People
Bloom Bazar: bloom of the bead
Bloom Bazar brooches. Photo © Bloom Bazar team
Bloom Bazar brooches. Photo © Bloom Bazar team
Bloom Bazar brooches. Photo © Bloom Bazar team
Bloom Bazar brooches. Photo © Bloom Bazar team
Bloom Bazar brooches. Photo © Bloom Bazar team
Bloom Bazar brooches. Photo © Bloom Bazar team
Bloom Bazar brooches. Photo © Bloom Bazar team
Bloom Bazar brooches. Photo © Bloom Bazar team
Antonina Kolesnikova, Bloom Bazar jewelry designer. Photo © Bloom Bazar team
When Antonina Kolesnikova, Russian designer of Bloom Bazar jewelry brand, was a little girl, she used to make bead bracelets, today she creates bead brooches. Except the basic knowledge of beadweaving, she needed the work experience in a glossy magazine. The result is childlike funny but adultly trendy.
–When did you start your way into fashion?
– My way into fashion has started perhaps since my birth. When I was a little girl I liked the way my mum dressed me. She gave me a special sense of style and interest to fashion. Being a teenager I studied at the model agency and took part in Kids fashion shows. Getting older I didn’t miss the chance to buy latest fashion magazines; I collected articles and made fashion collages. Then I wanted to get inside and to know what it’s like to create fashion. I was lucky to get a job at Conde Nast, in Glamour fashion magazine led by Masha Fyodorova.
– Before creating your jewelry brand you worked in fashion journalism. When did you realize that you are ready to start your own project? How did you create Bloom Bazar?
– The idea to create my own brand wasn’t the first thing that popped my mind. After leaving Conde Nast I worked as a freelance stylist for a short period of time and helped to promote one Moscow vintage show room. It was a chance to know one more side of fashion. I had freedom for self-expression and creativity in this sphere. This experience influenced my further development.
The idea to create my own brand started with a broken heart. My beloved man has left me and I had to go through rough times. The pain was so strong that my life turned into a simple existence. I understood it’s high time to rebirth. I thought over what I want and can do, then ideas came to my mind one by one. I wanted to create something unusual that modern fashionistas didn’t see yet. I found inspiration in everything, perused the internet and came across beads. I experienced that feeling and inspiration when I saw this material for the first time in my life. That’s how my beads affair began, I realized what I want and can do. It was a creative impulse.
– How does the fashion journalism experience help you in your new profession “jewelry designer”?
– I learned a lot working with Masha Fyodorova ( the editor in chief of Glamour Russia). I was her personal assistant and editorial assistant. I always watched the way she runs the fashion magazine and the way fashion editors choose clothes for photo sessions and get inspired. The most important thing I learned is to trust and hear myself.
– On your instagram page there are different jewelry pieces, but brooches are a lot more. Is brooch your favorite jewelry?
– Yes, it is. I have special relationships with brooches. I think, they are magic. I thought over the fact that this accessory is centuries-old, ancient brooches have special history. I can’t explain it, it’s like a detail that you always want to look upon and it flirts with you.
– Is it difficult to work with such material? Why beads?
– Bead is undeservedly depreciated and forgotten. This material has an ancient story, more than 5000 years. For so many years bead has managed to come down to us, which indicates its uniqueness. Why not restore the thing which had been so valuable in ancient times. I work only with Japanese beads of cylinder shape. First of all, Japanese bead is of the highest quality and that’s why it’s the most expensive. Secondly, one can make unusual designs of brick or as I call it “pixel” media. Thirdly, in my opinion, it’s the most beautiful material. Bead can be glossy, matted, silver, gleamy or even pearl. It makes the accessory look special, as if the brooch is painted. It’s not that easy to work with bead, simply because this material is very small, it’s a very painstaking and long work. But the result is worth doing it! Such bead accessories are very popular in Europe and Asia, I didn’t come across such things in our country.
– Bloom Bazar brooch collection has different series. Could you please tell about “World Icons” series? Who inspired you first?
– “World Icons” series is my own original idea from the design up to the colour scheme. As practically all my life is connected with fashion, I thought what would be interesting for the girls like me? Of course, it’s the opportunity to approach to the iconic people. What thing can be closer than a brooch on jacket’s lapel? Coco Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld were the first in this series. Then Ziggy Stardust, Audrey Hepburn and other world famous icons appeared as brooches. It’s my tribute to those people who left a mark in art, fashion and culture.
– “World Icons” is a big source for inspiration. Will you launch series devoted to the icons of Russian cinematography, music, art, etc?
– There are a lot of worthy, creative, unique people in Russia. I have different plans and ideas, but let’s leave them in secret.
Interview: Rimma Ismailova
