‘A beautiful piece of jewellery should capture the eye and make you want to look closer.  It is a small piece of craftsmanship that evokes joy’

 

Tell us a bit about yourself!

I’m Ditte Stepnicka and I trained as a goldsmith.  Since 2004 I’ve run my own jewellery company called Stepnicka which is based in Vesterbro in Copenhagen.  I design and make everything myself and sell all over the world.

 

Why did you want to enter the competition?

Who wouldn’t want to design a piece of jewellery to honour the Queen?!  It was also really interesting to create something that could be produced on a commercial scale and that also is multifunctional.

What was your inspiration for the design?

Like myself, the Queen has a very creative side and I thought this would be a great starting point. Even though she is born into the royal family, she hasn’t abandoned her personal interests that allow her to express her creativity.  She is known to be very keen on flowers and gardening and also in the craft of decoupage (where shapes are cut out of paper and used for decoration) so I combined both of these and came up with Decoupage Flower.  It’s constructed in the same way with different elements coming together to make a unified piece.

 

What was the design process?

I started the idea phase with pen and paper to decide on the shape and then worked out the construction using copper.  I then developed it further by using 3D programmes (with a bit of help from my husband who is an industrial designer!) so I could finalise the details and see what it would look like in real life.

 

Who or what influences you the most in your work?

My surroundings!  The impressions I get when just looking and listening and reading. My customers also inspire me as I get a lot of joy from seeing people use my jewellery. As for people - I love the work of Britt Sisseck, Ulla and Marin Kaufmann, Angela Hübel and many others.  And I can’t forget my mother who introduced me to the idea of working as a goldsmith in the first place.

 

Finally, what does Georg Jensen mean to you?

Georg Jensen represents Danish design and craftsmanship. They continue a Scandinavian tradition of design and the fact that they are doing this competition is a testimony to their willingness to renew themselves.