Thanks to the lovely land of Instagram, Veronica Antonucci of Vanto and I became connected - and I instantly fell in love wither her playful jewelry design style. After more research in to her process and materials, I knew that I’d love to have her as a part of Hey That’s Nice. Read further for a great interview with her and get to know her inspiration, explanation of her upcycled materials, advice for creatives and more.

Where are you located and what was the path that inspired you to create your jewelry?

My studio is located in Biel/Bienne, a nice bilingual city at the border to the French-speaking part of Switzerland. I studied fashion design in Zurich and during my studies I discovered my passion for accessories. Therefore I started to do jewelry as I think a jewel or an accessory in general is worn for a long time and we have a strong relationship to these kind of items. As I am really much into sustainability I like the longevity of these products. That’s why I started to study Product, Jewelry and Accessory Design at HEAD in Geneva.

Can you talk a little bit about the material and why you chose it?

The PMMA collection is made of acrylic glass waste from the industry. I collect small pieces they can’t use anymore and I can do jewelry out of it using a laser cutter. That’s pretty cool because I try to work with less waste as possible. I wanted to do an upcycling project because I think our perception of „waste“ and „luxury“ are quite distorted. I was wondering how I could create a jewelry collection with a luxurious appearance made out of waste and that was nice to wear, so I started to experiment with acrylic glass. I also do silver jewelry made of recycled silver.

Do you have any advice for creatives wanting to start their own project/business?

I think the most important thing is to have a clear concept. Do research, moodboards, tons of sketches and really bring it down to the essence. Be persistant and don’t give up when you face your first obstacles. Starting your own business will demand a lot from you. The good thing is, you can decide at which pace you want to do it. When I was studying Product, Jewelry and Accessory Design in Geneva and I remarked that doing both wasn’t good for my health and my social life and I said yes to my business. Since then many good things are happening and I will expose at Dutch Design Week this fall. This also means, that I am not only a designer but also an entrepreneur now. It’s nice to be a girl boss!

You’ve been featured with and have participated in some cool collaborations, do you have anything that was your favorite or that you are currently excited about?

I love being featured in magazines! When my things were shown it MIS MAGAZIN, VULKAN MAG and NZZ it was a pretty cool feeling. Soon an editorial will be online in one of my fav magazines ever! But sorry, it’s still secret. You’ll have to wait some weeks. And I am currently doing a collaboration with a dance company and this is my kind of „heart project“ because I feel that it’s not only about the money, it’s also about the people you get to know and the artists you can support. Stay tuned!

And something a little fun:

Favorite places to hang out in Biel?
Definitly the lake, water just relaxes me instantly. And then Café du Commerce in Biel/Bienne where you can meet a lot of musicians, artists and writers or just funny people. I work for myself most of the time so I love to chat a bit in the evening and surround myself with kind souls.

Favorite shopping places?

Book stores! I just discovered the new library Bostriche in Biel/Bienne and I adore it. I just love books and I have to set a budget on how much I can spend on it per month :)

I don’t shop a lot other things as I invest most money in my business but I can sew my clothes and do my jewelry, lucky me!

Are you reading or listening to anything interesting at the moment?

At the moment I am doing a lot of research for my next collection for the Dutch Design Week. So I read a lot of art and design books and I love to watch the Arte Boutique Design series, very well done and super interesting.

Meet: Vanto (CH)