Inlaid Carnelian Solitaire Ring from Peru, "Stylish Simplicity"

“My name is Susana Grau. I was born in 1987. I consider myself a person who is passionate about my work, reliable and considerate. Being a person who has been dedicated to the development of her creativity, I never imagined myself capable of starting a business. I genuinely believed myself incapable of putting together a project like this. But my desire to present my pieces was the motivation to learn little by little. To be able to match my love for art with a way of working fills me with gratification. This path began in my university studies in sculpture (At the Catholic University of Peru and at the University of Barcelona). There I acquired competencies that would be very important but that would require adaptation for the second great challenge along the way.

“I learned jewelry making in the workshop of a jewelry designer named Antoinette. I learned only the basics because she abruptly closed her workshop. But I had already bought some tools, so I started working with what I knew at home. Building my own art and dedicating myself to it has been, without a doubt, the main challenge. Being self-employed implied adapting the knowledge that I had received in my university training (as a sculptor) to adapt to this new language. It also required a lot of organization, since you have to fulfill all the roles of the company. In many of them you may not have any knowledge, so you learn along the way. It implies adapting to new ways of proceeding, imposing routines and rhythms. Since all my designs were original, I had to translate them to build a dialogue with the consumer while remaining faithful to my style and approach. Then I learned management and marketing. Undoubtedly it is an education that does not end and is constant.

“I like that jewelry has many techniques and aesthetic results that each one produces. Whenever I think of a design that I don't know how to make, with some research, I discover that there are ways and tools that facilitate that process. The immense variety of strategies and the creativity of other goldsmiths to solve the challenges we face never ceases to amaze me. I find great satisfaction in the process of developing a product and turning it from my imagination to a drawing and then to reality. Many of the production processes are entertaining and relaxing for me. Little by little, the concept is transformed. It takes on new forms, and new brilliance; I find it mesmerizing.

“I am very inspired by the geometry and natural structures of minerals. I also incorporate architectural elements, such as Art Deco and pre-Columbian abstract geometry. The most challenging thing is the physical and chemical part of the process, as sometimes there can be unexpected reactions from metal, stones and certain chemicals. A problem can have many sources, and it requires research and creativity to solve each difficulty.

“I have taught the course "Production of Accessories" for the fashion curriculum at the Toulouse Lautrec institute, and held free workshops on wax carving for jewelry. One of my big dreams is to keep reaching more people by internationalizing art and designs. I hope to soon produce a line of recycled silver using material that customers exchange with us in order to reduce the environmental impact.

“I also plan to link my art with another of my projects--volunteering with psychiatric patients, which I have been doing for 8 years with the civil pro-mental health association that works in the Victor Larco Herrera state psychiatric hospital located in Lima. So far I have carried out the work separately as a volunteer, but we are already preparing the link between these two spaces. In the next few months I will start using my platforms (web and social networks) to collect funds and raise awareness about mental health in Peru. Much work remains to be done in mental health, and in the context of a pandemic, the needs have increased. I believe that we can all contribute to the well-being of Peruvians. I am very grateful to be part of the NOVICA family and to share my art with you.”