Q & A with Jewelry Designer of Phioro

Young designer Clare Pardoe of Phioro is taking the Dubai jewelry scene by storm.  Her futuristic and modern designs are catching eyes, all which are done in 18k gold.  From the stingrays in her Aquaray collection, to the 3-D tear drops in her Acari collection, I have taken notice! I was extremely excited to catch up with Clare, even all the way from Dubai!  Let’s take a look:

There are several in the pipeline which are of course all hush hush right now, but what I can say is that we are currently developing a men’s range that really challenges what’s available in the current market. It plays with texture and negative space, while maintaining sophistication and masculinity.

I have a BA Honors in Jewellery & Silversmithing, but it started way before that – I knew I wanted to own my own design business from the age of 16. Every choice I made from that moment on was driving me towards this path. Initially I thought it would be a furniture design company, and everything I did in college and university was extremely sculptural and quite large! But after graduating I gravitated towards my love for precious stones and metals, allowing my sculpture to develop into wearable art. All our pieces are still strongly driven by concept and have a deeper meaning behind their creation.

I use both audial and visual inspiration. Visually, I am heavily inspired by nature, and modern, futuristic architecture. With regards to audial inspiration, I find that having moving, classical/chill out tunes, really helps my creativity to flow, my design respond to the sounds that I’m hearing. Finally the stones themselves sometimes drive a design, and inspire me to encase them in enchanting and complimentary forms.

Short term: We’re aiming to spread the brand to luxury stores globally within the next two to three years.

Long term: I want Phioro to be a household name, a word that stands for quality, luxury and futurism. My main inspirations are Coco Chanel & Richard Branson – the world is our oyster, why not aim for an empire!

My Venus Pendant in Citrine, I wear it everywhere, dressed up or down – it is brilliantly versatile and never fails to attract attention and comments.