Interview with Lissy Ossig: Winner of the Young Designers Corner Award 2024
Since 2012, the Gemworld/Munich Show has been promoting young talent with the Young Designers Corner Award. The young jewellery designer Lissy Ossig, who won first place in 2024, tells us what the experience of taking part in this competition and winning can be like. An inspiring story for young talent in the world of jewellery.
Left: Design by Lissy Ossig. Crystal pendant in gold-plated silver with aquamarine. © Lissy Ossig
About Lissy Ossig
Lissy Ossig is studying jewellery design at Pforzheim University and is currently completing her final semester of study towards her Bachelor's degree. The 22-year-old discovered her interest in art and working with her hands at an early age. This initially led her to modelling small sculptures with animal motifs. The leap to jewellery came from the desire to create something with a stronger connection to people. Jewellery combines artistic and sculptural aspects, but you can wear it on your body, says Lissy Ossig. Jewellery is something that almost everyone owns, but personal memories and emotions make it valuable. This gave rise to the desire to be someone who makes special pieces of jewellery.
If you want to follow what Lissy Ossig is up to, you can also visit her Instagram account at https://www.instagram.com/lissyossig/
INSIGHT LUXURY: Lissy, how did you come to apply for the Young Designers Corner Award?
LISSY OSSIG: That was actually more of a coincidence. At the university in Pforzheim, where I study, there are lots of competitions that are advertised. On this occasion, I saw a flyer from Gemworld and applied for it.
IL: Can you tell us about the design that won you the award?
LO: The competition piece of jewellery for the Young Designers Corner Award is a ring made of silver that looks like a natural crystal that nestles around the finger. In the centre sits a cut garnet with an almost pink hue.
Even as a child, I loved looking at crystals and even went to trade fairs to see them. Gemstones are an important topic in jewellery, but at the same time you only ever see them in their perfect, polished form. They look completely different in nature.
With my piece of jewellery, I wanted to combine these two forms and show that both have their beauty and fascination. At the same time, I wanted to use the motif of the gemstone, which is of course an old and important theme in jewellery, in a different way.
I always model my jewellery myself and what I enjoy most is creating the jewellery in wax. I modelled every single small crystal structure by hand and then had it cast in silver.
IL: How do you manage to make the crystals in your jewellery look so lifelike?
LO: I actually have a few crystals at home that I once bought myself. The inspiration came from a slightly reddish gemstone called vanadinite. I took a close look at it and observed the growth structure. In my jewellery, I didn't copy a crystal exactly, but understood the way the crystals grow and tried to recreate that in the wax in a new form that would fit a ring.
I think it's about noticing things and observing them closely so that you can turn them into jewellery. But that takes a lot of time and patience.
IL: Did anything ever go wrong during the development process?
LO: (laughs) Of course! Almost every part breaks in half during the modelling phase if you put too much pressure on it. But fortunately, everything can be repaired and put back together again.
IL: Your personal interest in crystals fits in very well with Gemworld, where you won the Young Designers Corner Award.
LO: Yes, and I really enjoyed it there. I'm actually from the Stuttgart area and didn't know the fair before. There's a lot of inspiration for me there - from the different crystals that have grown, of course, but also from the dinosaur skeletons that are on display. I would like to model a small dinosaur one day. Who knows? The different crystals on display make me want to try out a different crystal structure at some point.
IL: As you won the Young Designers Corner Award last year, you will also have your own stand at the fair this year, right?
LO: Exactly! Part of my prize was that I get to present my jewellery at the fair this year, and I'm really looking forward to it. I've expanded my crystal collection and delved even deeper into the different structures and shapes.
IL: What has happened since you won the competition last year?
LO: Gemworld and the Young Designers Corner Award really motivated me and gave me the courage to continue on my path with the design that I started with my crystal jewellery. I would like to start my own business and sell my jewellery. I'm currently in the process of organising everything. I'm currently in the last semester of my Bachelor's degree. After that, I want to get started. But you can already buy my jewellery at Gemworld.
