KATARINA ŽIAK

… jewellery, which have a soul.

 

My path to art began with my decision to study Art at university, where I came into contact with artistic processing of various materials and with art as such. If I look further back, I’d say it probably started even earlier when, as a child, I would spend long hours over detailed drawings. In the first year of university, I started with photography art and I discovered the charm of ornamentalistics.

I think I have been dreaming of having my own brand from the very start, when my first designs got their material form. However, I only gathered up the courage to make this dream come true after completing my studies in 2016, which I presented to the world under my own brand of original handcrafted jewellery, KATARINA ŽIAK®.

MATERIAL & JEWELRY PRODUCTION

KATARINA ŽIAK® jewellery is a authentic Slovak product. We take care to work with quality materials using modern technologies, which of course cannot do without honest handmade work. Each piece of jewellery is made based on an original design by Katarina Žiak and has the character of an Original. The main material we use is health-safe stainless steel grade 316L (surgical steel), which is further in the creative process subject to galvanic plating with 23.5 carat gold and 99.9% rhodium. The jewellery is complemented with genuine freshwater pearls and precious stones such as aquamarine, citrine, jade, … which give the jewellery its uniqueness.

Fashion as such is permanently changing new trends are coming or contrarily those old are coming back. It is constant whirl which you cannot stop or slow down. Fashion simply lives its own “life”. When designing jewellery, I connect modern and traditional, and find uniqueness in folk culture and minimalism of natural patterns. I am also trying not to limit myself only to the trends. My creation has several forms. I design jewellery according to what appeals me, whether folkish ornament from hundred-year-old historical book or only little butterfly, which has in the forest landed on my hand.

“I design jewelry with the idea of it becoming an elegant accessory for every woman. Whether she likes extravagant pieces that immediately catch the eye or wears only understated delicate jewellery. That’s why I design each piece in multiple sizes and colours.”

The very process of creating a piece of jewellery always brings with it a unique story of the jewellery, which is as important to me as the visual form of the piece. My ambition is to create jewellery that is not just a “pretty” piece of metal, but has something more hidden inside, a piece of history or a unique story. My inspiration is the surrounding world, nature but also folk tradition, in which the extraordinary beauty of our nation’s history is hidden. Our ornamentation is an endless source of inspiration, because it is thanks to the details of the past, hidden in the new modern design, we can recall a fragment of history, which for many is a forgotten part of our national identity.

2016

  • establishment of the Katarina Žiak® jewellery brand
  • jewellery collection PIAFFE -DRESSAGE HORSES
  • jewellery collection TRADITION HIDDEN IN THE HEART
  • jewellery collection FLOWERS & ORNAMENTS
  • jewellery collection SOFTNESS OF LACE IN METAL

2017

  • jewellery collection SLAVIC POETIC MUSES
  • exhibition with graphic paintings  at “The furniture and living” in Nitra – Agrokomplex
  • jewellery collection IN THE TREE CROWN
  • jewellery collection LITTLE BIT OF LUCK
  • exhibition with graphic paintings at “MODDOM” in INCHEBA Bratislava
  • jewellery collection KEYS OF MEMORIES

2018

  • jewellery collection ON THE WINGS OF BUTTERFLY
  • jewellery published in 2 issues of BRITISH VOGUE
  • participation in a fashion event in London
  • jewellery collection SLOVAK FOLK ORNAMENTALISTIC
  • participation in “Bratislava Fashion Days” spring / autumn
  • jewellery collection THE BEAUTY OF FOLK GEOMETRY
  • Ambassador of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 in Slovakia
  • invitation to the TV – Markiza show TELERANO
  • lecture “Jewellery in traditional folk culture”, in Gemerské osvetové stredisko
  • jewellery collection FOLKLORE INFINITY
  • invitation to the TV – RTVS show THE LADIES CLUB

2019

  • jewellery for OZ ZVIERATÁ V NÚDZI (animal shelter)
  • jewellery collection FLOWER OF LIFE
  • fashion show at IKTF Slovakiatour in Bratislava
  • jewellery collection FOLK ORNAMENT OF VAJNORY – TO FLY IN THE SKY 
  • author’s jewellery part of the exhibition „SRDCOM ZDOBENÉ“- gallery ÚĽUV (Centre of Folk Art Production)
  • jewellery published in the British magazine BRIDES and an interview for the British magazine “House of Coco”
  • jewellery collection CIFER NEEDLEWORK
  • fashion show in Holíč Castle
  • exhibition of paintings “Teacher and student or the opposite” – Klemo gallery Zvolen
  • jewellery collection IN THE LAND OF WILD FLOWERS

2020

  • jewellery collection SWAN LAKE
  • author’s jewellery collection for the fashion show in Dubnica Manor called “GATRA-THE FORGOTTEN TREASURE” created in cooperation with the Slovak Museum in Dubnica nad Váhom
  • jewellery collection GATRA-THE FORGOTTEN TREASURE
  • jewellery collection TOUSEND-YEAR-OLD BEE
  • jewellery collection TRAKOVICE
  • participation in the “Winter fashion show” Jasná in Hotel Grand**** Jasná

2021

  • jewellery collection PEARL OF GREEN
  • jewellery collection LOST NOVOHRAD EMBROIDERY
  • cooperation with the Novohrad Museum and Gallery on the creation of jewellery from the museum collections – fashion show of jewellery – “LOST NOVOHRAD”
  • author’s brooch for the opening of the Aquamarine Hotel**** in Bešeňová*
    jewellery collection  EXOTIC
  • jewellery collection  GEOMETRY
  • jewellery colection JUST FOR YOY

2022

  • exhibition “LOST NOVOHRAD” in NMG in Lučenec – 2 collections of author’s jewellery created from the museum
  • jewellery collection BLOSSOMING FLOWER FROM ABELOVA
  • production of bracelets for Slovak athletes at the Beijing Olympic Games
  • jewellery collection DRAGON PEARL
  • jewellery collection THE STORY OF SLOVAK WIRE CRAFT

2023

  • jewellery collection THE HEART OF THE LOW TATRAS
  • the crown for Marianna Jagerčíková, world champion in ski mountaineering
  • exhibition “SYMBBOLIKA” in the Slovak Museum, 3 collections created from the SSM collections
  • 3 jewellery collections – INDIGO NIGHT, CURSES IN TIME, MUSIC OF GOLDEN THREADS

2024

  • “Daffodil” brooch with freshwater pearls for the League Against Cancer presented at the “Bratislava Fashion Days”
    jewellery collection DAFFODIL DAY
  • SLOVAK WOMAN OF THE YEAR in cat. “ART and CULTURE”
  • brooches for the Spiš theatre at the “GOLDEN SWAN” award ceremony
  • jewellery collection PAWS – CAMI&IZABELA
  • jewellery collection SNOWFLAKE