The jewelers are, very often, also sculptors: as Bibi van der Velden, appreciated young Dutch designer. Bibi began his own career as a sculptor and in her work there is also a hint of Italy: he studied, in fact, at the Florence Academy of Arts, as well as at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam and at the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague. It is family tradition: the mother was herself a sculptress. And with her in 2005, Bibi opened an atelier in Amsterdam. With time, however, his attention was directed on the jewelry. His first collection was published in 2006, it consists of a series of pieces made with parts of antiques purchased in Florence. Unusual materials, in short. And this has been in part her style: it’s a mix of gold, diamonds or precious stones with ancient jade, beetle wings. And even with mammoth ivory to 400 thousand years old that comes from Siberia. But, of course, not all jewelry collections are made drawing on the past. For the recent Dream of a Midsummer Night collection the mix it’s among the imagination of Shakespeare and that of Bibi van der Velde. Gold and emeralds, pearl and rock crystal are joined with small forms of animal camouflaged among the bezels. Here are some pictures of the collection. Matilde de Bounvilles
