Villiina Puustelli

Bibi Van Der Velden

Bibi van der Velden – Miniature Wearable Works of Art Discover Bibi van der Velden's unique fine jewellery, crafted from sustainable, unexpected materials. Bibi van der Velden's jewellery might be fashioned from haute, precious materials such as 18k fairtrade gold, diamonds, and baroque pearls, but there's a very human quality to her intricately-crafted designs. Bibi believes that jewellery should imbue the wearer with energy, with her pieces offering a playful, personal, and highly artistic take on fine jewellery. This personal touch comes from a jewellery-making process that's grounded in traditional craftsmanship. Working with sustainable and unexpected materials, among them 60,000-year-old mammoth tusk, ostrich eggs, and scarab wings, Bibi hand-sketches and hand-carves each piece in wax. Bibi describes her jewellery pieces as "miniature sculptures." This artistic sensibility is woven into Bibi's background. Born in New York and raised in England and the Netherlands, Bibi studied fine arts in Florence, Italy, before honing her eye at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam and the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague. Bibi now creates jewellery and sculpture from her studio in Amsterdam. And Bibi's Dutch heritage can be seen in her jewellery today, with the country's rich art history one of the many influences on her work. Nature and the animal world is another constant in Bibi's designs, from earrings fashioned as swirling tornadoes to statement alligator earrings carved from mammoth tusk and gold, to a noble mammoth unicorn that sits on a gold ring. Movement and transformation is a hallmark of her work. A Tahitian pearl spins in the Galaxy Spinning Pearl Ring, while ornate cocktail rings whose design spotlights monkeys or panthers hide a smaller, sleek gold ring within. With this unique element of surprise, there's always more to a Bibi van der Velden piece than meets the eye.