Beauty has always been important to people. Interview with Mirek Trymbulak and Jola Słoma

Introduction

The intersection of the worlds of fashion and cuisine is a fascinating phenomenon, especially when such passionate people as Mirek Trymbulak and Jola Słoma are at the helm. Known for Atelier Smaku, where their culinary creations have won the hearts of many — now they surprise with unique jewelry designs. Where did this idea come from and what does their journey from kitchen to jewelry look like? We invite you to read.

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Conversation

Beata Bochinska: We all know you from many different projects. The most important for me is the one that I call educational and culinary. For years you have been running Atelier Smaku, a concept of vegan flavors that have appeared on our Polish tables, thanks, among other things, to your determination, and delicious cuisine. In the meantime, you published books and became culinary influencers and suddenly... jewelry? Where and why this idea?

Mirek Trymbulak: It may look like this, but in fact, before we took up the kitchen building a café-gallery that led to our tailor shop, we were engaged in art.

Jola, when we first met, was a jeweler. Then she danced in the dance theater, and a moment earlier she ended her episode related to her rock career on stage. I have always wanted to design fashion, and Jola decided to join me for practical reasons - to spend more time together. We have been a team ever since, both at work and in our married life. So we spend a lot of time together.

At one point, we designed jewelry for one of the collections that we showed in London. This is how Soul Bijou was created a dozen years ago. In turn, a few years ago, the Amber Museum approached us with a question about whether we wanted to create jewelry for the store located there. We remembered a few things that “linger” somewhere in the closet. They went to the store, then they were discovered by a merchant from China and we got serious about jewelry, which has always been accompanied by Baltic amber, and for some time now the masks of our friend - the famous artist Sergio Boldrin from La Bottega dei Mascareri in Venice. There is also a series with Murano glass... These things connect us even more with our beloved city on the water.

B.B.: We are currently living in such a moment in our human history that existing paradigms are being turned upside down. I would like to talk to you about values, but let's start with a topic that has always been associated with jewelry, that is, with the concept of luxury. What is luxury for you and how do you think the younger generation sees it?

INCL.: The new generations have always seen all issues differently than their parents and grandparents. Luxury is the same. The concept of luxury has changed over the centuries and years. Just as our priorities change. For our parents, it was a luxury to go abroad, a little later for us an all-inclusive vacation, and during the pandemic it turned out that luxury is to go to the park. For the new generation, it can be a luxury not to own anything with the ability to use everything at the same time. At the same time, watching the news from the world, one can come to the conclusion that nowadays it is increasingly a luxury to live in a place that is not threatened by natural disasters, to have access to healthy water and healthy food.

However, when it comes to jewelry, we create objects that have their value, if only because of the amount of silver and materials used. These are collectibles, not mini trinkets kept in the current trendy capitalist tendencies. Sometimes they require raising the right amount of money, which may seem not small. However, in the current economic situation, the cost of buying unique jewelry is worth several not necessarily full baskets of food bought at a discount. At the same time, even with a high price for jewelry, an artist earns an hour less than all the specialists he has to call when his tap or light breaks... For us, the greatest luxury is the free time that we can devote to our passions.

B.B.: Jewelry has been changing for many years. It is no longer beauty, ore and precious stones, but the specific, expressive style and message it carries that matter more and more — how do you see the role of contemporary jewelry worn on a daily basis with jeans rather than ball gowns?

INCL.: I think we're specific here and we like to be expressive. Jola wears large, visible objects. Our men's jewelry is also not small, so it is difficult for us to be objective in this matter. Our clients also like these things because they can be seen.

However, they often do not wear, for example, our masks every day, which is why we have created the possibility of hanging the pendant with the mask in a frame and placing the whole on the wall to please the eye every day. They willingly buy this option out of infatuation with the Venetian mask that they want to look at every day, even when they are not wearing it, and then fortunately it turns out that they feel great in this large piece of jewelry that goes perfectly with turtlenecks, sweaters, although not only. By presenting jewelry on herself, Jola often breaks stereotypes and thus educates others.

B.B.: You play with flavors, you yourself are colorful, expressive, aesthetically created characters. How do you see the evolution of the modern fashion world and in this context - jewelry?

INCL.: We are too old to care what others think and say about us. We've been working together creatively for too long and we've seen a lot. It's a waste of time on poor quality and anyquality. The so-called “national average” was never for us. After all, Iris Apfel did not look at others either.

It's nice that the new generations are becoming more and more courageous and that they are manifesting it. Even if someone does not like it, then it is expressive. The older generations have always said “Ah this youth of today”, and then they scared us with electricity, cars or computers.

B.B.: What emotional message does your jewelry convey?

INCL.: The world is going in two directions. Some will forget and get lost in it, others will appreciate values and craftsmanship. Our jewelry has always been created under the idea of “DRESS YOUR SOUL”. The one with the masks additionally has the inscription: “MASCHERA — VESTITO PER L'ANIMA” (meaning “mask is clothing for the soul”), because each of us wears many masks every day to play all the necessary roles. However, under the mask lies our true spiritual and eternal identity, of which even we ourselves are often unaware. It is worth exploring this world and developing it in yourself, because only the intangible will go with us in the end.

B.B.: Why is playing with flavors, conventions and aesthetics important? Why are you going against the minimalist trend?

INCL.: Our large designs have always been eclectic-baroque, yet with an admixture of loft aesthetics with a grain of salt. That is why we feel perfectly in Venice, where the art of yesteryear and supersaturation mix with what contemporary artists offer.

In food, on the other hand, we mix flavors that we know from childhood with what is safe for our health and for many people. A kitchen for people with intolerances cannot be a prosthesis to which one is doomed for the rest of his life. It is supposed to be tasty and evoke pleasant memories. It is intended to allow those who have to avoid many ingredients in their food to meet at the same table with those who value taste in food. Are we going against the current? Hmm, it seems to us that we are often ahead of trends.

B.B.: Lifestyle has changed dramatically in the last 10 years. Before our eyes, everything became more standardized, globalized, until here suddenly, after the pandemic that stopped the world in place, the need for locality, individuality and freedom erupted, also in the aesthetic area. Do you think this trend will continue? Will we appreciate diversity?

INCL.: As we mentioned, we believe the world will split and go both ways.

B.B.: You started using amber in your jewelry. Or is it just because it is our natural, native treasure?

INCL.: Yes, jewelry with amber has always accompanied our fashion collections. Amber delighted us with its diversity and unpredictability. We love discovering it and infecting others with it.

B.B.: What are your future plans for the development of your jewelry line? Will amber be present in it? I'll admit, I'm just discovering it.

INCL.: We create and live at the beginning and end of the amber route, that is, between Gdańsk and Venice. So it will certainly be present and visible in what comes out of our studio.

B.B.: Who is the customer who buys your jewelry? How would you describe their needs and characteristics?

INCL.: Women who value individualism, independent, who don't care what anyone thinks about how they look, how they present themselves and what choices they make. I think it's the same with men. They need to like themselves and feel good in their skin. Even the most beautiful and exclusive jewelry will not make us feel better when we are not comfortable with ourselves.

B.B.: Where do you get your inspiration from? Who do you really admire as a jewelry maker?

INCL.: We do not have specific creators and patterns. However, it is fluid, it changes. It's like decorating an apartment - first you paint the walls in intense colors, later you start to miss the color of concrete and white, and then you feel like color again.

B.B.: Why is beauty so important to all of us in the 21st century? Why do we need to correct, aesthetize, stylize and decorate ourselves and the world around us?

INCL.: It has always been important, except that the way it is expressed and the beautified object/object changed. We define and perceive them differently over the years.

Illustrations:

1. Jola Słoma while working on new projects.
2. SOUL BIJOU jewellery by Jola Słoma and Mirek Trymbulak at the exhibition of Polish amber culture and art “Instant And Eternity — Moment and Eternity” at the National Museum in Tianjin, China.
3. Details of the mask by Sergio Boldrin with author elements by Jola Słoma and Mirek Trymbulak.
4. Mirek Trymbulak while working on new projects.
5. Earrings POLKA DOTS 01. By Jola Słoma and Mirek Trymbulak.

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