Hi Rockstar, welcome to my world of goldsmithing.
I am so very happy to be here. Would you like to know, how I became a jewelry maker?
Keep on reading.
“Used to be a fulltime lawyer, now I’m having fun”
One night, I sat on my couch, recovering from a serious concussion which already lasted for a few months. I had thought of some things to keep myself busy with during this recovery period and found out that too much reading, watching tv and screentime didn’t do me much good. So I started making drawings, paintings and little bracelets with beads.
But this night something really cool happened. All of a sudden I thought of my grandmothers jewelry box. A beautiful beautycase that I got when she passed away. I had to do something with those jewels because, some of them were – how do I say this right – … not very hip. Most of the jewels I didn’t wear and I never knew where to find someone who could make these jewels into something fancy that I would wear myself. Besides, before the concussion I was a real careergirl and therefore always working. I never made the time to search for a goldsmith. So perhaps this was another thing I could be busy with right now.
“This would be the beginning of something really awesome”
I searched on the internet and Google hit a few goldsmiths. The first website I opened was from Edelsmederij van der Leen. It appeared to me that this place was only a few blocks away from my home and the jewelry presented there looked stunning. I scrolled through the website and then it HIT me: there were classes !
I just sat there and stared for a moment. Could I be doing this? Could I remake my grandmothers jewels, mySELF?
When I was a kid I stopped at every jewelry store to look at the shiny beautiful jewelry. And by the time I got pocket money, I spent it on all that glitters.
My heart leaped, I just HAD to do this. This would be the beginning of something really awesome.
“I figured, this was my chance to change my life and follow my heart”
After a few months of lessons in the studio of Edelsmederij van der Leen, I could not imagine me doing something else anymore. My creativity was encouraged so much, an aspect of me that I repressed for a long time. Being a fulltime lawyer, did not allow me to express my creativity this much. I figured this was my chance to change my life and follow my heart.
I got myself a cute little atelier in Utrecht and I found some great teachers at the Van Tol en Breet Academie in Den Bosch to share theirs skills with me. These courses gave my work quite a boost. My ideas keep on coming and I have great plans to make the world a little more ROCKSTAR.
My own brand, my design, my ROCKSTAR vision is here for you now. Rockstar pieces are unique, fashionable and somewhat edgy, of course! Rockstar is meant for all of you who seek something extra in life, get out there, work hard, play harder, dance on the table, go after your dreams. Embrace the extraordinary.
Looking forward to meet you so we can create your ROCKSTAR piece together and bring to shine whatever you can imagine.
~ Ymke François ~
