sketching for CINCO as someone who was only taught how to draw topographic maps is extremely difficult, so I like to look at it as me coming up with ideas and then having people beside me who help me turn it into reality. truth be told, I was always a creator in my mind although not having the abilities to materialize my ideias. even in high school I was known for being able to physically destroy any creative project we started. bringing ideas to the table made up for the fact that I couldn’t draw or materialize anything if my life depended on it.
in the last few years I’ve been dedicating all my being to this process of creating for CINCO, and all of a sudden my little sketches turned into thousands of earrings and necklaces worn all around the world.
but how does this happen?
the vision is what I look forward to working on the most. ancient or futuristic, rarely current. I intend on distancing myself as much as possible from the world I already know. I have a penchant for interior design and lately I've been obsessed with postmodernism and the 80s. isn’t it "CINCO, simple with attitude"? I reckon we will always have that motto but from time to time we breath some of my obsessions into our pieces. that might be the best part of having a project like CINCO, having the freedom to spend hours enriching the visual memory with the hopes that one day it will inspire a good drawing.
ramblings aside, the point of this article is to let you in on how I draw a jewelry piece for CINCO. after feeding my thoughts with visuals, I go for the ideas. monthly [ or every three months when im lacking inspiration ] I open a blank notebook and gather a set of ideias. are they connected? are they linked to CINCO? are they jewelry? some ideas come up and never see the light of day, but that’s the creative process: an endless sea of ideas where only two or three are implemented and in all reality, only one will have a true impact on people.
the magda earrings, for example, started in a mirror. I first saw the bulky, big, round shapes and thought “I have to make earrings out of this”. the magda were born. it truly is in the shapes jewelry can be transformed in that I like to find my creativity. I don’t get there through my drawing abilities, but through the ability to imagine and pass on the message to our master jewelers.
li furtado is the founder and creative director of CINCO. born in '82 in alentejo, portugal she graduated in geography from the university of coimbra. after working for 10 years as a consultant, she quit her job to follow her dream and love for fashion. with a creative and restless mind, she is driven by new ideas and her focus is to always have time to enjoy life with her family.
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