Jet-Set Around the World with Craft, Jewels, And Silvia Furmanovich

In the gleaming world of fine jewels, Silvia Furmanovich has crafted more than adornments; she’s woven heritage crafts and stories into wearable art. A cultural storyteller, Furmanovich was born in São Paulo, Brazil, to a family of Italian goldsmiths who once crafted sacred ornaments for the Vatican. Today, she has become one of the most influential jewellery designers of the 21st century, carrying the legacy forward with her three sons.

As her eponymous brand completes 25 years of bold theatricality of craft and couture, her designs continue to be an invitation to view the world through the bejewelled interplay of craftsmanship, cultural stories, and innovation. While marquetry is her foundational craft technique, she has explored many ancient crafts and unconventional materials to forge a conversation about craft discovery, elevation, and collaboration through jewellery and design. Like bamboo weaving and lacquerware art from Japan, miniature painting and marble-inlay technique from India, Suzani fabrics and Ikat motifs from Uzbekistan, scarabs and archaic symbolism from Egypt, Horse Mane weaving from Chile, Native American beadwork from the USA, and micro-mosaic and corals from Italy. An ode to global craftsmanship and the timeless allure of handmade, her design language is a cross-pollination of cultures and techniques, traditional and modern, art and jewellery.

While she marked the momentous 25 Year milestone with ‘Around The World’ – a recollection exhibit with Bergdorf Goodman featuring 100 magnificent pieces, that captured her explorations across the seven continents, the next cultural destination for this global-trotting designer is KASHMIR for Fall/Winter 2025. To honour and celebrate the breathtaking landscapes and artisanal traditions of Kashmir, she has drawn inspiration from tulip gardens, chinar leaves, mirrored lakes, snow-capped Himalayas, motifs from the embroidered shawls, and papier-mâché, and complemented them with precious metals and gemstones.

Furmanovich’s designs remind us that true luxury lies not in opulence alone but in the stories etched by skilled hands across continents and centuries. Here, in conversation with Runway Square’s Junior Editor, Karishma Gulyani, she reflects on her culture-led, craft-forward design foundation and the enduring connection with India.

Silvia Furmanovich

Runway Square: As Silvia Furmanovich completes 25 years, what does the brand symbolise today, and how has it evolved since its launch?
Silvia Furmanovich: Since founding my brand 25 years ago, I’ve used alternative materials like bamboo and wood alongside precious gems and metals, which was rare in jewellery design then. Back then, acceptance was tough, especially from people who saw jewellery only as an investment and dismissed wood pieces, even with diamonds, as mere costume jewellery. Today, the industry is more open, with many designers embracing alternative materials, allowing greater creative freedom.
The brand has grown organically. Initially, I relied on third-party artisans, but now we have our own atelier with in-house goldsmiths, enabling more intricate, high-quality pieces. We’ve expanded from a small business to a well-known brand, recognized in Brazil and globally, with two São Paulo boutiques and international retail presence. Our team has grown, and we create more complex designs while staying true to our roots.
To celebrate our 25th anniversary, we’ve launched a book, Journey of a Jeweler, with Rizzoli, showcasing the behind-the-scenes process, my collaborations with artisans, and the craftsmanship behind each piece.

Journey Of A Jeweler by Silvia Furmanovich & Rizzoli

RSQ: How does your personality shape and reflect the brand’s identity?
SF: I’m hands-on in every process, from ideation to execution, ensuring that ideas are realized through direct craft and design collaboration with artisans. My passion for travel and personal engagement with craftspeople adds authenticity and attention to celebrating the artistry of handcrafted work. My personal style is understated and handcrafted, eclectic and bold – which translates into our jewellery’s maximalist elegance. The brand mirrors my commitment to fostering craftsmanship in an era where such traditions are rare, embodying not just my ideas but also the collective talent of the artisans I partner with. This synergy of my hands-on involvement, love for meaningful connections, and appreciation for subtle beauty makes the brand a true extension of who I am. 

RSQ: Travel or nature, craft or culture, what is the ultimate driving force behind the evolution of your design language over the years? 
SF:  Yes, my design language stems from a rich tapestry of influences, rooted in craft, nature, and the creative process itself. Ancestral craftsmanship, passed down through generations, captivates me with its timeless beauty and cultural significance, tying designs to their unique origins. Nature is another important source of inspiration, as observing animals, trees, and flowers aids my creative process, keeping me connected to the universe. The techniques themselves also spark ideas; blending different materials or methods often leads to unexpected, innovative outcomes.
Beyond these, inspiration sometimes emerges from fleeting memories or fragments of something seen long ago that resurface unexpectedly. Though I can’t draw, I channel my ideas into a comprehensive notebook for each collection, a year-long process that serves as my creative foundation for that collection. In these books, I compile collages of different shapes, magazine clippings, and internet print-outs alongside travel photos and concepts to help my team build the collection. This eclectic mix captures not just design ideas but also poems, cultural research, or random thoughts that resonate with me. For example, while exploring the KASHMIR collection, I delved into the history and techniques of papier-mâché, enriching my understanding and informing the design process. 
This collection book process is my greatest source of inspiration. It’s a dynamic, evolving space where I concentrate my thoughts, blending personal discoveries into a culturally rich foundation for my designs.

KASHMIR Collection Book

RSQ: What inspired you to have craft and culture lead your design process, and how has this focus elevated artisans and their craft? 
SF:  I think it comes from the profound value I place on handmade work, which carries a warmth and individuality that mass-produced items lack. In a world where global brands create uniformity via design and trends, traditional craftsmanship is at risk of fading, with the younger generation wanting to move away from ancestral craft practices. I prefer to collaborate closely and directly with artisans and challenge them to innovate within their techniques. This process not only preserves their craft but also pushes its boundaries. Like the artisans I worked with in Japan were amazed by the bamboo collection and the new possibilities of their techniques, sparking with pride and creativity.
This has significantly helped elevate the artisans and their craft. For instance, the first marquetry collection, done 10 years ago, was intended as a one-off – but became a cornerstone due to its success, especially in the U.S., leading me to incorporate it into every collection since then. Similarly, techniques like miniature painting and ikat have evolved beyond their traditional forms. The Silk Road collection, inspired by a month of travel and discovery in Uzbekistan, adapted large-scale rug-making into tiny looms to make the same rugs for earrings. By mixing multiple techniques – marquetry, miniature painting, ikat, and more – in each collection, I create a dynamic interplay of textures, colours, and cultural narratives, enriching the designs and aiding the craft elevation.
All these craft collaborations tend to be challenging, given the initial resistance from artisans when asked to adapt techniques, like scaling down the designs, and technical hurdles in combining materials of differing properties, such as horse mane or wood with gold and gemstones. These require extensive testing, often a year-long process, to ensure durability, wearability, and balance. For instance, marquetry’s delicate wood can be damaged during setting, requiring repairs.  And then some experiments, like overly heavy pieces, fail and demand reimagining. This ongoing process of exploration and experimentation ensures that each collection not only preserves but also elevates craft, making it vibrant, relevant, and innovative.

Acqua Marine Silk Road Earrings (featuring the carpet) and Red Natural Bamboo Ring

RSQ: What is the key design element that unifies craft, culture, and design in your work for a seamless artistic fusion?
SF: Well, that’ll be the shape of a window, inspired by my love and fascination for the temples and architecture of Asia. I’m always captivated by how a window frames a view, especially with that domed top, and it’s become a signature in all my collections, like a view into the culture or nature. With marquetry, since it’s a flat technique, we can cut these window-like shapes that make the design stand out. Take the Quintessence collection, where we used windows with rainbows and landscapes to capture a glimpse of nature. We play with this pattern in every collection, tweaking it to see what works best, and it’s a beautiful way to bring stories into the pieces through unique materials, like Muira Piranga, a red wood enhanced with minerals and boiled for a vivid hue rarely matched by gemstones. This process lets us showcase a spectrum of colours – deep greens, warm browns, and soft yellows – each wood telling its own story of nature. These hues, combined with the marquetry’s flat canvas, let us create what I call “happy jewellery,” where every piece feels alive, carrying a whole universe of cultural and natural narratives in its grain and colour.

Quintessence Rainbow Window Earrings

RSQ: What’s the story behind the ideation and creation of the cult-favourite butterfly?
SF: Well, the story behind the butterfly designs started with one of our first trips to Acre, Brazil, where our marquetry atelier is tucked right in the heart of the forest. While wandering along a river, I was suddenly swarmed by thousands of vibrant butterflies, their colourful wings fluttering all around me. That magical moment stuck with me, and it sparked a deep dive into researching butterfly wings-their shapes, patterns, and vivid hues. I decided to bring them to life in marquetry, using its versatility to capture their beauty. For the Kashmir collection, I elevated the design by incorporating abalone shell and mother-of-pearl veneers, cut to match marquetry veneers, creating a strikingly realistic effect. For the next collection, I’m experimenting with iridescent green beetle wings to add a fresh twist. Each collection evolves the butterfly motif, keeping it dynamic and desirable, as it’s become one of my most popular designs, loved by many for its vibrant, universal appeal.

Silvia Furmanovich BUTTERFLY (From KASHMIR Collection)

RSQ: And what’s the design that perfectly embodies 25 years of Silvia Furmanovich?
SF: Oh! It’ll be the choker, featuring an orchid, representing Brazil, from the ‘Around The World’ collection. We have all those lush orchids growing everywhere here! The choker is made with twisted wood that wraps around the neck so elegantly, and showcases the vibrant colours that embody the spirit of the collection (and Brazil!). It just captures the heart and soul of Brazil perfectly!

The Orchid Choker (From AROUND THE WORLD Collection)

RSQ: How has the design vision evolved from the 2018 India collection to the Fall’25 KASHMIR collection?
SF: The Kashmir collection represents a distinct evolution from the India collection, moving away from the vibrant and globally known Indian imagery to embrace Kashmir’s unique cultural tapestry, blending Muslim and Buddhist influences. Inspired by my experiences in Srinagar exploring Dal Lake and its flower markets, the Mughal gardens, and Ladakh’s ancient temples, this collection captures the ethereal beauty and storied artistic heritage of the region.

I collaborated with local artisans to preserve authenticity, integrating time-honoured techniques with fresh innovations. In Srinagar, we worked with a master papier-mâché artisan, incorporating their intricate floral designs into jewellery. Visiting the artisans’ homes revealed the surprising tradition of men as pashmina embroiderers, whose meticulous, centuries-old designs translated into motifs on the reversible marquetry earrings in the collection. I also explored the differences between shahtoosh and pashmina through hands-on learning, enriching the design process.

While the window shapes were inspired by Mughal Gardens, we used stone carvings mimicking the pine trees from the gardens, with one of the pieces featuring a window-like design with the carving of a pine tree as I saw it. Another highlight came from working with a Ladakh-based creative, who puts together collages of archival brocades and fabrics; one such fabric sparked the idea for a piece that encapsulated that specific moment and place. It was the peacock feather fabric woven by Buddhist monks. This led to a standout bracelet in this collection. These elements, drawn from hands-on experiences and artisan archives, ensure the collection vividly reflects Kashmir’s serene landscapes and intricate cultural and craft legacy.

RSQ:  What’s that one design that perfectly captures the beauty of Kashmir?
SF:  Besides cultural exploration, the Kashmir collection also draws inspiration from personal moments and discoveries, like a cherished velvet outfit with pashmina embroidery gifted by my son. I shared a photo of it with the artisan I work with in Udaipur, who meticulously painted the design in a smaller scale, translating the pattern across techniques. Paisley, a ubiquitous motif in Kashmir, inspired an earring featuring a miniature painting with a pashmina motif, accented with a pearl for elegance. Another standout piece is an ebony choker (with ebony sourced from Turkey) adorned with little paisleys and gemstones. This transformation of textile design and embroidery into jewellery felt mystical and honoured Kashmir’s rich heritage while pushing creative boundaries.

Paisley & Pashmina (From KASHMIR Collection)

RSQ: Having travelled from North to South, which cultural experience across your journey in India has been the most memorable for you?
SF: Different from the vibrant aesthetics of Jaipur and the natural beauty of Kerala, a city that I felt a deep connection with was Varanasi. Varanasi’s raw spirituality, centred around the Ganga River, was unlike anything I’d encountered. Witnessing the cremation ceremonies at the ghats during dawn and dusk was both humbling and intense, confronting me with the cyclical reality of death and life. This wasn’t the ornate India often celebrated, but its spiritual depth resonated deeply with me. This experience made me admire the people here even more for their evolved, soulful perspective. It remains a transformative touchstone in my travels. 

RSQ: As a designer, do you ever feel that traveling comes with an underlying pressure to seek inspiration from every place, making it difficult to simply unwind and relax?
SF:  I do cherish how my work fuels my travels, leading me to unique experiences and remote places where artisans live – destinations I wouldn’t visit as a typical tourist. These journeys add a layer of joy to my work, immersing me in a universe of discovery that enriches my design process with many extraordinary moments. It’s a challenging yet rewarding process, which is why I love what I do. It’s a unique privilege that transforms travel into a creative odyssey. 

RSQ: What’s next on your travel agenda?
SF: I’m always driven to uncover new, innovative techniques and artisans, as many remain undiscovered and unknown across the globe. For my next collection, I’m incorporating a unique Colombian technique called iraca, where dried and peeled wheat is woven into intricate, thin threads to create stunning patterns. This will be paired with marquetry for vibrant, colourful designs or miniature painting for detailed motifs, depending on the piece. By building an inventory of diverse techniques, I can authentically express the core vision of each collection, ensuring every creation feels new and distinctive.

All Images Courtesy of Silvia Furmanovich

 

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