Designs with a difference! Kyeok Kim is not just another designer. She and her designs are all different, unusual and too cool. Her jewelry not only decorate your body, but holds the power to create beautiful glowing patterns, marks and impressions on your skin. How cool is that? I think tattoos are definitely getting out of fashion now. And here is what the diva herself has to say...
Q. What made you decide to get into this field?
Kim: well...Since I was young, I liked drawing sketch, so I had many experience to get drawing competition. And, I decided to go to art and design university naturally, and during university life, I was interested in metal work especially ornament because it is related to body naturally and directly.
Q. How do you define your jewelry?
Kim: I was interested in extending of jewelry’s conception from tangibility to intangibility. So, it can be conceptual jewelry, and also it can be one of direction for new perspective of jewelry. Actually, it is a kind of co-exist boundary (interactive jewelry?) between fashion and jewelry, or science and art, or design and craft.
Q. What is the inspiration behind your designs?
Kim: Every daily life is my inspiration.
Q. You have already gained wide acclaim for your work. Do you have any special honor in your mind, which you’d like to acquire?
Kim: When I got awards in graduation show in Royal College of Art, my head of department said to me ‘do your parents like award which you got?’ I said ‘yes, of course’, and he said to me ‘That is best to give present to them’. I am not sure it is right answer for this question. Every award I got was my special, and just I am happy to give present to my parents as my awards.
Q. You have a unique style of moving jewelry from the pedestal of design to an expression. Would you please substantiate a little further?
Kim: My sketch books filled with my writing instead of drawing. Because of this, I always start my design with my thinking such as value and conception, function; it follows the shape as well. I do not know how to explain about this question. Maybe I used to follows my ascetic language of form when concept to move to design.
Q. You merge body art, tattoo etc into jewelry. Is that easy?
Kim: I could not say it is easy or hard. But, body art and tattoo are expressions on the body same as jewelry. For me, these are same function and conception.
Q. Our reader would like to know something about the pricing of your design. How much and from where can they purchase these designs, or are they just concept designs?
Kim: Most of my works process with commission as selling. Among my works, ‘Aurora’ series are developing process, so people can buy after a couple of month, I have already many commission about that. To show prices of another works are heave to me now. People can buy through email to me. I will plane to make website to online shopping in this year hopely.
Q. While going through your design philosophy I found an interesting line “To me my work offers extra meaning, it has the potential for being a tool to communicate the sensory and emotional connections between both human beings and the ways in which on operates within a space”. Would you please expatiate how?
Kim: well... Every day, we use objects in spaces, the objects such as cups or pens, etc. always becomes tools to make connections body to spaces, it already have emotional aurora, just people cannot recognize that. Especially, I would like to make object such as jewelry or products which can make more emotional and sensory connection between human and space. It means I would like to make more emotional life with my design. That is the value which I can find out through design. Does it make sense? If you need more explain, I will.
Q. You have done a fabulous job as a designer, now may we have the honor of having a glimpse of your personal life.
Kim: I would like to say ‘Not yet’. I just graduated Master degree in London in last summer, and I just set my studio in Korea. I feel I just start my business and professional way. I hope I get big projects from companies and set my business of design go well.
