Interview Nina Janvier

It is in her studio in Montreal that designer Nina Janvier thinks, designs, and crafts unique sculpture jewelry by hand. Each piece of jewelry is the result of an artistic journey that begins in her mind before translating into material. Nourished by various artistic inspirations and a moving course, Nina Janvier is an artist-craftswoman with an elegant, quirky and self-confident universe. Discover the history of her eponymous brand through her confidences with the Label AÉ.

Can you introduce yourself in a few words?

I am Nina Janvier, founder of the eponymous brand. I grew up in Normandy then I lived in Paris, Granada and Barcelona, before settling in Montreal. I studied foreign languages ​​applied to international trade which led me to work at Disney France, for derivative products. I was a textile and accessory product manager for a while. Then I also had several jobs in fashion, notably for a lingerie brand in Paris. In the end, I realized that I was more with the creators and that I was not myself a creator. It was when I arrived in Montreal 7 years ago that I decided to embark on fashion-oriented studies, at least in jewelry. I then created my brand in 2015.

The name of your brand has changed from Nina Nanas to Nina Janvier, why this change?

At the beginning, I launched my brand without too much business vision. I just used my Instagram name because I found the pineapple pun and my first name funny. Moreover, one of the first jewelry that I marketed was a pineapple-shaped pendant. After that there were several variations, so I thought it fit well.
Except that I evolved, my tastes were asserted and I also changed, so it no longer corresponded to what I was doing in my collections. At the beginning I had a jewel, then I added another, and in the end it made a collection. But after a while, it got structured so I launched more thoughtful and better thought-out collections. From then on, my name didn’t match. Nina Nanas made too much reference to a playful universe. Even though I still have this universe in mind, the name Nina Nanas no longer exudes the maturity that I had acquired over the years.
So I decided to take my last name under the advice of a friend. It took me two years to make the transition because I wasn’t really sure. For me, my name is nothing special, I think we see it differently when it’s our own name! But since then I haven’t regretted anything because I got really good feedback and I think it really changed the game for my jewelry company.
I needed something that chose me more: and what better than his own name for that? I take more ownership of my brand and according to customer feedback it’s an artist name so I’m really happy! (laughs)

It is true that one has the impression of a maturity acquired over the collections. Does this maturity imply a change of clientele? In other words, who is Nina Janvier jewelry intended for now?

I do think that there has been a change of clientele. I saw it with the penultimate Dada collection and I’m starting to see it with the new collection that I just released in my store. It’s not the same type of clientele compared to the beginning, when I was doing pineapples and minimalist, more entry-level jewels. Before, I tended to have a clientele younger than me, I would say in my early twenties. Now the clientele is a little older. Finally, she is closer to my age. I’m 37 and the people I attract are around my age if not above. In terms of style, there is surely a maturity that is reflected, the collections are better made. And since it suits me better, it necessarily attracts people closer to me, my tastes, my style and my age.
It is also certain that my collections are a little more expensive. I went upmarket and there I went upmarket with the next one. It necessarily involves another budget for the clients, so I think it comes naturally as well.

What are your main sources of inspiration?

Mainly art and I really go with my personal taste. I have an affinity for everything that is the Dada period, so I had made a collection of it. That does not mean that I am no longer inspired by it for the next ones or the previous ones which were tinged with Dadaism and surrealism.
There I’m heading for something else, in any case the storytelling is different. It’s a slightly more marine theme. It is not the walk on the seaside, it is rather all that is preparation of ships, boats, work in the port, difficult work, the place of women in the world of the navy, storms etc … Said like that, it’s a little dark aspect of the sea and what turns around! (laughs) But as I need a lot of colors around me, my collection is punctuated by a lot of touches of color that come, in the end, in contradiction with all this rather difficult universe. And I’m still going to tie it back to art because I need it and I built my brand around it.

My inspirations are therefore quite varied, but I will say that in general I have an affinity for decorative art, small sculptures and beautiful objects. You know, the small items that we accumulate and that are not used for much because they are not necessarily useful? I could have an entire collection!

In the Dada collection, you honor women and their influence on this artistic and literary movement of the 20th century. And in this new collection, you are also inspired by women and their working conditions. Can you tell us more about the place of women in your collections?

It’s still something that touches me more and more. I don’t like to say it’s in the era of time because it’s not true. But let’s say that currently a lot of debates are returning to the place of women with positive changes. It impacted me a lot because as a woman, I feel directly concerned even though I have a privileged place as a woman who was born in France and who lives in Canada. So yeah, it touches me and it’s just to put a little emphasis on it. I don’t want to do a feminist collection but I want to mention it to say that it is present and important.
After that I still have some models that are mixed. But I think that in a fairly natural way, I make collections for women, because my jewelry is above all jewelry that I would like to wear as a woman. It is therefore a natural process with a desire to put a little emphasis on current issues.

How is a typical day in your workshop? In other words, how is the jewel born and evolving before reaching the customer?

I have a pretty slow creative process and at the same time I realize over time that creation is that. It is not abnormal to take your time because it is still a craft job. I am not a machine, I am all alone and I do not want to fall into a “fast fashion” system. I want to take the time to develop products that are sold at the right price. Even if it seems expensive, it will be the price just because I spend time in it.
Basically, it’s a lot of research. I go there initially with an impulse. There is something that appeals to me: an object, a theme, a style. So I think about it, I think about it, I think about it. I turn it over in all directions, I see if it’s a facade or not, in general it is not. This reflection phase lasts for weeks or even months.
And then, as I go along, I have an idea for a translation into a jewel that I will start to develop. I will work maybe with wax or maybe directly with metals. I pile up a lot of pictures and bits of text in a tote on my phone and my computer and it really gets messy. After a while I start to get very uncomfortable with all this mess and need structure. This is where I start a cleaning job: I will make selections and see what I like the most.
Then, I take the small pieces of metal, the samples that I had worked on and I force myself to choose an axis of creation. There I draw everything I can, everything that goes through my mind. I try as much as I can to make everything I have drawn and time makes certain things disappear naturally.
When I have decided on the models, I make them and have the jewel photographed on a white background. From there, I know I don’t touch him anymore.
Then all the story telling work happens: the research, the text, the story. I take a lot of time writing the story and the texts because I need to learn about each topic. There are things, for example, that I came back to because when it was time to make the jewelry it wasn’t clear enough or it wasn’t what I wanted to say. I have this need for research and detail in the words, to be able to translate it into the jewel. It nourishes the interpretation of the jewel and, sometimes, it is the reverse, the jewel leads me to reflect a little more on the history. It is therefore a work that goes hand in hand
It is also at this time that I set the price before putting the jewel in store or online.

Do you have a favorite piece?

It depends on the collections. In the Dada collection, I really like the Suzanne signet ring. It’s a signet ring that I sculpted in wax with a pattern on it that I engraved at the end. This pattern represents all the shapes present in the collection. I think it’s a successful signet ring anyway because of one, it is very comfortable, two, I find it elegant, and three, it has that slightly playful side that I like but without doing too much.
I also really liked the Sophie and Elsa earrings which are asymmetrical. I think they represented this movement game well. They are colorful, completely asymmetrical and I love that! Then finally it was one of my best sellers so I think I got confirmation that it was a cool product! (to laugh)
There, in the upcoming collection, I fell in love with a pearl necklace that I developed and on which I worked a lot. It looks simple when you see it, but I worked on the clasp a lot. Technically it was a challenge for me and I think that makes it a piece apart. It really is a classic pearl necklace revisited. First, with this clasp which is different and which serves as a little decorative element. And also because I used fluorescent colored threads that I tie between each pearl and it gives a real modern touch to the traditional pearl necklace. It really is my favorite piece from the new collection.

This new collection arouses curiosity! When can we find her?

Not immediately ! I opened a store in Montreal in July and the collection is there. But I have not yet started the photography work for the site, nor the documents for the dealers. It is also a very special year. The store was not planned, it was an opportunity that I seized on the fly. And I started from the principle that, anyway, we had just lived almost two years a little out of the ordinary and that if everything was not ready in the rules of the art as we usually expect, it would not be so dramatic and we will adapt to it!
I’m a little late but at the same time I tell myself that it’s like that and then it will be different then it’s also cool that it is not done as usual! (to laugh)
Above all, I think that the last two years have deconstructed a lot of things, we realized that some things could no longer work as before. It called into question a lot of things in any case in the world of fashion.

What do you think is timeless fashion?

I am a bit unlike the classic jewel that you can wear all your life because it is a shape that will not move. My definition is to have a crush that lasts forever. It can be something completely crazy chosen that will no longer correspond to what is in the era of time, but it is timeless because it is your own and it comes from a strong emotion. I want the people who buy my jewelry to be people who have a real affinity, that it creates an emotion and that for them, it becomes a timeless piece because it was very strong from the start.
But I kind of refuse to do things that are timeless in the classic sense. It is nevertheless a rather delicate term that I use very little because I have the impression to have a definition apart. Let’s say that if we talk in textile terms of a timeless fashion, it would be a trench coat that we can wear every year that goes with everything and that everyone will appreciate. On one all of the pieces like that. Or that’s not what I want to do with my jewelry. I want to go less and less towards that. I don’t want to make a very simple ring because everyone is going to love it their whole life. That’s not how I see fashion anyway.

Why did you choose Label AÉ Paris to represent your brand?

I thought there was character in Eddy’s selection. I don’t know why I liked it right away. From the start there was a character with this mixture of culture, pieces or brands like Tremblepierre with her kimonos. For me, the right word to describe Label AÉ Paris is really character. There is a selection which has character, which is colorful but which is tasteful. There is something that reminds me a bit of the arts. I have the impression that it is a mixture of the Musée du Quai Branly with a little funky fashion but not too much. There is a kind of elegance that emanates from it and at the same time it is still very marked. In short, I really fell in love with it. And then after I met Eddy and there it was a crush for the person too so everything was done! (laughs)