The Norwegian jewelry designer Annie Berner has been tinkering with things that flash and shine since she was a child. In 2016, she began creating a jewelry collection based on tight and organic lines, inspired by sculptures and shapes in nature.
She started her career at SOFI (School of Fashion Industry) in Oslo where she got insight and better understanding of fashion and the various aspects of it. Then she did her foundation year in Arts and Design to explore different materials, production methods and art history before taking a BA in fashion jewelry at London College of Fashion. While doing her BA, she worked as a studio assistant for a small brand on the rise.
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By combining organic curves and geometric lines Annie Berner creates sculptural pieces that express balance. The technique she uses to make her jewelry today is time-consuming. Berner draws the different pieces by hand, designs them on the computer, before 3D printing them in wax. This must be done up to several times to get the right result. She then casts the jewelry in silver, before the actual handwork of soldering, filing and polishing begins.
Annie Berner has clear ideas about her style and what she wants to communicate through her creations. She never aimed at becoming a traditional goldsmith, as material exploration and experimental production was more her interest.
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Using a 3D printer makes it possible to create forms that would have been impossible to create by hand. On a computer, she can more easily mirror shapes, which Berner does with earrings so that they turn to the face.
Her debut collection was inspired by the Art Deco architecture of Miami and New York and realized with new modeling technologies. The collection was intriguing for its amplified proportions and contrasting 3D-like textures.
“I want to create jewelry that represents craftsmanship and quality. Ideally, there should be a balance between something the wearer can use for a long time, while still reflecting the zeitgeist. My hope is that different pieces of jewelry from the same collection can appeal to women in different age groups and with varying personal styles, who all share the joy of dressing up,” Annie said in an interview.
Berner uses the computer program CAD to create thin walls and hollow out the jewelry, which would be very difficult by hand. “I do this to reduce the use of materials, but preserve the massive expression,” she explains.
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Now, the young Norwegian designer focuses on a more emotional yet still contemporary aesthetic code, creating surreal pieces that capture not only the sense of sight but also that of touch, through fluid shapes of a wet effect made of metal, silver or plexiglass.
Annie Berner’s work often reflects a certain nostalgia. A place or a mood she wants to revisit, though still being present. It can be a shape – often from under water, where she loves to be, a material or a color that she wants to combine to obtain a certain mood. She tries to create a calm, cozy universe with a pinch of glamour.
Flashlight On A Norwegian Jewelry Designer, written by Tor Kjolberg