Inspired by nature and trash, Janna Syvanoja’s paper jewelry are one-of-a-kind art pieces that make a great style statement. Used paper, seeds, barks of trees, roots and horsehair have been creatively transformed into jewelry that is delicate, elegant and of course green. The organic, natural process in which this ingenious designer creates each piece is indeed exemplary, especially for the fact that it erases the dilemma faced by designers and artists who are caught between art and materialism.
The designer
Introducing Janna Syvanoja – a name that is sure to become a brand in the near eco-friendly future. This Finnish paper artist has literally managed to create jewelry masterpieces from recycled articles. Born in 1960, Janna graduated from the University of Industrial Arts, Helsinki with a Master of Arts in Furniture and Interior Design in 1993. Today, her creations have found their way as treasured exhibits at venues around the globe, including the American Craft Museum in New York, and the Collect 2007 & 2008 at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Jana’s exclusive art has also fetched her several awards and grants.
The inspiration
Janna inspiration has mostly been so-called “unimportant and useless” objects. Obsolete material alone doesn’t inspire her, the changing of seasons and nature of Finland too makes a fair contribution.
The green Factor
These exquisite pieces of jewelry give new and meaningful life to things that are heading toward the landfills. Janna metamorphoses used paper, seeds, barks of trees, roots and horsehair and endless other trivial articles into delicate, elegant forms by her unique creativity and imagination. This recycling process extends the life of the waste materials by a few more years.
The fab factor
The beauty of the artwork lies in the fact that each of her pieces is exquisite and one of a kind that manages to evolve from being a mere paper art into something more fluid, more poetic. Her necklaces and brooches thus cease to be just jewelry — they become pieces of art, they encourage the process of recycling, they help save resources, labor and money.
The jewelry collection
These stunning pieces of jewelry are a result of a technique that is slow, but natural one. The artist wraps each slice of paper around steel wires, adding further layers of paper to enhance its strength and endowing the paper with its initial “woody” character. The print on the paper metamorphoses into illegible, random words on the surface, conferring the pieces with new hidden meanings. The paper usually comes from obsolete telephone directories and used newspapers.
For Janna, the pleasure lies in creating “something beautiful, valuable, from something that had been thrown away.” “Ecology is important to me,” she adds. No wonder, her art forms and jewelry pieces are harmless to nature and long-lasting, besides being opulent and sophisticated. Although the artist has recently branched out into creating other art genres, she continues to concentrate on creating necklaces and brooches. Sold exclusively through exhibitions and shows, her pieces usually range from $500 to $2000. Needless to say, each piece is a treasure, not only for Janna’s creativity, but also as an expression for everything that is beautiful and that should and ought to be conserved.