Federikas – In The Spotlight

The jewelry designers at Federikas Vintage Filigree Jewelry (FVF) are mother and daughter with several decades of design experience. Jewelry Art is the perfect description for their beautiful creations. When looking at these pieces, they almost tell a story. Your mind bounces from the beautiful gems to the filigree as they compliment each other so very well. Pura has taken a few minutes to share their story with us.

Please give us a brief bio – introduce yourself.

Federikas Vintage Filigree is made up of a mother and daughter team.  We come from a very artistic family and have been designing jewelry and many other arts for the past 25 years or so.  We are passionate about creating!  Some years ago we established our own boutique locally and the majority of our stock was all made by both of us.


Is there a story behind your business name?

Yes, we both love cats and Federikas was the name of my first pet cat.  It was a cat I always lovingly remember and keep in my heart, hence the little cat on our banner and avatar.   


Your jewelry is reconstructed from vintage elements.  Where do you find these elegant antiques or reproductions?

We get them from all over, some components come from antique shops and some are new old stock genuine antiques or reproductions made with the original dies still in service today by the original makers.


Can you explain the multi-step process used in your designs?

Sure, several hours of work go into each original design purchased from Federikas Vintage Filigree Jewelry (FVF).

After selecting the best brass components available, each and every piece (filigrees, chains, findings etc.) goes through an intricate process of several steps, all done by hand.

Some of this work includes a multi-step process to hand burnish each piece using our very own eco friendly techniques. Then intricate quality control processes are implemented before polishing each component to a beautiful vintage bronze patina.

The filigrees are then customized, hand sculpted and/or layered by us to create unique settings for our vintage glass gems or designs. Then comes one final quality control check with more polishing and the end result is a timeless heirloom quality jewelry design.

Your photography really does justice to your jewelry pieces. Do you handle this yourself?

Thank you and yes we do.  We invest a lot of work and time in our photos.  The most important part is to take them with natural light, by a window or if possible outside.  


Your Crystal World earrings made third place in the Etsy's Holiday 2008 Favorite Sparkly Jewelry contest. Would you share with us a little about this?

That was a wonderful surprise for us.  We received an Etsy email letting us know that their blog editors had picked a pool of 60 jewelry pieces varying in style but all with a sparkle, among them our earrings, and asked the members to vote.  Over 1500 votes were cast and our earrings made 3rd, we were very happy! 

Family tradition is rare these days but you are carrying on the work of your uncles Samuel and Vincent. Would you like to share a little about this?

I always admired their work and how they made their own gold filigree designs in their studio.  As my daughter was growing up she got to spend time with them as well and see how they made their lovely creations.  I always encouraged her to design and create new things.  Creating has always been an important part in our lives; over the years we’ve worked together making so many things, from fairy dolls, furniture, jewelry, wind chimes and so many more things.  A few years ago when we decided to sell on the Internet we focused on jewelry because it is easier to ship.   


How has your formal training influenced your designs?  

I studied art and design and concentrated myself in painting.  The color mixtures and ability to put on canvas the images I could see in my mind always helped me clear myself and feel free.  Now I get the same feeling and use that same inspiration to create jewelry instead.


Many of your designs feature insects. Why?  

We both love the magic of flying insects.  The transparency and beauty of their wings is mystical and inspiring to us, especially the dragonfly!


What has been your favorite work so far?

All, each design has it’s own value for us.  We leave part of our selves in each piece we make, so they are all favorites at some point.


Do you have any general advise for artists just getting started?  

Art is not about competing, it’s about creating; don’t allow anyone to take away your inspiration to create.  Art and design is a universe in itself and does not belong to one person only…Therefore allow your creativity to flow freely and work at it constantly.  The rest will follow.

Thank you Pura and Maria. Your designs are beautiful.