NAULA STUDIO

This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea…

— Shakespeare, Richard II (1595)

   GOOD SESSIONS
Could you introduce yourself in a few lines? 

   NAULA STUDIO
I am from New Caledonia, a French island located in the Pacific Ocean. The leitmotiv of my work is my Pacific origins, I am also fascinated by futuristic scenarios. I feel the urge to give back to my island and spread the indigenous stories through minimal and futuristic designs. I intend to create more than simple jewelry pieces, but rather ‘artifacts’ holding ancestral and mystical power.

I completed my studies at the Design Academy of Eindhoven in the department «Man and Identity». It is after a few projects working with metals, that I decided to start my own jewelry line next to my studies. In 2019 I interned for Chrishabana in New York, where I realize projects for celebrities such as Christina Aguilera. Later I shortly interned for Parts of 4 in Bali, Indonesia. You can see my collection Alliage-Cu29Zn30 in the Design Museum of Denbosch, Netherlands.

   GS
Can you give us some information about your background, education, training formation. How did you come to what you do today?

   NS
I am Loan Favan, a jewelry designer, art director, and the founder of Naula_studio, currently based in Bali, Indonesia. I was born and raised in New Caledonia. I am mixed blood with various ethnicities; half Vietnamese, French, Irish, Indian... I have followed my school years until high school in New Caledonia. I tried to take as many art classes as I could, choosing a literature curriculum to be able to practice art 8 hours per week.

Pursuing my dream of becoming an artist/designer on an international level I went to Auckland, New Zealand where I completed a Cambridge certification to study abroad with a sufficient English level. I followed a MANAA at Ecole Boulle in Paris, where I discovered the different design fields. And I started understanding that my dream of working in fashion from the early age of 5 was possible.

I discovered the Design Academy Eindhoven and fell in love with the conceptual and free-minded educational system. I followed a bachelor program in the department ‘Man and Identity’ and discovered many sides of my artistic personality; my fast pace of work, my love for aesthetical pieces and their craft, and my will to tell authentic stories.
The academy also provided a rich creative surrounding for me. I met various other creatives who lead me into the person I am today. Even tho I was not in a jewelry school, the DAE gives me the freedom to express my full character and potential with access to many workshops and a large range of assignments.

   GS
If you graduated from School, what do you keep from this experience (network, methodology/structuration, investigation)

   NS
Being able to follow such prestigious studies abroad was such a privilege for me coming from this small island. It’s almost like I could not believe it some days. The ‘open mind’ and ‘curiosity’ spirit of the school is something I would always keep within my practice and myself. But most of all I keep amazing memories and discoveries on both theoretical and practical levels. I also met other amazing creatives who I believe I will be working with in the future.

One piece of advice I will never forget «do whatever you like, never listen to anybody but you, we love seeing you and what you do». It reinforced my confidence to exist as an individual creative, and I think all of us should stick to this motto. Therefore I would say that I kept a spirit and motto of trusting myself. And provide supporting work for my ideas and this dreamy vision of «everything is possible».

   GS
Are you a designer, an artist? Is it important to make a difference?

   NS
The line is blurry, already in my education we are trained to be ‘designers’ but we graduate with an ‘art degree’. So for me, I am a bit of both, grand in expression, but also generous as a spirit as I create a product accessible for a general use/public.
In my view, the difference might not exist.
I see more difference between a creative and a technician, for instance, the conceptual and the practical. But we have to agree that both are interconnected and can be one person...

   GS
Where do you find inspiration? What are the themes touched by your work?

   NS
I find inspiration back in my roots, within the spirits around me and the stories of my island and others. I explore identity, protection, belief, sacred, futuristic, sense of belonging, power, vulnerability, industrial vs craft... all in all a bit of humanity.

   GS
Can youf highlight some of your influences and explain how it impacts your ideas? Are they evolving or changing with time?

   NS
The challenge for me is to project my understanding of our humanity and its past in the future. It can be inspired, by my origins and the will to spread our culture or even imagine what this culture will be in 2000 years.

Therefore I am influenced by many sources, art, design, a lot of fashion, and new platforms such as Instagram, where a lot of visuals and new ways of conceiving are shared. But I am also just a big storyteller. I love to imagine scenarios (rather dystopian) to fantasies about the next Human.

I feel like my inspirations are also related to me and my current emotions. I don’t create solely for myself, but I am the channeling body for the work. It often starts with a fantasy of who or what I would like to be or become or a reaction to the world around me.

   GS
Is there a past or a personal interest that we should know to understand your work?

   NS
I’m interested in humans and their past, how our ancestors came to live before and within us, leaving us an incredible amount of beliefs, cultures, and constructs. I’m fascinated by the indigenous cultures.
But I am even more interested in the possibilities of the Human, what it could become, and how this legacy can transform into...
On a more practical note, I always want to learn a new skill. This curiosity pushed me to learn jewelry making for instance.

   GS
If you're now living in a different country than your original one, does this mix of culture have an impact on you, your work and ideas?

   NS
I just moved from the Netherlands to Bali, and for me, it’s a relief to finally have found a place looking and feeling like home and where I am also able to create. I have always been thorned between my island home (New Caledonia), its beauty and warm way of life, and the pursuit of my passion. It’s two things that could not co-exist as the artistic studies are not available there and the resources to produce and opportunities neither.

Living in Bali awakens my spirituality, after all, it’s called ‘the island of gods’. It’s filled with spirits, energies, and tales. Therefore it encourages me to explore my storytelling deeper. Bali also pushes to create differently because the means of creation here are different. I need to adapt to production and materials availability and specifications.
But the world is so interconnected that getting services or goods delivered online is so easy.

   GS
Do you see any difference between these two countries and systems regarding art and design?

   NS
Bali is more connected to art and design than New Caledonia, they have a big part of their economy based on it with a lot of workshops producing furniture, objects, and art pieces for the home.
Therefore you have access to materials and facilities to create from conventional pieces to crazy customs. But I think Bali and New Caledonia are a bit more traditional than the Netherlands when thinking about design and art. The level of freedom and conceptuality that I have seen and learned in the Netherlands is not something that is easily graspable back on islands and also not integrated the common taste.

   GS
How important is the process in your work facing aesthetic or functionality?

   NS
In my process, aesthetics and functionality need to go hand in hand. Especially in my jewelry work where the pieces need to be wearable yet beautiful in their look and meaning. I must admit I prioritize aesthetic and storytelling in my designs, it’s the core of my identity.

Then from there I try to think about the practical side and realize the piece myself. When I am making the piece for the first time I’m directly confronted with the reality of the jewelry’s function and I must correct some designs for them to ‘work’. I have recently started producing with some manufacturers which bring new challenges and can transform the piece again.

   GS
How do you make your choice of process, materials, esthetic? Do you have a "method" like first the material then the process or the reverse…

   NS
While designing for me it’s important to start from a story, my pieces need to tell something; it could be fictional or real but it has to have meaning and soul.
From there I start mood boards and research inspirational elements for my pieces. I then abstract shapes and organically create the pieces (in real, I don’t sketch too much, although I must say this starts to get into my practice), with a constant rule in mind: the piece should convey the collection’s story. I also sometimes just try to make variations from my existing pieces, drifting creations...

   GS
How would you describe your work to someone who's not used to the art and design's world ? A complete newbie.

   NS
I would simply say that I am a jewelry designer and art director. I get inspiration from my New Caledonian island culture. I try to convey our stories through jewelry. I have a minimal and raw style, also futuristic.

   GS
What do you aim to say in general through your pieces? 

   NS
I want to create more than just jewelry, but rather artifacts that hold ancient spiritual force and protect their wearer.
I want my work to be authentic, a tribute to where I am from. And a reflection on where we could go or what we could be (in a futuristic sense).

   GS
What are you expecting from viewers to note when they see your work? 

   NS
I do not know if I can expect them to see something special. I am always surprised by their reaction, some people get quite deep into what the pieces meant for them.
But as an ultimate goal, I would love people to see the artifact quality in my pieces, the Pacific influence, and the futuristic fantasies I project onto them.

   GS
If they understand or feel something different than what you meant to say or suggest, is that a problem? What does it do or would do to you?

   NS
I think it is interesting. I feel like it’s a privilege to hear people’s views on my work. Some brought me different perspectives or things I did not see fully myself. I think we learn and evolve with the public’s eye, it encourages me to take different roads or sometimes to confirm mine more boldly.

   GS
What relationship do you have with digital? 

   NS
Personally, I love the digital world and I am trying to shift more towards it and blend it with my jewelry physical practice. The digital world opens a new range of possibilities and you can create projects that would be impossible in the real world. I am a lot on social media, I think it’s a wonderful way to convey stories and showcase your work but also meet and connect with new creatives.

   GS
As you noticed :),  the world is going through a global pandemic, does it have an impact on you, your work or project(s)? 

   NS
On a practical note, I have had delays in my plans and had to shift digital for a lot of things. But I am used to it, I have always been very far from home and using digital platforms regularly.
Those delays surely had me a bit frustrated but I always had my studio to create, a room and a camera to shoot. I think being able to create and keep my online brand helped me going through the lockdowns.

During this pandemic I also went home, to New Caledonia, as at some point the world was super insecure and I had a repatriating flight opportunity. It was unexpected yet I used this time to teach within the design field back home. 
I had the chance to share my knowledge and encourage the next design/art generation in New Caledonia, something which is close to my heart.

I am personnaly a lot interested by dystopian scenarios and well we are sort of facing one right now. I will be taking inspiration from it in my work. But it is something I have been reluctant to do at the beginning as it was sensitive subject, I will when the time is right.

   GS
Any piece of advice for young people to enter the world and system of contemporary creations? 

   NS
I think there is no perfect advice apart from ‘stay through to yourself’ and ‘show the world you true colors’.
Contemporary creation is so vast, I keep on being surprise, so there is no rule for me or recipe for success other than being yourself fully. I think that’s what we all want to see, more authenticity.

   GS
Do you have a new project in mind? Or a more global concept or vision you'd like to investigate in?

   NS
I am currently working on finishing a new collection designed in collaboration with another jewelry designer friend. This collection is inspired by global warming and the dramatic massive fires that happened earlier in Australia and California.

I am also currently investigating the Futurism of Pacific culture, researching into my island roots with a futuristic approach. I am developing a new project on this subject entitled NGEI ‘soon in the future’ Nengone projecting the ancestral culture into a farfetched future where the artifacts are translated into massive jewelry ornaments.

In general, I am focusing on showing my island origins and stories through my jewelry brand Naula Studio.

@naula_studio