Its birth

In 2017, life gave me the most beautiful gift as I became a mother to a little girl named Vaea.

This period was a trigger for me to reconnect with what characterizes me above all: to continue to express and transmit my creative universe.

My favorite means of expression to communicate my creativity is photography which I have been practicing forever. However, I felt that I was missing an additional communication medium to express everything I had in me. My visual work was no longer enough, and I needed something manual in addition to bring certain ideas, emotions, and feelings to life in a more concrete way.

In 2018, it was obvious, I decided to reconnect with jewelry that I discovered in the early 2000s.

But why jewelry?

I consider these small objects as carriers of meaning. They are not just simple material objects. For me, a piece of jewelry is mostly linked to an emotion, a feeling at a key moment in a person's life, a witness of a moment in life. It has, in a way, the same characteristics as a photograph, whose purpose is to convey an emotion and keep a record of a past moment. I consider that it conveys the deep values of friendship, love, and respect for others. Thus, I imagine jewelry as a precious amulet that resonates with its wearer, has the power to elevate their consciousness, inspire their life and magnify the body and mind. Just as we can feel intense emotions when faced with a grandiose landscape in nature, a piece of jewelry worn on oneself triggers emotions, through its history, its intention, and its origin.

My wish today is to combine these two complementary means of expression, photography, and jewelry, into a single message to convey my creative universe through visual and manual work.

Vaea designs's brand story : the name meaning

Vaea is a whole name, a whole universe. It is the name of my daughter, who was born in 2017 and it means "Sovereign who has shared the great ocean" in Polynesian language, according to the myths and legends of the archipelago. It also means "small state of peace". It is a name that relates to the creation of the world, the earth, its raw landscapes, and its associated legends. As you can imagine, it is my main source of inspiration.

My Nordic-Scottish origins lead me to focus my inspiration for my work on Nordic countries such as Iceland, the land of my heart, where we share a common ancestor.

I decided to bring together my photography and jewelry-making activities under one banner, Vaea Designs. Just like my photos are the result of a reflection on composition to convey my creativity in the moment, which stems from wandering in nature and manually choosing the settings when capturing, my jewelry is also imbued with this approach. They are handcrafted and are the result of a creative process that begins with the surrounding nature. This feeling is then developed not in nature, but at the workbench by shaping the material.

Its inspirations

If I had to sum up my sources of inspiration in one word, it would be Nature, it's the cement of the Vaea Designs brand story. Since I was a little girl, nature has been an integral part of my life, my education and my values. With Scottish origins and having lived and traveled in places closely related to it, I grew up alongside it.

I have learned to respect her, to be humbled by her and to be deeply grateful for all that she has offered me so far. Thus, whether in my photographs or in the jewelry I create, nature remains omnipresent. In fact, my jewelry often comes to life after taking a photograph of a landscape that touched me at that moment.

These views are often the trigger of a vision, emotions, and feelings that I try to transmit as much as possible in my work, both visually with photography and more concretely with jewelry.

 My inspirations come mainly from a raw and hostile nature, from Nordic landscapes and from Iceland, my heartland with which I share the same ancestors and roots. They are imprinted with oceanic markers, such as water and all that surrounds it. The mineral marker is very present with everything related to the Earth, its geology, its colors, its strength and its forms. My travels are also undeniably a source of inspiration. Thus, we find of course this nature under various forms and interpretations, but also a symbolism related to the cultures and civilizations that emerged in its heart.

Its core values

I place great importance on ensuring that my work respects the values and principles to which I am deeply attached. Whether it is in the production of my photographs or in crafting my jewels. Respect for nature and the resources I use are at the forefront of my creative process.

When I go shooting outside, I make sure that my presence does not alter the surrounding nature. I am careful not to disturb the local fauna or damage its flora. Similarly, when I sit down at my bench to create a piece of jewelry, I only use recycled raw materials and stones that have complete traceability and transparency, confirming respect for the earth during their extraction, as well as respect for the people who work on the ground.

You may also find various materials such as pieces of wood, pebbles, etc. in my jewels. All these small elements are picked up during my wanderings in nature, without any impact on it. Every detail is thought out in accordance with these values, to respect them, down to the packaging of my jewelry. The pouches are made of cotton from responsible supply chains, and the ink I use to manually stamp my logo on them is vegetable-based. The small cardboard boxes I use to prepare your orders are made from FSC® 100% eco-friendly certified cardboard.