Nali Patio's Aurum Speak Crafts Customized and Sleek Gold and Jewelry

Recently we stopped by Jia Feng's Aurum Speak Jewellery Design Studio to get a glimpse of the metalsmith and jewelry designer's Nali Patio store. Upon entering, the confident but warm Feng jokes that most people who drop by think that it's a tattoo studio, on account of the massive pictures of her, her friends, and family that adorn the wall, all apparently fans of getting inked. But to focus on the patterns that cover the bodies would be to miss the fine pieces of gold that hang from their wrists, necks, and ears, all designed and made by Jia. It was amidst these figures that I sat with Feng to talk about how her modest shop, packed with intricate trinkets, came to be.

So first of all, what's your background? How did you get into designing jewelry?
I originally studied stage design in Beijing, but decided to move into jewelry in 2012 because my job was too constricting. I had no time to stay with my kids and see friends, as I would often work five full days every week.

I first began to learn how to use the tools and materials needed in jewelry design before signing up for my first workshop. The workshop itself was extremely intensive, pushing us to make six rings in 10 days, but after two days I already found myself as the workshop assistant because I had some prior knowledge and was able to help translate between the other students and the master [laughs].

After that, I studied under different masters for over four years – all from different places, around but predominantly European – the most recent being Belgium's Laurent Max De Cock of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp. 

My business is now three years old and I divide my time by doing half a year of design and half a year diving in Ko Samui, my other love. I went for the first time 10 years ago and when I jumped into the water I felt that it was my real home [laughs]. Diving was like taking a drug for me – I did it once and I loved it and I could no longer control myself anymore.

I find that you must try to do the thing you love and make it into a business, but also maintain free time for other endeavors. It's better if you're able to make money from your hobby.

What makes your jewelry special?
I only use the best quality gold in my work. Most gold in China is produced in factories, which alters the color, but gold doesn’t change color when handmade and it stays strong. It changes color when produced in a factory because they use a mold and apply pressure to make identical pieces. I only use fire to make my handmade pieces, which does not eradicate the oxygen bubbles within the metal, helping it to maintain its purity.

My love of diving also taught me to take the colors I saw in the water and use them to make pieces of jewelry, through pieces of enamel, raw stones, crystal, and amber. I tend to leave these unpolished, as I appreciate the purity of the stones.

You must have patience to work with gold; sometimes it makes you angry, and you must wait for it to do what you want. Other times it will happily go along with your plan.

What are some of your most popular pieces?
Most of our jewelry is personalized. I often redesign Chinese words and integrate them into my work as seals and stamps. I find that a lot of the time these types of works elsewhere are ugly ,and so I rework them to be more presentable.

I also do morse code bracelets, which allow the buyer to put a secret personalized message into the piece of jewelry.

How much do your works go for?
From between RMB 1,000 for a simple ring up to 100,000, depending on the size and the difficulty of the design.

Aurum Speak Jewellery Design Studio
Daily Tue-Sun 1.30-9.30pm. 1/F, D109, Nali Patio, 81 Sanlitun Lu, Sanlitun, Chaoyang District (139 1023 3887)
朝阳区三里屯三里屯路81号 那里花园1层D109

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Email: tomarnstein@thebeijinger.com
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Photos courtesy of Aurum Speak