Exhibiting at the IX Muestra AdOC de Orfebrería Contemporánea 2025 Madrid — After Just One Year of Embracing the Craft
A New Beginning in Valencia
Two years ago, I moved from Romania to Valencia with my husband and our three young daughters, drawn by the Mediterranean light and the promise of a slower, more fulfilling lifestyle.
As an architect with more than a decade of experience, I never imagined I would trade blueprints for silver and seaglass—but Valencia had other plans for me.
A Spark of Inspiration
Everything changed with a simple birthday gift: a short jewelry-making class in a small local workshop: Taller Joyería Valencia. The craft captured my heart immediately. Before I knew it, I had set up a tiny bench in my kitchen, soldering recycled silver whenever I found free time. Each piece became a way to merge my architectural background with my passion for sustainability.
Naturalesa.Shop Is Born
Fueled by the region’s warmth, I founded Naturalesa.Shop to create jewelry inspired by the sea, nature, and the city’s laid-back atmosphere. My goal is to remind wearers that the simplest materials can become something extraordinary when shaped with intention and care.
Selected for AdOC
In what feels like a whirlwind, four of my creations have been chosen for the 9th AdOC Contemporary Gold & Silversmithing Exhibition 2025, organized by the Asociación de Diseñadores de Orfebrería y Joyería Contemporáneas (AdOC). Three of them are on display at the National Museum of Decorative Arts, and another is showcased at the Museo Cerralbo in Madrid—an incredible honor for someone who was just practicing soldering in her kitchen a year ago.
The Four Pieces on Display
1. Portable Vessel
Concept:
A reflection on how jewelry can encase something humble yet priceless—nature’s simplest gifts. It challenges our ideas of “luxury” by showcasing organic material in a gold-plated brass vessel, suggesting that nature itself is the true treasure.
2. Elderberry Network
Concept:
Inspired by the unseen interconnectedness that shapes our universe. Branching forms with garnet and black onyx symbolize hidden links in nature—and in human relationships—reminding us that everything is part of a greater whole.
3. Anchor Ring (Raíz Ring)
Concept:
What grounds us in a world of constant movement? Inspired by barnacles—resilient creatures that cling to surfaces despite shifting tides—this ring symbolizes internal growth and stability even when everything around us changes.
4. Food Chain
(Exhibited at Museo Cerralbo)
Concept:
A stark juxtaposition of nature’s beauty and human impact. Highlighting the escalating presence of plastic waste in our oceans, this piece questions our role in polluting the very ecosystem we rely on—a reminder of the destructive legacy we risk leaving behind.
A Grateful Heart
Seeing these designs in such emblematic institutions is both thrilling and humbling. I hope anyone who views them feels a spark of the same wonder that inspires me each day. Thank you for following along on this journey—proving that it’s never too late to discover a new passion and bring it to life.
Thank you for reading and supporting this adventure. Your encouragement makes every milestone—big or small—worth celebrating.