Presents

August Featured  Jewelry Designer

kristina ellESson

by lisa lilla

“I can indulge my pyromaniac tendencies and be productive and creative into the bargain”

“I can indulge my pyromaniac tendencies and be productive and creative into the bargain,” Kristina Ellesson jokes about her vested interest in lampworking and jewelry design. Thirty-four years old and hailing from Rodewald, Germany, Kristina is the mother of 3 cats, a dog, and a few chinchillas.  Oh, and she also looks after her boyfriend (a good thing too, since her boyfriend is “the only one who helps sometimes at the "bead" shows)."  Kristina gives Ayurvedic foot massages, manicures, and pedicures, but these are all secondary to her lampworking and jewelry designing profession.

Kristina bought a lampworking starter kit at the end of 2003, and has been making beads ever since.  Though she has not taken any classes, she has been “practicing constantly.”  She laughs, “There have been a few mishaps, but that’s to be expected when you play with fire!”   (Luckily, her pyromania assuages her fears of the flame)

One year after she began lampworking, in the summer of 2004, Kristina began designing jewelry with the beads she made.  The German market is not as well-versed in lampwork beads, and Kristina felt the best introduction to her jewelry-wearing countrywomen would be by way of wearable wares.  “I [began with] jewelry to show them how nice the lampwork beads could look in [it].”

After receiving “wonderful feedback” about her jewelry from people, Kristina recognized her own talent.  They are who inspires her most – the people who wear her jewels.  “It thrills me to death to know someone is wearing the jewelry I made.”

“I go with open eyes and look [to] what people are wearing (for my inspiration),” Kristina confides.  Building around her lampwork beads, she incorporates glass, Swarovski crystal, and silver into her creations.  The style and color of a piece are most influential in designing her jewelry. 

Kristina’s favorite piece she ever made was actually a set featuring a necklace with a red heart focal bead with a green frog on the heart with small glass beads in a matching shade of green and light green Swarovski crystals.  Matching the necklace were earrings and a bracelet with beads the same shade of green, complemented by the lighter green Swarovski crystals.  Kristina describes it further, “It was a classic style.  I made it [at] a show for a girl.  She was very happy about it.”

Tool-wise, Kristina prefers Zoozii tools.  “I love the tools from Zoozii.  [They are] very easy to work with… and she is a wonderful person.”  Kristina’s studio is armed with a Minor torch and glasses by Ornela, Lauscha, Moretti, Vetrofond, and Bullseye.  She estimates she spends between five and eight hours in her studio each day.  Post-studio, Kristina uses a Fuji Finepix S3500 to capture her creations

Kristina creates both focal beads and bead sets and incorporates them into her jewelry designs.  Her favorite subjects?  Flowers, people, and pets.  Her website features quite a quirky collection of cartoon-like animals and people, everything from geckos and seahorses to abstract zebra-print squares.  Kristina admires the work of artists JC Herell – “wonderful color combination(s)” and Marilyn Peraza – “wonderful flowers!”