Flamingo | Sweden
Julia Nielsen moved to London from Gothenburg in Sweden in 1997 to study graphic design, and remained there for seven years, studying and working in the graphics industry. In 2003 she decided to set up as a freelance designer and also pursue a life long interest which had by then grown in to more than a hobby: jewellery making. Having no metalwork experience, Julia started out working with all kinds of alternative materials, however keeping a graphic expression in the jewellery by letting colours and images play a big part. She got stuck with leather as a favourite material. 'Leather has a harder look than traditional jewellery materials, and you also have many more possibilities in terms of colour. I love the feel and smell of leather'.
Julia started selling her jewellery in fashion markets around London and immediately had a great response from people. The name Flamingo was inspired by the first best seller – the pink flamingo earring.
Since then Flamingo has grown into several collections of jewellery with varying themes, such as birds, skulls, patterns, leaves, balls and men’s jewellery. These collections are sold in shops in London, Munich, Berlin, Stockholm and Tokyo and have featured in several European magazines, most notably Elle and Deutsch Magazine.
Julia has moved from the UK to Germany and then back to Stockholm in Sweden, where Flamingo is now based. The jewellery is all still handmade, mostly by Julia herself, from silver plated metal and the finest leather. |
