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From Inspiration to Design: Behind the Creative Process at PDPAOLA

Every artist has a process, and every person a way of taking in the outside world and channeling it into a new, individual form of expression. When it comes to designing jewelry at PDPAOLA, every creation and collection has a unique journey and tells its own story.

Behind each jewel lies a creative process and meticulous craft in which, step by step, the piece becomes a manifestation of the things that inspire the brand. This can go from nature to amazing women and the arts, to captivating stories or even a mood. Anything that gets our imagination going and our hearts racing!

But what does it take to bring these pieces to life from the imaginary?

Inspiration is essential, of course, but what really matters is falling in love with the creative process of making jewelry, because you never know where it will take you. You can have a plan, a design according to which you want to work, but sometimes you don't end up exactly where you expected at first. Sometimes one design can evolve from another; other times a single idea sets the tone for the entire collection.

For instance, with the Letters collection, every letter of the alphabet had the stones placed differently. The reason for this was to make every letter as singular as the person wearing it.

Then you have a collection like Citric in which the colour was the primary driver. It was inspired by Tuscany and the idea of a Romantic summer, so we wanted to channel that vibe through the jewel creating something edgy and modern. Therefore, by allowing colour take centre stage and gleam in the pure geometry of the stones, it could allude to the raw and simple beauty of a berry tree or an Italian Cypress. It's always very gentle nod to the theme.

Other collections follow a more organic process. With Electra the intention was to have a festive feel; but also that in one way or another, it could express an imaginary universe. So we came up with the star shape carved out of stone, which we felt had more dimension than a plain metallic star.

After we had established this idea, we chose the colour. We went for an ethereal lilac hue that was winter-appropriate but timeless as well. Then, for a bit contras and dimension, we added black zirconias as they were the perfect complement without overshadowing the star.

It's always about trying to find a balance, about keeping the focal pieces at the centre and finding the right stones or shapes that will complement them. And depending on the collection or the piece, the creative process can start from anywhere. With Arizona it was a cowboy theme, with Electra it was a festive mood, with Citric it was a colour. Afterwards, the rest of the elements fall naturally into place.

This also why our pieces of jewelry should have only one standout feature. Jewels are usually worn with other items, clothing and elements that say something about ourselves. You want to allow for certain versatility and not have a piece that overwhelms the eye with too much information.

After the initial idea has been established, everything is designed in PDPAOLA's atelier in Barcelona, where the team works with absolute dedication to recreate the essence of what we want to express with each jewel.

Classic and good quality base materials are essential. For this reason, we decided from the beginning to work with 925 sterling silver and 18 karat gold, brass, semi-precious stones and zirconias.

These bring together the best possible combination of accessibility and elegance while being light and easy to wear; as much as we love going down a creative rabbit hole, it's important to be practical and ensure quality.

Even the best jewelry designers can experience creativity burn out, or loss of inspiration. For this reason, working as a team keeps our energy up and helps us discover something new through sharing our ideas and processes.

This makes the design journey an enriching experience for everyone at the team at PDPAOLA. It's also one of our secret ingredients to crafting pieces that speak to the genuine nature of the women who wear them.

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