İREM & BEGÜM ÖZBAŞ Monapetra Interview

In fact, we bridge our roots to the present day and reinterpret our past by placing our value judgments on jewelry.

 

You define Monapetra as “not only jewelry but also history”. Can we hear the story of Monapetra from you?

The world takes its power from its roots, and civilizations form the roots of societies. We sense a great meaning in interpreting these roots. As Monapetra, we briefly touch on the origin of the woman, the culture she lives in, the environment, the past, simply everything that surrounds her. We want the one who carries the Monapetra in her body, to find more than the jewels. A lot of intertwined stories are embodied in jewelry. Thereby, we reinterpret the past by combining it with the present time.

When you create your designs, you say that you are inspired by history, ancient civilizations and many philosophies and symbolisms that are related to them. How do you balance these three areas in your designs?

In fact, we bridge our roots to the present day and reinterpret our past by placing our value judgments on jewelry. This is the main theme we get inspiration from. By that, we create a civilization and culture of our own by giving concrete answers to questions like how would their money be if Monapetra would be a civilization; or what would their stamps tell us; and how would their woman pin jewelry? History is shaped by ancient civilizations. Ancient civilizations take shape the philosophy of its period. Our job is to interpret the symbolic elements we see. We try to combine history and philosophy in a single piece through symbolism.

Could you tell us about your customized works and collections that you prepared as a special concept?

Jewelry is a story in itself. In other words, it is one of the ways in which people express themselves. And the most valuable story for a man is that he finds something from himself. We designed a unique piece that could be a ring and a necklace at the same time that everyone could write their story on with a single word or a short sentence so that they always want to carry it on. The name of the collection is ‘’Your Collection’’. We were not wrong at all. This has become one of our most preferred pieces.

What kind of pieces do you have in your collection line and product range? What kind of materials do you prefer to use in your ornaments and jewelry?

All of our jewelry is 14-carat gold. We once again, renear it with 22-carat gold so that they will have an antique look. Additionally, we also use precious stones such as sapphire, emerald, ruby, aquamarine, and diamond in our collections. The energy emitted by the stones is as important as the stories of our products. We also use hand-drawn Roman

patterned windows and rammed earth. All designs belong to us, and the main theme of all emphasizes what comes from the earth and man’s own power.

Where do you see the ornament and jewelry industry in the future? What would you like to say regarding your brand’s future goals?

As we started, we aimed to modernize the understanding of classic jewelry. The designs we have created by embracing our roots, just like our own theme, increasingly modernized and kept up with the time. Our aim is to reach out to the future with pieces that everyone can carry on with love, weight-free, not camply but has an assertion and a discourse, adapting to time and day, which is, “now”, and carry the past to the future.