Designer Dish: Hayley Kruger

It is clear when looking at the fine jewelry pieces of Hayley Kruger that she has channeled the essence of boldness and beauty. This is because when designing her jewelry she has some of the most influential woman in history in her mind. She designs her jewelry with the women she aspires to be–that is why her jewelry is deemed to be exotic, bold, and completely original. Kruger pushes her creative potential each time she designs by giving her mind free-reign to conjure up these designs. I was absolutely delighted and astounded by the amount of passion exuded within each piece. I look forward to Hayley’s next collection! In the meantime, check out our exclusive interview with Hayley Kruger below..

FFB: Who is Hayley Kruger?
Hayley: Hayley Kruger is a girl who grew up in Southern Africa dreaming of becoming a designer.  Being surrounded by sub tropical plants and the vibrant colours that were used in traditional African bead work and weaving. I guess I was subliminaly inspired. I was also fortunate to grow up in a home where sewing, wood work and general making and creating were the norm.

FFB: Your jewelry is said to be bold, vibrant, and striking. How important do you think it is as a jewelry designer for your pieces to emblem those qualities?
Hayley: These are simply qualities that are inherently to me. They are not necessarily important to other jewelery designers, as you can’t beat a classic gold pendant or a pair of pearl earrings, however I have found it very difficult and restricting when I have tried to tone down my work.  I guess the girl from Africa is what defines my work and me.

FFB: I find it very intriguing that you design your jewelry for the women that you imagined that you’d grow up to be. Could you sort of elaborate on that?
Hayley: Since I was a girl sketching gowns for movie stars, I have always had a vision of my pieces being for strong dynamic women who are ambitious and successful. And I guess I dreamt that my journey as a designer would be simple and straight forward and that one day I would be amongst those glamorous women myself. Little did I know that the process is tough. You have to work extremely hard and you need to be tenacious. As working into the wee hours 7 days a week, is not the idea of glamour that I had in my mind as a girl. However I wouldn’t change it for the world.  As I am fortunately to be able to do what I love.

FFB: When designing jewelry do you have any restrictions or do you give your creative expression free reign?
Hayley: As I am running a business, I do consider things like the final cost of the piece, as you need to be realistic about what a customer is willing to pay. I also have to think about the practicalities of producing pieces.  However these can be viewed, not as restrictions, but as a way of giving collections a cohesion, flow and refinement. I also do 1 or 2 press pieces for each collection that are wilder and crazier and loads of fun to create.  I often can’t go to bed when I am making one of these pieces as I get so excited.

FFB: What can we expect from you and your jewelry in the near future?
Hayley: Continued, steady growth, as 2012 is already looking like Hayley Kruger jewelery will be more widely available and recognized.  The next collection will see more striking and identifiable pieces along with some more accessible styles for every day wear too.

To see more from Hayley Kruger and to purchase jewelry from one of her collections, visit her official website  here.