By Lily Fonzo
An interview with Kirsten Sonne, an influential upcycling jeweller based in Copenhagen with a reputation for contemporary and unique creations. Sonne’s work is always chic and individual, often witty and full of fun. She understands balance and proportion. A former graphic designer, she has contemporary art and design as part of her background.
“I aim to create humorous and elegant decorations for the body, for fabulous and courageous people of all ages. There are no limits.”
Kirsten Sonne
Sonne is a fantastic collector of delightful odds and ends that end up as jewels. Recycled materials inspire her and are the basis of her work. She makes everything by hand and never exactly repeats a piece. While she sometimes works on themes or in series, like all her works, all pieces are guaranteed to be individual statements.
See Sonne’s Jewellery in person at GroundWork Gallery and on our online shop.
Possibilities of Found Material
For this interview, Kirsten Sonne (KS) and Lily Fonzo (LF) were seated in September 2022 at The Wallace Collection, London. They discussed the beauty of recycling, the possibilities of found material and the self-empowerment that unique artisan jewellery can imbue on one.
LF: Where has the inspiration arisen from for the new collection of jewels for GroundWork?
KS: I like to read and keep up to date with the Groundwork’s newsletter, promotional materials and gallery news. I like to make jewellery which echoes the themes of
its exhibitions and highlight its ethos of connecting environmental awareness and
contemporary art. I was particularly drawn to the current exhibition ‘Deep Water’, as I have
been inspired often with water and the things found within it, such as eelgrass.”
LF: How do materials fit into your design process? Do they inform it or rather fit pre-existing
ideas?
KS: “The materials I find lead the design process. There is no altering or adjusting, I use what
I find as is. I call this my ‘Lost and Found Principle’, which is central to my creative process.
Found materials have always fascinated me, from how they come to you in terms of form;
showing signs of other histories, destruction, the beauty of age and how the very material
changes. Once I have found material I use a combination of skills I developed during my time
as a graphic designer…. composition, colour, form…. to inform the jewellery design from the
object.”
LF: What does wearing a piece of Sonne Jewels embody and represent?
KS: “My jewellery is a statement, an object of conviction, a representation of personal ethics. It tells people of who you are, ‘this is me and this is who I am’. It shows others that ‘I appreciate
the beauty and thought of recycling, and value it.’ There is no traditional intrinsic value in the
materials of the jewellery, such as gem stones and metals, instead the value comes from the
histories of the found materials, the ethos of the unique piece and the conviction of its wearer.
You embed value into the piece when you wear it, which transforms and showcases the
jewellery. My jewellery represents a courageous individual that knows who they are. These
pieces do not provide anonymity, they aren’t discreet; it tells a lot about the person wearing it.
It’s for the bold.”
LF: How have the past years effected your creative process?
KS: “There has been a great sadness due to the pandemic, but as we emerge from it I take the
opportunity to change, to lean into my craft in a more playful and artistic manner. Mass producing hand-crafted jewellery does not excite nor inspire me. I find myself creating
jewellery which challenges the traditional notions of ‘wearability’ in response to this artistic
path.”
LF: Would you be able to tell us more about leaning into a more artistic creative process?
KS: “I playfully refer to this direction as my ‘Un-Wearable Jewellery Project’. It is about
removing the limitations that jewellery and its wearer, over time, has traditionally answered to.
To remove these constraints allows me to create in a way which embraces more found materials
which before would have been deemed unsuitable. I will be presenting parts of this ongoing
collection in Paris at ‘Parkour Bijoux’ in 2023 and other locations international in the year.”
LF: Do you feel there is a move towards a more ethical direction in the jewellery world?
KS: “There is a slow increase of jewellers around me using recycled materials, often
exclusively metals. However, there is a change happening on a global level. Before it was hard
to be accepted or taken seriously using recycled materials but now it is valued and encouraged.
Materials cannot be continuously produced at the levels they have been and people are more
aware of this. Recycling over the last decade has moved into the zeitgeist. Using recycled
materials has led to new forms and colours in the jewellery world which excites me as a creator.
Afterall, I view the world through the lens of jeweller with the idea that everything could be
jewellery!”
Sonne’s most recent capsule collection of jewels accompanies GroundWork’s Deep Water exhibition.
