Samira Mazloom

I am the third generation of Jewellers and Silversmiths in my family. My grandfather was a Master Gold/Silversmith and his sons including my father followed his footsteps. My parents are keen artists specially my mom who loves art in all forms. She loves drawing and painting and she is never satisfied with a purchase, whether its clothes, accessories or just furniture. She always believes that the designer had to think of some other detail that is not there and she starts changing them and making amendments. My father collected precious stones and he had this magic box full of gems and colourful stones. As I grew up he gave them to me on different occasions and that magic box became mine. Growing up in an environment like this, falling in love with Jewellry was inevitable.

when we use our emotions, imagination and skill to creat something new.

I like designing Jewellery. This is where I feel most comfortable at. I enjoy working with precious and semi-precious metals. I also like colour and enjoy using precious and semi-precious stones in my work.

I am extremely proud of all my collections. "Poseidon", "Angels OR Demons" and "Melek Taus". They are all powerful collections and I enjoy people's reactions to the collections and the story behind them. As a designer, I believe it is very important that our creations bond with the viewer and I think they all do this beautifully. Of course "Poseidon", being my first collection, has a special place in my heart.

I was commissioned to design a small collection called "Birds of a Feather" when I was a third year student at Middlesex university. The pieces became very popular that I still get orders on them.

I have explored a wide range of material but I have a passion for working with precious and semi-precious metals. I also like colour and enjoy working with precious and semi-precious stones.

When I am very happy or very sad or experiencing extreme emotions and feelings, also when I am falling sleep. I sometimes can't distinguish if I came up with an idea when I was still awake or when I was sleeping.

I try to focus on the art side which most of the times gets lost in practicality and science during the design process. As a Jewellery designer, I would like my client to bond with the piece and feel a connection. It is not just about adding a piece of accessory. It is about how it makes you feel when you are wearing it. I believe that the right piece of jewellery can give it's wearer the feeling of strength, power, elegance, confidence and...

Usually when I start designing, I get very excited and my heart starts racing. Sometimes, I get so hyper that it becomes really difficult to sleep. I usually get so many ideas at the same time, I'm afraid I might forget them.

It makes me extremely happy to see people bonding with my work and asking questions about my work or even telling me what they think of the work before knowing the story behind it.

Success is subjective. For example, when a medical device is designed, it has to be practical and user friendly. When a dining table is designed, it has to be comfortable. When I design Jewellery, I think of intrigue. so I guess when a design meets its expectations, it becomes successful. However, expectation are different for different designs.

I pay special attention to originality. No two people are the same or think the same, so they could not possibly design the same.

I think our responsibilities are no different from any other human being. If people from all walks of life, in every job and with every religion and belief, feel responsible towards each other and mother earth, the world can easily become a better place. It is a problem when people think that this responsibility falls only on the shoulders of a certain group like politicians.

It is truly amazing how the design world has evolved from being very conservative to becoming more and more fearless. An increasing number of designers are thinking differently and are not afraid to break the boundaries. I think this is how amazing designs are created.

Last year I had a number of exhibitions in Italy, London and in the USA. I would love to have a private exhibition in New York in the next couple of months.

Nature inspires me. I read a lot and I love poetry and literature. Beautiful poetry touches and inspires me. I am a member in the Opera chorus and I find the Opera truly powerful and inspirational. I also keep up to date by visiting lots of Museums and Exhibitions. Travelling is always great. When I travel to a new country, one of the places I like to visit is old cemeteries. I find cemeteries very intriguing.

When I was working on Poseidon, I started looking at the mourning culture and the mourning jewellery of the Victorian era. This some how led to meeting people from the Punk and Goth culture and reading about them. I also looked at Naturalism and Symbolic art. For some reason, I also started reading The Odyssey and after that The Devine Comedy, which I never finished by the way. When I started my research for the "Angels Or Demons" and the" Melek Taus" collection, I started studying different Ideologies and religions. I am lucky because I have different interests and I get inspired by so many different things. I don’t think I can specifically say what my design style is because it has been affected by every single one of these factors and it interests me to see how the viewer categorizes my work.

I am originally Iranian. When I was a child we moved to America with my parents but decided to go back to Iran after a while. After this I moved to London and lived there for more than seven years before moving to the USA again. I also travel often. My father believes that travelling is the best education and he did his best to provide us with this education. I consider myself a citizen of the world. It is inevitable that our life experiences affects us as human beings and as a result affects our work. I am no exception. I think living in different countries and travelling has changed me as a person and my vision and has helped me as an artist and a designer.

I don't think there is a "one rule fits all". It really depends on the company. A very good designer for one company could destroy another.

I usually have a story in my mind first then start thinking of pieces that correspond to my story. Most of the times I start having a finished piece in my mind. I then start making prototypes and samples and at the same time do a lot of research. Compared to other designers, I work backwards but the final piece is very different from the one I first envisioned. It always evolves and changes.

The only thing I can think of is Clear shoe boxes. I think it is genius.

Be yourself, you are unique. It is better to be an original you, than someone else's copy. There is only one person who thinks like you and that person is you. Take advantage of your uniqueness.

I have loved and enjoyed being a designer since the beginning. I Just cannot think of anything negative. Sorry.

A different Vision. I think as a designer you see the world differently and you question almost everything.

For me, design is a 24/7 process. Its not like I walk out of my office and the day is over. No. From the time I wake up in the morning until I go to sleep and even when I am sleep I am still actively thinking and designing.

It really depends on the object. I have seen designs being done in just a few minutes or as long as years.

For the next few months, I will be working on both the "Angels Or Demons" collection and the Melek Taus collection. The designing stage of these collections is almost over but the production has faced some challenges which has caused a delay in the marketing.

I have worked as part of a team but I prefer to design for myself while collaborating with other artists and designers.

Both the "Angel Or Demon" collection and the "Melek Taus" are ongoing projects. because of the highly detailed nature of these pieces, the production took much longer than expected. I will be working on other pieces from these collections.

My website is "www.samirajewellery.com". There is a link in my website that can be used to send me messages and to contact me.