Julia Muggenburg

After studying fine art in London at Saint Martins Julia decided not to return to her native Germany. Instead Julia set up her fine jewellery line in London. The first pieces of the initial SS 01 collection were seen and bought instantly by Barneys New York. Belmacz is the other side of Julia's artistic spirit fusing symbolism and tradition, perfection and modernity and weight and balance in to refined jewels. The collection has a large archive from which any previous design can be made, yet it is limited to 8 pieces for any design and material. Many pieces are one off, incorporating antique stones, fossilised dinosaur bone, syberian wolly mammoth, rose cut diamonds, angel skin coral, scottish agate, carved jet, hawks eye, green amber, mawpane wood, trapiches emerald and many other fantastic materials, as well as tribal and ceremonial adornments which are re-fashioned. The vision behind Belmacz is to express the excitement and magic of working with the beautiful natural materials found. Each jewel becomes an extension of the wearers personality. The collection currently showcasing in Kabiri demonstrates a beautiful contrast between opposites. The lightness and structure of the hand carved and turned wooden bangles at once competes with and complements the cold, hard surface of the nephrite, jet and porous, marked gold. Julia describes her pieces as ‘tools combining the precious with the old symbolic language and turning it in to a modern day adornment.’