Face to face: meet Tereza Drábková!

There are a whole bunch of lucky fellows between us, who have art and beadweaving enriching our lives day by day. But than there are the even luckier, who come from the country which manufactures most of the tiny, colorful beauties we use, and the famous city Jablonec nad Nisou with all its bead factories is only a matter of a short travel. Tereza Drábková is one of them.

Terka is one of the leading designers in contemporary beadwork and soutache embroidery, and not only in her home country. I admire her combination of the two techniques and how she plays with different colours and shapes. Indeed, I was really happy when she agreed to answer the questions for the new series “Face to face.”

From today, you will find here interviews with jewelry makers  and fashion designers every second week, Terka being the first one. Together with Terka I wish you a pleasent time reading!

Please tell us about yourself and your brand a bit!

My name is Tereza Drábková and I come from the land of beads – the Czech Republic. In the main time I’m a 25-year-old biology student, but in most of my free time I am a beader. I started beading in 2007, although a more important year is 2012 when I finally took my courage to try my hand at soutache embroidery. I adored this technique for quite some time and my friends were sending me inspirational images all the time, but there weren’t any tutorials or anything I could learn from, so I was a bit scared and definitely unskilled. Luckily, my first attempts didn’t end in one big disaster, and eventually I got much better at soutache embroidery. I wouldn’t say that I have some brand. I post my work either under my name or my old nickname TheTerezkaD which is a bit silly. I would like to change it because when I started using it, I’ve never imagined that I would be so successful as I am now… if I can call my situation a success 😀

How did your story as a designer begin? Do you remember the first piece you sold?

I would say that I just naturally evolved into something like a designer (I still do not dare call myself a designer :D) Firstly, beading was my hobby, so naturally I started to sell my stuff to get money for the supplies since I was only a grammar school student and couldn’t afford to buy much. I don’t really remember my very first sold piece, but the first piece I sold online was a pair of beadwoven pink beaded earrings.

Please tell us how does your average day look like! It’s so exciting to get to know more about the lifestyle of a designer!

My average day when the semester is on is not very interesting. I don’t usually have time to bead during the week, so I mostly bead during weekends. But now I have holidays which are probably my last ones, so I am trying to enjoy them as much as I can. I’ve been travelling quite a lot, spending time with friends, and when I’m actually home, then I – surprise, surprise – bead, and in the evenings I go running to do something for myself after a day spent sitting behind my desk.

What makes your designs stand out of the crowd of other designers? Which are your favorite colors, shapes, materials etc?

It is seriously hard to say. I know so many designers who are so much better than I am, so I am definitely not sure what makes me so special. Since I don’t make many big pieces of jewelry, I like looking for new color combinations that would make my pieces a bit more unique. I also like using quite a lot of beads while working with soutache because I like them shining in the soutache braids.
My favourite colours…wooow, that’s even harder! It changes all the time. Maybe, although I am not much of a “black person”, I like the combination of black and AB coating. I made quite a lot of pieces using this combination, and people like it very much, too. My most favourite materials are obviously soutache braids, and then TOHO seed beads.

For what kind of occasions can we wear your pieces? What’s the woman who wears your design like?

For every kind I would say. My most favourite class of jewellery is a pair of earrings. Preferably some big ones, because thanks to soutache braids I can make big earrings which aren’t too heavy for wearing, so woman can wear them all day – while they are working and then even in the evenings on a party with friends. Sometimes I feel like making something bigger. Then I usually decide to create either a headpiece or a necklace that can be worn to a ball or another more formal occasion. The most tricky ones for me are the bracelets, I don’t like them very much 😀

Where does your inspiration come from? Do you have some rituals to boost your creative energy?

I’ve found out that most of my inspiration comes from the actual creative process. Every time I finish something, especially some bigger piece, I am looking forward to making another thing, and the more I work, the more ideas I have. Then it is quite terrible when I have to stop beading because of school or because I am going away somewhere. On the other hand, sometimes it’s good to have a break, to get a new perspective on things. Concerning the energy boosting, I get the most positive kick from selling a piece – then I know that people like what I do, when they give me a positive feedback… Then I know that I do it the right way.

Do you have a piece of jewelry you made, that is somehow special to you?

Probably yes, but it’s not just about the piece, it’s about the whole process. When I made those earrings, it was winter, and I took them outside to take pictures as usual. But this time I took some pics I am really proud of because they looked like from some fairy tale – the colours, the snow falling. And this whole experience sort of connected with those earrings and they are still one of my most favourite ones.

If you could design something for a well-known person or maybe a fictional character from a film or book, who would it be, and why?

I must admit that I don’t have a dream like that. Or at least I’ve never been thinking about that  But I like fantasy very much, so if I should come up with something, then it would be designing or at least working on a dreamy dress for some elvish woman. That would be a great challenge.

What kind of clothes and accessories do you wear? Who are your favorite designers and why?

I used to wear a T-Shirt with jeans, so I didn’t wear too much accessories during those times. It changed when I grew up. Now I like wearing skirts with colourful stockings, nice tops, white shirts, jackets, and also various types of hats. My whole attitude to fashion changed and I quite enjoy looking good myself and also seeing other people looking all elegant and sharp. It makes your day simple better 😀 I do wear my accessories, mostly brooches and a different pair of earrings every day.
If I should mention some beaders whose things I like, then I would mention from Czech girls Nela Kábelová, Katka Václavíková, and Lea Paličková. Their stuff is just amazing..and from all around the world it would be Apollinariya Koprivnik,Irina Slobodyanik, Ann Braginsky, Jadwiga Betley, Dori Csengeri, Kaya Solovieva, and many many more including you! 🙂

Thank you, Terko!
What is your goal in the future? Where would you like to see your brand?

I have my own secret plans for the future that I would like to see happen. Maybe I will start working on them after I finish school, we’ll see. Nothing sure for sure 😛

Where can we see and buy your designs?

I have my own website where you can see my things:http://theterezkad.com or if you prefer Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/TheTerezkaD where you can contact me if you have some questions or want to buy my things. I don’t have my own Etsy show yet, but European customers can buy my things herehttp://www.fler.cz/theterezkad, or just simply write me an email 😉

Thank you very much for answering my questions, Terko!

I wish you a lot of luck for your final exams and also for your plans regarding your beautiful art!

Tell Tereza Drábková in a comment, how do you like her art!

And what do you think about the new series “Face to face!”

Whould you like to tell us more about your art and be featured in one of the upcoming interviews?

Don’t hesitate and drop me a line here 🙂