Making Jewellery, De-influencing Ourselves and Celebrating Craft.
Jewellery is a part of fashion that we sometimes forget about, amidst the rapid flow of fast fashion garments swirling across our screens. But Jewellery has been a part of human existence from day 1, and is arguably the most sentimental and meaningful of all the items we adorn ourselves with. When we discovered the beautiful, fluid silver jewellery by Barcelona-based jewellery house Crush Jewel we had to pop a few questions over to its founder Pei Liu.
You mentioned that you founded Crush Jewel after struggling to find a job in a traditional jewelry workshop. What was that experience like, and what made you take the leap into starting your own business?
“To be honest, I didn’t insist on the idea of finding a job in a big cooperate or a traditional jewellery shop. I had few interviews with this type of business, because my idea at the time was to get in and get some experience, to learn about the business. However, sitting in these interviews, the businesses weren’t that appealing.
In a financial aspect, or creatively; and one was asking for free work to establish new styles for them to test out for example. I didn’t get into jewellery making because I thought it would make me a millionaire or a world famous designer, but earning enough money is a key part of a sustainable creative career. Struggling with this I spoke to a few friends and the option to work for myself seemed like the best idea for me at the time.”
So when did you found Crush Jewel? What was that journey like?
“Creating a brand from scratch actually wasn’t the most difficult part, I am very good at planing and organising. Overall the journey is less magical and romantic than most people would think. As an independent brand, I have to do everything myself, it’s a lot of hard work. Luckily I met my other two coworkers along the way, one is a photographer and the other specialises in marketing and customer service. They were also at the point of starting a marketing agency and branding service, so it was perfect timing and we decided to work together. They helped create Crush Jewel with a solid foundation that I had found difficult to do on my own.
Almost immediately, while Crush Jewel was still being set up, we were invited to participate in Milan jewellery week, and this was followed by many other events.”
This all happened in 2022, in the aftermath of COVID-19s initial sweep of the globe, the brand showed at Milan Jewelry Week and RVNHUS Gallery in Kolding, Denmark in its very first year, with the debut collection Gazelle. Pei then developed further collections that have graced numerous high end and prestigious pop-up markets like the Christmas market in Mandarin Oriental Barcelona and design market in the Design Museum Barcelona. Presently, her pieces can be found in shops in the greater Barcelona area, New York city, and several exclusive digital artisan marketplaces. It’s a pretty exciting range of stockists and features for a brand less than 5 years old.
Your jewellry is entirely handmade, without any use of 3D printing, and your website is pretty clear about your aspirations to focus on traditional craftsmanship and unique designs. Can you tell us why this preservation feels so important to you?
“I think technology is a way to make our work easier, with the correct tool it can helps us to reduce the parts of the process that are tedious and improve efficiency. Yet, in my opinion, it should not be the replacement or the sole way to produce creatively.
I think without the manual and physical production by people in creative industry, our possibilities actually become limited. I work with many sensations when I create, and when the production is only on a 2D platform, I personally am not able to work. My work is very much based on forms and shape, it is a very personal approach; without working an item manually, psychically touching, and observing the object and the material, I believe I would not able to create a curve, a shape, or a texture that is personal to me and unique in this world.”
You’ve spoken about the deeper value of handmade jewellery—beyond just the physical object, it represents years of experience, knowledge, and ideas. And we agree. But do you think the average shopper truly understands and appreciates that?
“Honestly it is a concept that we need to spend a lot of energy, time, and space to explain to consumer. Yet, manual work and craftsmanship have existing since forever. The difficulty is that as much as artisan products and craftsmanship are fascinating, in a mass production, capitalism-driven society there is always another cheaper substitution in the same category of what you do.
We live in a world where unfirtunately art, artisan items, and the creative industry as a whole, are viewed as a luxury, and are moving into even more exclusivity.”
You grew up admiring high fashion as an art form, but you’ve also talked about how today’s industry is challenging for independent designers. What do you think has changed the most? And what are some of the challenges young designers face?
“When I was young what I admired was the craziness, the freedom, and the uniqueness of the high fashion designers I saw. I was born in the 90’s and who I admired the most was probably Alexander McQueen. It was not just what he was able to create, but the curiosity and the desire of people wanting to see him break the rules. Also, in the past, a designer was allowed to be just the creative mind, there was less pressure to also be the iconic face of the brand, or the social media influencer. They were allowed to have space and time to be just a designer. I envy that they had the luxury to be in the workshop to experiment, find their media, and focus on creating, not because there was no need to do marketing, but it was a time that nothing was as immediate as things are expected to be now. Now, young or new designers are facing the biggest challenge of just finding the time and space to be creative. Everything has to be done fast and you need to be connected to social media constantly.
I believe to be creative you sometimes need to be completely alone with yourself to digest information and stew on your ideas”
With this constant need for every brand to be all over social media, endless influencer collaborations, and fast fashion dominating the industry, how do you carve out space for your brand?
“For a brand the easiest and most effective thing you can do is to pay a big, famous influencer to promote the product and bring visibility. But from my personal view and the Crush Jewel brand spirit, influencer culture isn’t right for us. Just debating the topic of what is an influencer and who is an influencer troubles me. I think historically an influencer, or influential person, could be in any occupation if they are knowledgable enough in their fields and have the capacity to give this knowledge back to his or her community. The influencer culture we have now is much more superficial and, again, faster. It is another new baby of capitalism, to distribute products to their audience under a commission, not to act as a thought leader.
And, coming back to Crush Jewel, the brand spirit is about craftsmanship, timelessness, and small production, chasing massive exposure and huge quantities of sales would go against these ideas. My co-workers and I started to reach out to artists that have similar values as us, and also who recognise what I make and what Crush Jewel stands for, we manage to do collaborations and sponsorship in exchange for Photoshoots and interviews, and it enables us to show these talents to our audience and vise versa. “
Ethical production and sustainability are major concerns in fashion, yet consumers are often drawn to convenience and affordability. What do you think is the best way to shift consumer habits toward more conscious shopping?
It is not an easy task, as consumers we are all aware that most of the time we will compare prices above anything else. What I do personally is that before purchasing anything I go and research the company or the manufacturer. It is almost impossible to not touch some kind of dubious production line in daily life, but I find it easier if I start by section, for example buy local food, buy from local designers that produce independently, buy from a secondhand store.
In my opinion, it is not enough to just show people how fast fashion is impacting environmentally, because there is already a lot of information about this out there, it’s maybe more important, now, to promote and give visibility to the brands and makers who are working more sustainably, so they can show up in the public eye.
What makes it difficult is that most of these brands or makers are small businesses, and it is almost impossible to surface through google SEO, meta ads, or even put up any physical advertisements due to funding.
Your designs go against the everyday dainty jewellery trend. How do you hope your work influences people’s perception of personal style?
“I personally am not against dainty jewellery, I believe everyone should wear what they feel most comfortable in. What I don’t agree with is the unsaid rules about what is professional, or fits the aesthetic ‘standard’.
What I personally find difficult is when a client likes my jewellery but says they can not find an occasion for it or that in daily life they cannot wear it. I always try to help them see that actually it is ok to wear something unconventional or something that stands out, anytime that you want to.
This uncomfortableness that people feel and the fact that they feel they need to have a special occasion to wear a piece of jewelry that they like is a reflection of how our society can be so closed minded.
I wish one day all of us could feel the freedom to express ourselves in our own way, where we don’t feel judged or the need to follow a certain image to be seen as professional, pretty, or confident.”
Where do you see Crush Jewel in the next few years? Do you have any dream collaborations or new directions you'd love to explore?
“At this moment, I am unsure, I am still trying to find the balance between doing what I love and having a functioning business. Recently, I have been thinking about how to produce more kinds of objects, such as wall decorations. I would like to explore more in larger scale, physically, using what I know from jewellery making, especially wax carving.”
Stay in the loop with Pei’s latest designs, and see the beautiful pieces that already exist here.