In the not too distant past there were people whom I could identify immediately from their handwriting. (Some of them I could even simulate – like my mom during high school years.) Nowadays there is no uniqueness in all those Times New Romans, Arials and Sans Serifs. Howevere, there are people who are capable of leaving behind a charismatic and unique signature even in the virtual space. Apollinariya Koprivnik or as beaders know her, Pikapolina is definitely one of them.
She’s only 27, and has an incredibly creative mind.
Pikapolina’s jewelry looks like a miniature but complex construction site
overflowing with luxurious building material.
You will find here interviews with jewelry makers and fashion designers every second week. Together with them I wish you a pleasent time reading!
Please tell us about yourself and your brand a bit!
I am 27 years old, and I live in Maribor, the Eastern part of Slovenia with my small family. Originally I am from the Siberian part of Russia. I am a very curious and creative person in a way of combining colors and different crafting techniques. I was visiting drawing classes in primary and high school. Than I decided to study architecture, so I took composition and descriptive geometry classes, too. And then during my studies on the faculty of architecture I moved to Slovenia and finished my studies here. So I think this is the beginning of my beading story.
I had a box of beads with me.
I was collecting beads just as stamps or coins,
but then I tried to sew them on
and make simple brooches – just for fun.
The winner of Pikapolina’s Rhombus earrings tutorial is Alison Dawson!
Congratulations, Alison, Polina will send you the pattern herself!
If you didn’t win, you can purchase the tutorial here:Pikapolina Rhombus earrings tutorial.
How did your story as a designer begin? Do you remember the first piece you sold?
I think actually at that time I didn’t realize, that I will get a serious crush on jewelry, beads and crystals. I was just following “my instincts” step by step, and once I reached the point where there is no way back, where I became obsessed with this form of art. I cannot live a day without it – it is not a hobby or work, it is a way of living. My first pieces were sold to my mother in law’s coworkers and friends. The prices were symbolic, but I had a chance to buy new material and to try new shapes and combinations. My brooches were really simple, so I tried to make bracelets, then that was not enough and finally I tried necklaces.
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!
I am lucky to have my beading life as a prime source of my income. So mostly I work home and my day starts from walking my dog Charlie and planning my schedule. I continue to work with projects already started or I start a new one. Maybe I pack orders or finish schemes for tutorials. But it is all in my studio corner, where I am surrounded with my bellowed beads and crystals. Usually I am working on two projects at once if possible – one made to order and one other as a free project or competition, or just a tutorial piece. I try to keep materials in order, even when I work I put all my beads in one place and never mix different colors. Just for the photos I simulate disorder for more creative pictures 🙂
What makes your designs stand out of the crowd of other designers? Which are your favorite colors, shapes, materials etc?
I think my advantage is my profession. I am happy that I was taught all the creative subjects as are composition, color combination, drawing, graphics, history of art and architecture and so on. I think it became sort of an inner voice for me.
For what kind of occasions can we wear your pieces? What’s the woman who wears your design like?
I think my favorite pieces are statement necklaces and jewelry with a story behind. They are made for special occasions or even for a special day at work. For me it is important to make a piece that would stand out, but at the same become an integrated part of an outfit. I have also smaller jewelry for everyday life, just to make a day brighter!
Where does your inspiration come from? Do you have some rituals to boost your creative energy?
My inspiration comes from different sources, such as nature and traveling. It can be just a fresh morning walk, and after I am back home, I feel like I want to pour all my new emotions into a new piece of jewelry. Also new material can inspire me easily. That moment when I unpack new crystals – oh my, I instantly want to try something new! But it is also easy to lose the wave of inspiration sometimes. When it happens I just try to do something else, finish the laundry or clean the apartment, go for a walk or cook something special. But if these methods are helpless, I do shopping for new items, it will definitely help!
Do you have a piece of jewelry you made, that is somehow special to you?
I think each competition piece is special for me. There is always a story behind the idea. For example I really like the My Religion Necklace that was made specially for the Swarovski Russia Competition organized by crystal-world.ru. The theme was to use Swarovski crystals fromthe Spring-Summer Collection 2016, where there are more religious shapes as Buddha, Greek cross, Fatima hand and a clover. And my idea was not to dedicate the necklace to some particular theme or religion, but to create symbols to unite all in one – as each would see its own meaning.
And from the other hand “my religion” means my art – the way I dedicate myself to what I create.
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 would like to make a piece of jewelry for an Art Nouveau or Art Deco (Gatsby inspired) era woman. Slender, feminine, chic and elegant. My second dream piece of jewelry is kind of theatrical, dramatic, costume type of jewelry. Maybe a chest or shoulder piece.
What kind of clothes and accessories do you wear? Who are your favorite designers and why?
I love to wear big rings. I have a collection of handmade rings from different materials from designers across the world and I also have a few of mine, that were made for “testing”. I can’t name a particular designer, there are so many of them – well known and beginners, with own personality and point of view.
I adore artists with their own vision, statement and style.
What is your goal in the future? Where would you like to see your brand?
I am so happy that I can create my own jewelry and I am very grateful for the support I get from my family, friends, my students and costumers. I would like to dedicate even more time to my brand – I started to create tutorials for beaders, teach classes. My dream goal is to open my studio, where I will be able to create more and once to have a real local shop, where you could find many interesting materials, where I would organize workshops and create!
Where can we see and buy your designs?
You can find me on pikapolina.com, there I introduce only my favorite pieces, but I am very active on instagram as@pikapolina, I post work in progress, all news, inspiration photos and many other things connected with my art.
Thank you very much for answering my questions, Polina!
I wish you a lot of success and inspiration in the future, too!
Tell Pikapolina 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 🙂
This is the first time I have heard of Pikapolina and I like seeing new artists /designers and hearing about their process. It inspires me to maybe take the leap from beading for a hobby to maybe expanding to something more. I’m still not sure though since the more I read about what goes into actually making a living is a lot of different things to think of besides beading (marketing, management of finances and inventory, pricing, photography, thinking who my target client should be, etc.) To tell the truth, it daunts me a little. To bad there isn’t a place that can take care of all that and just let me bead ….
I am happy I managed to bring an artist closer to you, Linda!
And yes, true, it’s very demanding to make a living as an artist (I am only at the beginning of the process, so I still have to learn a lot.), but also very enjoyable. There are tons of marketing, learning html and graphic design programs, figuring out how wordpress works, improving photography etc.
Sometimes I am frustrated about all the extra stuff I have to do, but I think I wouldn’t even enjoy my new path so much if every day was the same.
Erika, Once again you have featured an incredible artist. One so young, it goes to show you that age is not relevant. What is and shows thru her work is the passion inside her soul. Her style is that of a freeform artist but with the discipline that her architecture background brings to her designs. From her designs you see the element of “what ifI do this” which brings the element of surprise to her design. All I can say is BRAVO.
Wish her my joy as she travels her path and that she is able to attain all of her dreams and goals.
Linda, I enjoyed to read your words about Apollinariya very much, and totally agree with you: freeform with discipline and the joy of experimentation. I am really curious, to, where will it all go in the future. Let’s keep an eye out for Pikapolina, shall we? 🙂