About

ABOUT US

Hailing from different experiences we met in Italy where we opened our first joined studio, La Fonderia dell'Oro. JAD was born in 2015 when we moved to Malta and it is both an artistic duo and a small jewelry brand.

We are a couple and we feel lucky to be able to work together.

 

 

OUR JEWELRY

Our aesthetic and design explore the emotional undercurrents linking us to the natural elements, telling of the strength of the geological forces, of the depths where silver comes from, of the levity of a blow, or the force of the gales stirring the sea. In our pieces, we put the wonder for the strength of life, for its fragility, for the human attempts to understand whether the passing of time and the changes we perceive are real or only a construct of the mind.

There might be small signs or shreds of evidence of these concepts, scattered through a whole collection or concentrated in one single piece. But in each of them, be it the simplest piece or the collector's one, you will find part of this story, of our thoughts and emotions, of our work and efforts.

We explore techniques and materials to create unique jewelry, from solid silver to extra-thin wire.

Our jewelry is imagined for people who think and deeply feel, who refuse to be easily defined, who have a story and look for stories, young and old, who seek something more than the dominant aesthetic and way of thinking. Different, in any possible, beautiful, way.

 

FOR THE EARTH

We are all part of the same life and we feel we are all committed to respecting it in all the possible ways. Here is how we do our part.

Our micro-business model is itself a slow, respectful way of producing. We have our workshop and our pieces are all handmade by us with great care. They are made for last. 

We use recycled silver and rarely use precious or semiprecious stones. Recycled silver has the same characteristics and value as mined silver but it is obtained from old jewelry or silverware. From our point of view, it adds value to the jewelry we make.

We love stones but we have chosen to use a bare minimum of them to reduce the human and environmental burden of mining. We have a small reserve of old pieces we bought years ago, so we occasionally use some but we try to avoid buying new ones.

We have collaborated with Fashion Revolution Malta and we know that it is almost impossible for a business to be totally "sustainable". We do our best and continue to improve. We do not like businesses that greenwash their brands, so here is what we still have to change.

The energy we use is not "green" and, for the moment, we canìt change this.

We use metal boxes for our jewelry. They are precious and delicate and need proper protection. Our metal boxes will last for long and can be used for other purposes. 

We do not have a certification, as small artisans and artists we are and will probably always be too small to have one.

Most of our shipping materials are recycled or come from sustainable cardboard.

 

MORE ABOUT US

We are members of the panel of the Malta Creative Collective an independent, collaborative, purpose-led movement that brings together like-minded creatives currently based in Malta.

In Malta, we have taken part in several collective exhibitions, placed third at the Campari - Negroni 100 Art Competition  and second at the Maltese Artisan Award for precious metals (2019). 

In 2020, just before the pandemic, we did our first contemporary jewelry solo exhibition, Southern Depths and Northern Lights, inspired by the suggestions of the Northern and Southern Pole.

In 2021 we have been selected by the Michelangelo Foundation for the Maltese section of their Homo Faber Guide.

Gioia + Ivano

 

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