We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Annamaria Mikulik ("AM").

Annamaria Mikulik, the designer focusing on contemporary jewelry. She graduated from The Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia. She also studied at The University of Plymouth, Exeter, UK and National institute of design, CEPT, Ahmedabad, India. She is a member of Slovak Union of Visual Arts as well as Slovak Union of Contemporary Jewelry AURA. Her creativity is influenced by her various fields of studies.

Annamaria Mikulik Designs

We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Annamaria Mikulik.

Designer Interview of Annamaria Mikulik:

DI: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?

AM : I come from an artistic family background, which has helped me develop my craftsmanship and ambition to make own designs come to life. I was greatly influenced by my parents‘ work, their sculptures and the enamel jewelry they were creating.

DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?

AM : the design studio is divided into 2 separate departments. The first one is focusing on commercial jewelry lines and the other one stands for creating contemporary jewellery. In my design work, I use precious techniques – enameling / use of everlasting material, which in medieval times were used to create the most valuable jewels.

DI: What is "design" for you?

AM : I always loved miniatures and as a product designer, consider creating jewellery for product miniatures.

DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?

AM : The ones which make the eyes of customers „bling“.

DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?

AM : Most favourite design is the package with which won the 1st prize on an international packaging competition. The stylisation of this object is taken to an extreme.

DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?

AM : The first four collections of NATIF brand. It was very hard and the production and finishing technical details took a lot of time and patiance.

DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?

AM : Enamel. The material which she embedded in her work, something she took from mother and grandfather. The eternal and, by its quality everlasting material which is used from medieval times as a very precious jewellery making technique.

DI: When do you feel the most creative?

AM : Surrounded by beauty of any type. Perceiving and admiring what the world offers.

DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?

AM : Simplicity... making design as simple as possible.. striving to maintain its basic function.

DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?

AM : Tension and relief of emotions.

DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?

AM : Sweet taste of success and satisfaction.

DI: What makes a design successful?

AM : The more people it helps... the better.

DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?

AM : Seeing the path... The process which the designer had to go trough to the final point and the way he stylized it.

DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?

AM : Keeping things as simple as possible. Sometimes the easiest solutions are the best.

DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?

AM : There will always be a need for easthetics surrounding the lifes of all of us.

DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?

AM : Being part of JOYA Barcelona Contemporary Jewellery Fair was enriching in many ways. It‘s so far the highest goal reached.

DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?

AM : The world is fuller and fuller of millions of sources of inspiration. It‘s important to choose what is necessary and not to allow oneself become affected by things that aren‘t.

DI: How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?

AM : Studying toy design made works playful, while going through concept design studies has given the resources to use both the background and the authenticity to imprint own mark into the art world.

DI: Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?

AM : It‘s the role of a designer to cultivate the others‘ perspectives. The family and country heritage have deeply effected my work.

DI: How do you work with companies?

AM : Achieving balance between what they need and what is acceptable for a designer to create is crucial.

DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?

AM : Perceiving how the designer can balance between the usefulness and aesthetics of a product.

DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?

AM : Mind visualisation is preffer to 3D drawing - saves a lot of time.

DI: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?

AM : Silver flute, balet pointies, a piece of a natural artefact in a vase.

DI: Can you describe a day in your life?

AM : Waking up very early, adjusting the daily plan in the quiet morning, starting to work as early as possible, spending quality time with the family, sometimes working in the evening when the quietness arises again. Absorbing the environment and the surrounding life.

DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?

AM : Keep your fear of being copied short. There are many people on the planet. Sometimes it happens that few different people have similar ideas at the same time.

DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?

AM : Negatives: Being disturbed when surrounded by bad designs, kitch or unmatching colours.Positives: Having the ability to create beauty for others. Helping others to simplify their lives.

DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?

AM : Keeping it stupid-simple.

DI: What skills are most important for a designer?

AM : The ability to separate usefulness from uselessness. Creating things with a picture of eternal beauty in mind.

DI: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?

AM : Eyes closed and imagination.

DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?

AM : Sometimes you have to wait for the right moment of inspiration. Often working on the same few projects in the same time and going back to them after a while can freshen up your mind and save a lot of time.

DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?

AM : Sometimes it all happnes very fast. Crucial is the time preparing the design for production and reducing technological hurdles.

DI: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?

AM : If the holiday is necessary. People confuse designing for playing, and forget it’s a job as hard as any other job, with a background of entire years of studies, trials and errors.

DI: What was your most important job experience?

AM : New start of career as business owner and freelancer.

DI: Who are some of your clients?

AM : Mostly women who value good design and like to stand out of the crowd.

DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?

AM : Keeping the mind playful and open. Hiding into the inner world and diving into imagination.

DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?

AM : It’s important to keep the brand useful and delightful for customers. Keeping the traditional forms while coming with some new ideas.

DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?

AM : Working as a freelancer and cooperating with external coleagues or companies is always very enriching.

DI: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?

AM : Experimenting with posibilities of enamel is enriching and ful of inspiration.

DI: How can people contact you?

AM : Via website and social media.

DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?

AM : Designer is the one who perceives beauty in a specific way. Sometimes, this is about aesthetics globally. Therefore, they can move and blend their work between design fields gracefully.