Capturing Elegance: A Conversation with Jewelry Designer Leo Eberlin
In the world of jewelry design, there are those who simply create beautiful pieces, and then there are those who possess an innate ability to capture the essence of elegance and luxury in their creations. Leo Eberlin, the brilliant mind behind the renowned jewelry brand Leo Mathild, belongs firmly in the latter category. With her unwavering passion for stones and an unyielding dedication to her craft, Leo has risen through the ranks to become one of Germany's most celebrated jewelry designers.
In this exclusive interview with Officiel Cyprus magazine, we delve into the extraordinary journey of Leo Eberlin. From her humble beginnings to her meteoric rise in the world of jewelry design, Leo opens up about her creative process, her sources of inspiration, and the remarkable experiences she has encountered along the way. Join us as we uncover the secrets behind Leo Mathild's success and gain insight into the mind of a visionary artist who continues to redefine the boundaries of beauty and elegance in the realm of fine jewelry.
What inspired you to set up your business and what were you afraid of the most?
Freedom! It was so important for me to finally be able to do whatever I want to do and not to work off other peoples to do list. I wanted to express what’s in my soul and bring out products and designs that I really like.
How did you fall in love with design and why?
I started to work in a jewellery store already when I was sixteen and this was my student job to earn some money. I really liked it and I felt like I had a strong connection with diamonds, gemstones and jewelry. I would often dream of making my own jewelry. Whenever I was looking at a jewelry piece I would constantly changing details in my head how I would design it.
Can you talk about a particularly memorable piece or collection you've designed, and what makes it special to you?
Jewellery is not always about inventing something new. Its about making the perfect versions of classics of your way and how you think it should look like. For me, it was the most important job to perfect classics and do my own interpretation of what I think it should look like. In this way, our „Leo’s perfect solitaire setting“ style for engagement rings was born. It is a solitaire setting with double prongs hugging the stone. Great simplicity is just very hard to achieve.
How is it to work in a business that is so male dominated?
There are a lot of women in design and marketing. But in wholesale trading there are men only. I never had a feeling that I was disrespected as a woman. Men always treated me like a serious client, I just have the feeling this business made me tough in price negotiations and the process of purchasing stones.
How do you balance the creative aspects of your work with the business side of things, such as marketing and sales?
It both has been a passion of mine. I used to work in investment for many years - so I love business development but luckily I am also a creative person. So it has never been a problem to combine both. Creativity requires a lot of mental space and dedication. Obviously I have a lot of people helping me with the business aspect of the company. I have a team overlooking the numbers. But in general I love business development, it is really fun, and isn’t it also a part of being creative? I think the major key is to have a very clear time management where you put in hours in your calendar for both and not try to mix everything up.
Picture Credits: Patrycia Lukas
