Occupation

School principal and owner of the Copenhagen Academy of Fashion Design

How do you/have you worked with jewellery?

In the fashion industry, we work with accessories/jewellery as an integrated part of the complete silhouette. Whether it's real or not is not so important. Coco Chanel mixed her real jewellery with her trinkets with amazing results. Jewellery is often what completes a look. That's also something we work with here at the academy. The big international brands that I have worked for all have jewellery collections that reflect their historic DNA. It's something I've personally always been interested in and which I have used for private clients.

What is a beautiful piece of jewellery to you?

The most beautiful part of a piece of jewellery is the thought behind it - and the bond that it creates between the giver and the recipient. You can talk about the aesthetic aspect of it, but there are so many thoughts that go into a piece of jewellery that other people don't necessarily see or need to know about.

What is your favourite Georg Jensen jewellery?

The Möbius collection by Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe. I had the pleasure of meeting Vivianna in Skagen back in the mid-90s. She had brought some cutlery with her that she had made, and we were allowed to try it out. There's something powerful about her mode of expression and there's a strength in her designs that is just so timeless that even though they are made for women, they can just as easily be worn by men.

What influence has Her Majesty the Queen had on Danish jewellery design?

Her Majesty has helped highlight what Danish goldsmiths can do, by allowing them to design some truly incredible jewellery for her over the years. Equally, I think she has a style that is rooted in tradition and which is not affected by trends, yet never stagnates. It is a style she has achieved by combining pieces of jewellery from different historical periods in new ways, but always with respect for the jewellery's story.

What skills should a talented jewellery designer have?

There are many, and it is firstly about definition. But for me personally, a solid technical foundation is the most important skill of all, because you need to know what the tools and materials can do before you can start to challenge them. Next is a sense of aesthetics, proportion and colour.

What are you most hoping to see in this competition?

I hope we'll see how the Danes define the symbolic value that lies in the role of Her Majesty, the royal family and the 50-year anniversary of the Queen's reign. I am looking forward to seeing where people are getting their ideas from in a time when everyone has the opportunity to express and interpret what this means for them.

What advice would you give to the competition entrants?

Don't be limited by convention. There are so many aspects and angles to this competition that can be used for inspiration, and it will be exciting to see how the entrants develop themselves now that the competition is open to everyone and not just trade.