Data densities and compressions – Damjan’s examination of Internet technologies

Technology has facilitated a hyper-personalized reality. You can spend days as a monster hunter. You can walk your cat in the metaverse. There is no singular norm or standard for what’s right – people are free to find their own communities, to connect around what they love and to carve out a version of living that works for them. The algorithms and personalisation are so powerful and immersive that we are rarely invited to challenge or push back against the reality we see. The challenge is to question the narrative we’re offered.

You are both an artist and the designer of your brand, Be Unique. How did you get involved with both of these crafts?

I studied the craftsmanship of goldsmiths in Florence. Probably one of the best times ever. One of the best five years of my life. For me it was love at first sight. The concept of the school is not how to make a silver fork, it's not so much about technique, it was much more like how to make a different fork out of silver. They make you really push your imagination.

Do you think about the meaning of being a designer? You always had this in mind?

 No, I had different plans, but I always knew I had an artistic side that was dominant. I'm dyslexic, but I'm horizontally dyslexic. I like school and everything, but I was more crafty, I had a very big imagination. I try to capitalize on this and my jewelry.

With the rise of social media, we are now discussing issue like never before. Is all your team with you in a physical office or are you part of the new generation of Zoomers?

Well, it's divided in two parts. We have the technical team and the online team, and the administration, they take care of of anything that has to do with the site, with the marketing and with the administration. Of course I'm involved in every part, because if you're an artist and if you have a big imagination, you also know how to place your product in front of the right people. So I try to be involved in the online campaigns as much as I can, because we're a team. No one really tries to do something by themselves. And then we look at all the results all together and analyze. So that's one part of my team. And then the other part of the team is the jewelry manufacturing. I have two technicians because the jewelry has two sides. It's what you want to create and then what your technical abilities allow you to create.

Focusing on some of your past collections, what do you think is your power?

I really listen to my clients. If you take a big luxury brand, for example, they make what they want and they offer to their clients. We listen to our customers, we see what people like. If I have five bracelets and a red, blue, black and the green doesn't sell, I’m not going to make a variation of that green. What's the point of being called Be Unique if the customer can't feel that they're unique?

What does  it mean to you to share your pieces with a virtual online buyer? 

We have a showroom as well.. Clients can book sitting with me and we personalise every piece. I tell my clients to come and have a coffee at the showroom and see what's new, because there are some things that are not online. Also some of my really early creations even back in school are there, it's like a little museum of creations that I have. We get to create a relationship, so by the time they drink their coffee and have a look at all the work, the personalization is finished, and they can leave the showroom with their ready to go bracelet personalized.

Your favorite piece?

I have a favorite piece, this bracelet with these knots and white diamonds that you can’t see because they’re oxidised. It’s the first piece that I made in New York when I studied diamonds, and you can't really see the diamonds, but they're there.

BE UNIQUE will be exhibiting at HOMI FASHION&JEWELS EXHIBITION 16 - 19 September 2022
A dedication to sustainability, craftsmanship, design and manufacturing with the ultimate accuracy. HOMI FASHION&JEWELS EXHIBITION explores a cultural challenge, is sustainability an utopian fantasy or a possibility?