Gold Jewelry Design · 2018
Blooming Folding Eyewear
by Sonja Iglic
- A' Design Award 2018 Gold Winner in Jewelry Design
- Awarded April 15, 2018
- CLIENT: Sonja Iglic
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 466,912
- Verification code B0AB249711 · Verify this award
About Blooming Folding Eyewear
Sonja‘s eyewear design was inspired by blossoming flowers and early spectacle frames. Combining the organic forms of nature and the functional elements of spectacle frames the designer developed a convertible item that can be easily manipulated giving several different looks. The product was also designed with a practical folding possibility, taking as little space as possible in the carriers bag. The lenses are produced of laser-cut plexiglass with Orchid flower prints, and the frames are made manually using 18k gold plated brass.
The distinguished A' Design Award-recognized work known as Blooming Folding Eyewear by Sonja Iglic represents a compelling intersection of jewelry craft, optical design, and botanical aesthetics that invites consideration within the broader tradition of Art Nouveau's celebration of natural forms translated into functional objects. The designer appears to engage with longstanding artistic dialogues concerning the relationship between nature and artifice, creating an object that blurs conventional boundaries between personal adornment and practical eyewear. Technical achievement manifests through the sophisticated folding mechanism at the composition's core, where precision engineering enables transformation between compact storage and expanded wearable form, the golden metalwork featuring organically derived cutout patterns that suggest both cellular biology and decorative fenestration. The chromatic program demonstrates considerable sensitivity, with purple-to-gold gradients within each petal-shaped lens element evoking natural phenomena such as iris flowers, crocus blooms, or the iridescent wings of certain lepidoptera. One might observe how the material choice for the lens elements achieves a quality somewhere between translucency and opacity, permitting light transmission while maintaining the substantial visual presence expected of fine jewelry. The work participates in contemporary movements toward multifunctional luxury objects that serve both aesthetic and practical purposes, transcending traditional categorical boundaries. References to natural growth patterns, radial symmetry found in flowers, and the delicate venation of botanical specimens appear throughout, suggesting the designer's deep engagement with biomimetic principles. Viewers might contemplate how such objects mediate between the human desire for beauty and the practical necessities of daily life, or consider what it means to wear nature transformed into precious material upon one's face.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The main focus of this conceptual piece is in it's ability to be changed at any point without an extensive effort of the wearer. This function of multiple looks alongside the folding system is what makes these accessories stand out. Once folded, the eyewear becomes compact which makes it really easy to carry around.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Fully opened eyewear dimensions 150 mm x 120 mm x 160 mm
Fully closed eyewear dimensions 100 mm x 85 mm x 40 mm - Tags
- Eyewear, Metal, Gold, Flower, Sculpture, Wearable, Color, Foldable, Versatile, Jewelry
- Production Technology
- The whole collection is made by hand out of 18k gold plated brass alongside the multiple laser cut plexiglass with flower prints.
- Design Challenge
- The biggest challenge was the ergonomic part of the eyewear's frames. It was very difficult to create the frames foldable and at the same time to achieve one continues flowing line that forms the final shape (both folded and opened).
- Project Duration
- The whole project developement lasted around 3 months. It started in January 2016 and was finished in April 2016 in Belgrade. This item is just one of the whole Blooming collection of jewellery and eyewear.
The whole collection was exhibited in Porte de Versailles in Paris during The International Jewellery Show Bijorhca Paris in September 2016. - Operation Flow
- All the petals are connected to the metal frame with rivets. This system makes the change of the position of petals really easy. The petals can be pushed around the rivet in full circle. This system makes many different looks possible just by overlapping the petal shapes in a different way or positioning the petals differently in relation to the face.
The frame itself is also connected with rivets, so the closing system works in a similar manner as the petals. - Research
- This project demanded an extensive investigation of the historical development of spectacle frames (visually and technically), in order to achieve a modern solution with a clear influence of the first types of frames.
- Inspiration
- Inspiration comes from growth and metamorphosis of all beings. Blooming flowers are used as symbols of change and development and are presented as movable petals.
I intended to create multi purpose items, that can adapt to specific needs of the wearer by personal changes throughout the day. - Image Credits
- Image #5 Photographer Aleksandar Zivkovic, Blooming editorial, 2016.
Colors of Blooming Folding Eyewear
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Conceptual Jewelry & Wearable Art Design
We transform stories and ideas into extraordinary wearable art pieces. Drawing from theater and narrative design, we create conceptual jewelry that pushes boundaries between function and artistic expression. Each handcrafted piece becomes a personal statement.
G0E2 ShopDesign Interview about Blooming Folding Eyewear
My initial inspiration comes from nature‘s growth and it‘s metamorphosis into something new each day. In that sense, blossomed flowers are used as a symbol of change and development of all beings. The idea was to create multipurpose items, that can adapt to the specific needs of the wearer and their personal emotional changes throughout the day.
I wanted to achieve a feeling of lightness and flow. As stressful lives are becoming a normality nowadays, I wanted to achieve a greater sense of awareness of the feelings that emerge every day and to bring in a calmer reaction to the surface. The most important thing that I wanted to point out is that our minds should become more calm. The petals were supposed to move easily and gracefully just like the blooming of a real flower would look like. Looking at the time-lapse videos of flowers blossoming has made me want to achieve that exact grace throughout this whole collection.
I don‘t have any specific plans, but I‘d love to expand my production and incorporate more models.
Designing the eyewear alongside the whole accompanying collection of jewelry took me about 3 months. But the whole idea was in my head for quite some time, so I'm not sure how long it really took me to make all this a reality.
I just really wished to create this concept that was on my mind for a long time. I did not have any special plans related to this work. Instead, I envisioned the project just like a sculpture that I needed to make. Just a piece of art with no other intentions in mind.
I haven‘t decided on that yet. For now, I‘m still enjoying the process of doing it myself. I really wanted to give that bespoke experience to the customers, as well as the feeling of luxury with the possibility of adapting the eyewear to each of the wearer‘s head. I‘m always very open to new opportunities and proposals, but I‘d love to keep a luxury approach to this particular design, that‘s for sure.
I had this picture in my head in which the raw natural beauty of a female‘s head is surrounded by beautiful flowers that flourish. As this repeated in my head so many times, it really got me thinking about how it could be made and what kind of accessory could it be. This thinking process eventually led me to a type of folding, changing, blooming eyewear. The rest was really just figuring out how to make it all work. After the eyewear was made, I went on and made a whole collection of jewelry with the same approach. But still, these headpieces are the central piece of the whole concept.
I don‘t think there was a specific person or design. I haven‘t really seen anything like this, but I believe that everything that is designed today is somehow connected to something we‘ve seen before. That‘s anyway, how the inspiration works. One can never tell what led him/her to design something, it‘s really a collection of experiences mixed with the designers environment and feelings.
Anyone who‘s in love with fashion and is not afraid to show it. There is no age limitation nor style. It can be worn by a most minimalist person as a statement piece as well as the most crazy over the top Fashionista.
I don‘t think I‘ve seen anything like this particular concept, not just in the sense of foldable frames like these, but also in the idea of movable parts especially lenses.
With the name Blooming I really wanted to emphasize the movement of the eyewear and the fact that they could figuratively bloom. So the name is quite literal, but also, it should leave the sense of lightness, romance, and new beginnings.
This project required a really big research on the eyewear frames as well as a long thinking process behind their functionality. It was really important for me to make it user friendly and make it really easy to handle. Yet, I wanted to keep some of the complexity like for ex. 10 lenses that could be moved to different positions. I had a lot of work on the computer, making all the petals for the whole collection, making patterns for prints, cutting the plexiglass to shapes and so on. The frames and metal petals, however, were made entirely by hand, so I also used everything in the metalsmith workshop that was required for creating these parts by hand.
Definitely the possibility to change the appearance in a second. It goes from a minimal simple design with a bit of secession to a full statement piece in no time. How the petals are interconnected and how they overlap will determine the end look. In my opinion, that is the beauty of this product.
Yes, at some point I needed to double check the functionality of the eyewear and especially the ergonomic part of the design with my partner, as he is a professional industrial designer. He was really helpful, because he already knew my project and therefore really understood what I wanted to achieve. Also, after making the first prototype, the reactions of close people who were able to try them out, gave me a lot of insights for improvement.
It‘s always a great idea to consult anyone who is specialized or a possible user, as they can give the designer a different perspective that they haven‘t thought of before.
It‘s always a great idea to consult anyone who is specialized or a possible user, as they can give the designer a different perspective that they haven‘t thought of before.
I‘ve used modern technology as much as I was able to. But my idea is going beyond what is available, so hopefully this will inspire experts to find the way to create lenses that could have full spectrum of colors. Right now, it is print on plexiglass, but I‘d love it to be real usable lenses with prints like the ones I‘ve used.
This project demanded an extensive investigation of the historical development of spectacle frames (visually and technically), in order to achieve a modern solution with a clear influence of the first types of frames. Also, I've researched many different kinds of flower petals in order to create various final looks within the whole collection.
It‘s always a challenge if I‘m creating something that I had not been previously encountered with. The challenging part was making everything work together and at the same time achieve it to be lightweight, user friendly and comfortable.
I really wanted to make the work more visible to an international audience. Nowadays, with social media it is possible to reach internationally, but I still think that design competitions are a great way to be seen, and to get an amazing amount of feedback from all over the world. Professional design feedback is the most valuable part of any competition.
I believe I‘ve read everything I could possibly find on eyewear design, history and production. The knowledge of that itself is a huge progress, but aside from that, the whole process of making by hand a completely different type of design, then I‘m used to, made me learn so much along the way.
I believe that all questions were quite informative and in depth with the whole design process behind this work, so I don‘t feel like I should add anything more to it.