Nature is full of contradictions: strength and fragility, darkness and light. But it is not a universe made up of chaos. Uniformity, pattern and geometry also define the known world. Here are two designers who are inspired by the many faces and forces of nature.

Romanian designer Mihaela Grama chooses imperfect forms as a starting place for her organic jewellery pieces. Within the imperfections and quirks of the natural world, she finds the exquisite beauty that she attempts to translate into small, wearable sculptures. A particular set of earrings, for example, might be the echoes of tree roots alongside the regular patterns of the lines of a corn husk. 

“The whole collection is a description of me,” she says. “It describes moments of fragility and strength.” The juxtaposition of the weakness and strength captures not only the character of the artist, but it is also a human truth. We are drawn to the things that mirror our nature. “I am an extremely empathetic person and have a sensitive nature. Plants and the natural shapes and lines help me find balance.”

For Mihaela, making jewellery was a natural extension of a love of plants and flowers. “It was not a distinct goal I worked towards, rather something I evolved towards.” She undertook courses in jewellery making techniques and soon found herself exhibiting her work. 

Mihaela experiments with shape, colour and texture, staying close to the natural world that inspires her. Her pieces evoke roots, bark and husks, and have a tactile mystery that draws the attention. She hopes that her designs connect the wearer to the natural world

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Giacomo’s background as design engineer informed his very practical mind and technical finesse. He was drawn to jewellery design because of the creative freedom he found that it offered him. He found he loved to play in the world of beauty, rather than function.  

“When people wear my pieces, I want them to feel transported to deep space, a futurist world - like a dystopian movie.”

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Officine 19, founded by Italian designer Giacomo Pollesel, also creates pieces that are inspired by nature, but where Mihaela looks to the subtle intricacies and details of life on earth, Officine 19 are creating pieces that are inspired by the vastness of space and futuristic engineering. 

Natural lattice structures and honeycomb inspire the repeating patterns in some of his pieces, while others take their lead from lunar landscapes and Martian terrain. 

“My 2001 Bangle (whose name is inspired by Stanley Kubrick) is composed of hexagons that wrap around your arm,” explains Giacomo, “intricate honeycomb structures play with negative space, resulting in a highly recognisable design.”

The shape, he goes on to explain, is influenced by the greenhouse structures at the Eden Project in Cornwall, UK. The bangle showcases the digital manufacturing methods that Officine 19 uses to achieve such complex structures. “My process is digital. It is somehow unconventional compared to traditional craftmanship, being an experiment in merging art with engineering.”