Artisan of the month : meet Sigsch aka Sigrun Schönlaub
Glass and Strudel
Like Marie-Antoinette or Sissi, Sigrun comes from Austria. Like many little girls she played doll as a kid and enjoyed dresses and jewelry. But unlike many little girls, she didn't just like rings and necklaces, she wanted to make them. And that's how she enroled into a glass design curriculum after high school against all opinions including the one of a glass design teacher insiting on the lack of work opportunities and stability following an education dedicated to glass design. Sigrun realized after graduating that it wasn't indeed not an easy thing and decided to be pragmatic. She followed then a more conventional path and worked 7 years as visual merchandiser for an international and well-known brand.
Donde esta la playa ?
She is in Switzerland when she realises that she has stability, a comfortable income, a cool job, a nice life but something is missing. During the last years she kept making colorful jewelry mainly for herself and her loved-ones. But it's not enough anymore. It's not just a hobby. It won't pass. She made then again another decision that many wouldn't understand: she quit her cool job, her safety and decided to give a real chance to her dream. And that's how she moved to Barcelona. Sigrun's pieces are joyful and colorful and when she made the decision to start her business (registered as Sigsch), she realised that her pieces would probably have a broader audience in Spain. Plus back then she needed a change of scenery and new inspirations.
A material girl
It's all about the material. Something happens when she lands in Barcelona. A new inspiration. Sigrun came to Barcelona with the idea to make glass jewelry. This is what she studied, what she likes, what she makes. That would make sense, right ? But more and more she gets interested in giving a second life to objects. You see pull tabs or corks. Sigrun sees necklaces, rings, bracelets, bags. And the fun thing is that when she is done with the pull taps, it takes time to realise she actually used pull tabs.
Old is the new new
Giving a second life is not only about recycling, Sigrun became proficient at repurposing pieces of jewelry. Tired of your earrings ? That's because it should be a necklace ! She is, for example, working on jewels her grandmother gave her to transform them. The idea of conscious creation and sustainability is a core idea and a driver among the designers I met recently. Sigrun's initiative inscribes itself in this movement and ethics.
But what stroke me the most when I met Sigrun is not how cool her pieces are (and they are) or her relentless creativity and her wish to learn more (she is learning Goldsmith methods as we speak) but how her face lits up when she talks about creation, her jewelry and her projects.
If you come to Barcelona in the coming year, you will probably meet her at handmade markets and fairs selling her pieces with the smile of a kid playing on her face and a very cool piece around her neck.
If you want to see and know more about her jewelry visit her website or her Etsy page:
www. sigsch.com
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Sigsch