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SERIEN PERSPEKTIVWECHSEL • CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVE

Arbeitsmotto •work motto M rs Fürst, you studied architecture at Technische Universität Wien and after-
wards worked as an architect for more than 25 years. After this period,
you dedicated yourself to painting and working with paper. Since 2003, you have
„Aus Alt werde Neu.“ been designing and making “upcycling” jewellery. What caused this sudden
“Turn old into new.” change of heart?
Already while I was doing construction supervision, I used to collect left-over mate-
rial, for instance from electricians and plumbers, and used it to make jewellery from
it just for myself. Due to the increasing interest people showed in these creations,
I finally began to also make jewellery for friends and acquaintances.

r Where do you see the special appeal of upcycling, meaning the art of upgrading
left-over materials and thus helping them to get a second life? And from where
do you usually get all your material?
For me, it is very exciting to discover the potential of a material. The alienation of an
object which has no value at all for other people, for instance a metal sleeve, some
packaging, a bicycle inner tube or a carton is for me a very attractive creative
process. I use almost all the bits and pieces which are left over somewhere and thus
save them from being discarded as rubbish on the dump. Meanwhile, I am fortunate
to have a whole network of companies, friends, acquaintances and also customers
who supply me with the most diverse and the most adventurous left-over materials.

r Which were the most unusual materials you turned into surprising pieces of
jewellery? And did you ever also try out materials and failed with them?
Those were titanium screws used for stabilizing fractured bones which were no
doubt the most unusual materials I have used so far. They are fabulously colourful,
highly stable metal parts with precise holes and smooth surfaces. I never failed, no.
Abgefahren: alte Fahrradschläuche • Whacky: old bicycle tubes Maybe with some materials it simply takes longer until I have a brilliant idea.
Von Musik inspiriert: ausgestanzte alte Klaviernoten • Inspired by music: punched old piano sheets
r Aesthetics, precision, detailing, combinations of materials and assembling
them … There are multiple parallels between architecture and designing jew-
ellery. Which capacities acquired during your architecture studies now benefit
you as a jewellery designer?
Very important for me is the ability of creating something new within a given frame-
work. This goes for major architectural projects just as well as for the small pieces
of jewellery. In architecture, one has a multitude of materials and proportions avail-
able which one wants to assemble into a big picture based on one’s own ideas and
the set budget. For my jewellery, I also pay attention to doing justice to the material
and the proportions but also to the exact fabrication of each piece. This as well is a
typical task for architects.

r The theme of your work is to create something new out of something given.
Did you already find it more exciting as an architect to deal with conversions
instead of new buildings?
Yes, I always like working on conversion projects. More than in the case of new build-
ings, for conversions I had to improvise on site – the construction site – and make
quick decisions so that the completion date as well as the budget can be adhered to.
The satisfaction of having completed a project on time was then all the greater.
Carin Fürst liebt die Freiheiten als Schmuckdesignerin. • Carin Fürst loves the freedoms as a jewellery designer.
r Designing jewellery brings considerably faster results than architecture. No DIN
standards, no authorities, no restrictions – is it also the short step between the
idea and its implementation that makes it attractive to you?
Yes, definitely. Unlike it is the case in architecture – my pieces of jewellery also allow
me to alter them in case I am not quite satisfied with the result. The luxury of my
being able to work with jewellery is that I am not subjected to any external influ-
ences. I am able to work as much and as long on one single piece as I want – and
all this using any technique, any material imaginable.

r Where can your pieces of jewellery be bought and what are you doing for your
marketing them? Which are the channels you are using for this purpose?
One can meet me in person at craft markets but I am also selling in some select
stores and museum shops. My homepage provides information about upcoming
Foto: OÖN/Volker Weihbold markets, exhibitions, points of sale and other news. I give workshops, mainly in my
own studio. At times, women come to me and bring me materials they would like to
work with or also a specific item of clothing for which they would like to make a
matching piece of jewellery.

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