Naida C. Castel aims to create jewelry pieces filled with meaning. Eluding conventionalisms, her work is conceived as unruly and contemporary objects which resonate with everyday life. At times, she experiments with pieces that invoke and explore the spontaneity of forms, permanently trying to display the honesty of the material and its process.
But when it boils down to launching a collection, it all begins with her sketchbook. “I draw all the ideas that come to my mind,” said Castel, explaining her creative process in an interview with Arcana Magazine. She adds that inspiration comes easily while traveling around the globe. “When I like the shapes and random ideas I have got, I decide some viable pieces and I make samples in metal,” she adds. “After making, repeating and trying I put them all together to see how the family looks.”
Usually, she ends up choosing the roughest and most unpredictable shapes, explaining that those are often more attractive and tend to capture those elusive feelings that you can’t explain with words. Based in Barcelona, all of her pieces are handmade and hand-sculpted at her studio. She explains that her pieces are designed and made with care, using good quality materials, such as gold, silver, and raw crystals or gemstones. She also makes sure to recycle metals as much as possible, in order to produce less waste.
Having studied art and product design, she makes sure to travels as much as she can, admitting that she enjoys being constantly on the move, experiencing new cultures, and meeting new people. With an optimistic perspective, Castel says she tends to admire beauty in all of its forms. Take a look at some of her meaningful designs in the gallery below.
