Into the Jeweler: Louise Konrad
Exploring the Artist’s Journey into Becoming an Intuitive Jewelry Maker.
Growing up in a small village in Switzerland, Louisa Konrad’s creativity blossomed influenced by the nature surrounding her Swiss home and her Thai roots. Splitting her time between the two, she noticed how the overarching contrast helped create her unique and individualistic style. I found this detail to be a sneak peak into her creative mind, as she notes during an interview with Les Nouvoux Riches, always trying to expose herself to new sensations as part of her process.
The desire to create was strong for Konrad from an early age and despite initially pursuing a traditional educational path, that spark remained. While working towards her anthropology baccalaureate in Switzerland, she juggled many different occupations like nursery nursing and a multitude of nightlife roles — a reality shared by many artists.
During this period of her life, Konrad discovered her passion for jewelry making. Later crafting her first ring in 2019 and officially launching the brand, Louise Konrad (not Vuitton as her instagram handle jokes).
From that moment, as the Love Island Brits famously say, Konrad put all of her eggs into the jewelry making basket saying good bye to anthropology, and making a significant career move to London. Konrad adds a “sorry Mom and Dad” anecdote during her interview for LNR regarding this major shift in her life, which is extremely relatable. This leap of faith was the beginning of a pattern I noticed when reading about the jeweler.
Something that stuck out to me in every article about Konrad was the continuous mentions of her intuition being the guiding force of her jewelry making, she describes her bold and stylistic designs as second nature. While much of her inspiration comes from connection to people and culture, she also touches on more complex influences like the concept of freedom.
Freedom as inspiration for a jewelry piece might seem abstract but she could also be referring to freedom in the jewelry making process. Konrad spoke about mindfully avoiding the influence of trends and feeling secure in her gut feelings, this could be that connection to the concept of freedom. After all, what’s more freeing than trusting yourself?
What I’ve learned of Louise Konrad through my deep dive of internet articles and some very heavy Instagram investigation, is that she encompasses an artist who continuously bets on herself. Following her gut at every corner, allowing mistakes and tears to become part of the learning process, and trusting that things will work out along the way. Thankfully it has lead to well-deserved success.
Featured in major publications like Vogue Netherlands, GQ, and Collector Magazine, her artistic journey continues to captivate. Check out her instagram @louisenotvuitton for ring stack inspiration and if you feel like feeding your shopping bug check out her site too!
Xx mamapachá
I love this!!!