivated Karina to define upcycling as the north of the brand. “Upcycling was something that delighted me. I looked in jewelry for a way to exercise this philosophy and it has been a wonderful challenge. I really believe in the energetic power of the raw materials that give rise to jewelry; and being able to make stones and metals honor with their purpose, which I believe is to exchange and spread their energy and wisdom with each one of us and, consequently, with the universe, but in a more respectful and balanced way is something that it motivates daily”, says Kika, who does not only think about the value of each jewel, focusing on the price, but transforming each piece into a true amulet. After all, each stone brings a precious past – and for this gem, Karina shows a way to write a new destiny to follow, whether in a ring, necklace, earring or bracelet version.
At the same time that it was realized with the beauty and history of stones, the desire to contribute and do more around the world motivated Karina to define upcycling as the north of the brand. “Upcycling was something that delighted me. I looked in jewelry for a way to exercise this philosophy and it has been a wonderful challenge. I really believe in the energetic power of the raw materials that give rise to jewelry; and being able to make the stones and metals honor with their purpose, which I believe is to exchange and spread their energy and wisdom with each one of us and, consequently, with the universe, but in a more respectful and balanced way is something that it motivates daily”, says Kika, who does not only think about the value of each jewel, focusing on the price, but transforming each piece into a true amulet. After all, each stone brings a precious past – and for this gem, Karina shows a way to write a new destiny to follow, whether in a ring, necklace, earring or bracelet version.