The process of making

In their natural surroundings – just as in case of other plants – some of the old pads of a healthy Opuntia (prickly pear) cactus plants begin to die. It is a long process – and nature’s elements play a big role in this process: the sun and the wind dries it out, heavy rainfalls wash the soft parts away, then sun and wind comes again doing their part – and it goes on until nothing else remains than the strong inner skeleton of the cactus. And once these sturdy inner fibres are revealed to human eyes, they amaze us: they have an amazingly intricate structure which looks like a meticulously created filigree or lace.
These dried cactus fibre pieces are what we use to make our jewellery. After choosing which sections we want to use, first, we give them a careful but thorough cleaning. Then, when they are dry again, we study each piece to determine which parts of that piece could be used. It depends on the thickness, sturdiness and structural patterns of it – these features can vary greatly in every different piece.

Next step is cutting and shaping, and when we feel satisfied with the size and shape of a piece, then it needs to go through a several-step treatment to make the fibre stronger and more durable. These treatments take several days before we can move on to the following step, which is the fun part of the process: colouring. We love colours and enjoy mixing our shades, as well as experimenting with different colour-combinations and painting techniques to achieve unique finishes. We never use spray-painting; each piece is 100% hand-painted. To protect the painted coats, all of the pieces get a protective varnish topcoat.

The remaining touch is to breathe life into it: we add the metal connectors, earring hooks or necklace chains, and semi-precious gemstone beads or pearls to complete the design.

Thanks to the amazingly detailed and original patterns of the cactus fibre, as well as the full manual procedure of preparing them, the result is an absolute one-of-a-kind, unique, irreproducible piece of jewellery, exceptional of its kind in the world.