SMCK CATALOGUE

FASHIONABLE

Tectonic shifts in world politics give birth to new values, ideas, aesthetics, life projects and perspectives, and influence creative expression and patterns of thought. SMCK Magazine sums up the new trends, and offers its readers an insight into what is tomorrow's fashionable in arts, crafts, lettres.

SMCK Magazine selected twelve artists for the Fashionable Catalogue, whose works refer to: recycling-upcycling, material scouting, re-branding concepts and inspiration-sources that have been prominent in the past  //  to designs that make people smile or laugh, while promoting a new social etiquette, an idiosyncratic dress code, and alternative status symbols  //  to the makers’ ultimate shield to mass production, namely the sophisticated, handcrafted designs that feature history, symbols in the art piece or product  //  to designs, concepts and presentations inspired by conflict, activism, militarism and anti-militarism. In the broader sense, Combat includes designs and works that reflect the spirit of freedom and yearning for an intense and meaningful life.

PARTICIPANTS

Ashgan Waked • Chien Yu Liu • Demitra Thomloudis • Daniel von Weinberger • Floor Mommersteg • Haldis Scheicher • Ingrid Schmidt • Loukia Richards • Marcelot • Natasa Litvin • Rahaf Asad • Sajeda Mokary

View the slideshow below!

DEMITRA THOMLOUDIS (USA)

Assemblies of Interaction – pendant, 2025. Nickel silver, silver solder, milk paint, Cclear sealant, leather. Photo: D. Thomloudis.


Assemblies of Interaction

This collection of jewelry engages with the unspoken narratives embodied in architectural spaces, transforming the poetics of space into wearable forms. I explore how jewelry can extend the unsaid into a visible, tactile language. By investigating architectural systems, I imbue materials with meaning, allowing them to speak through their presence on the body. Roles are reversed—architectural language now inhabits the intimate landscape of the body.

Each piece is created using computer-aided design software; components are precision-cut with an industrial fiber optic laser and joined through micro laser welding. These methods mimic the aesthetics and residue of industrial construction, echoing its processes and visual language. The jewelry acts as a bridge between the metaphysical and the tangible, revealing untold stories and unseen connections. It challenges traditional constructs of jewelry, using the medium to explore value, material sign systems, and identity—inviting deeper engagement with the architecture that surrounds us.


www.demidemi.net   |   @demidemidotnet

INGRID SCHMIDT (SWITZERLAND)

Pina Bausch, Der Tänzer – brooch, 2021. Copper, jewellery enamel, silver 925, steel. Photo: Ingrid Schmidt.


Pina

"Pina Dance, Dance Otherwise We Are Lost."
(Wim Wenders)

The brooch Der Tänzer, depicting a gently swaying dancer, is part of a series I created in 2021 as an homage to Pina Bausch and her dance ensemble. It is crafted from decorative enamel on copper, in a soft rosé tone that emphasizes the dancers' sensitivity.

Ingrid Schmidt draws on centuries-old goldsmithing techniques to create contemporary jewelry. Her work reflects the world of textiles, particularly structured and tactile surfaces. Each piece is entirely handcrafted. Gold and silver are hammered, sawn, and soldered until a unique, one-of-a-kind piece emerges. Various alloys are fused using the Korean goldsmithing technique Keum-boo to create vibrant, textured surfaces.


www.ingridschmidt.ch   |   @ingrid_schmidt_atelier

CHIEN YU LIU (TAIWAN)

Merry X-Ray – brooch, 2024. Fine silver, sterling silver, pearl, stainless steel pin. Photo: Chien Yu Liu.


Symbiosis

Analog experiences have been gradually transformed into digital signals; this subtle shift has altered our perception. Can we completely detach ourselves from the digital world, or fully embrace it? My works respond to this tension by utilising the traditional jewelry techniques, exploring the contradictions of our technological society. Through the process, I attempt to create a symbiosis within this evolving landscape.

Trained in Australia and the UK, Chien Yu Liu holds an MA in Jewellery and Related Products from Birmingham City University. Absence, presence, rhythm, and emotional weight are central to her practice. She has received the JOYA Award and a Top-5 Artist at Arte y Joya Award. Now based in Taiwan, she works across jewellery, audiovisual, and socially engaged projects.


www.veraelileg.com   |   @veraelileg

ASHGAN WAKED (ISRAEL)

Face piece, 2025. White round zircon, round garnet, Sterling silver (925), brass. Model: Ashgan Waked. Photo: Noi Arkobi.


Af'ida (Hearts)

I am Ashgan, an Arab Muslim. My project "Af'ida" explores the theme of faith and the relationship between the human being and God.
At their deepest emotional state, hearts are the point around which thoughts revolve. The Dome of the Rock, as a location, is the starting point of my line of thought, a line that moves from the outside inwards. Between complex forms and the prayer rug.

Stability and permanence are the meanings carried by the square shape in Islamic architecture. It is also the foundational form from which the details of my jewelry designs evolve. But how can a dimensionless shape create depth and layers? How can it build a moving world within itself? And at the same time, preserve the inner point of light?

These are the questions around which my thoughts revolve. Af'ida was my final project for the Bachelor's degree in Jewelry Design at Shenkar College.


@w.ashgan99

RAHAF ASAD (ISRAEL)

48 – necklace, 2025. Brass, Polypropylene, waxed string, leather rope. Model: Ariella Vogel. Photo: Noi Arkobi.


48

The project explores the complexity of the Palestinian identity of the "Arabs of 48," the inability to fully celebrate it, and the tension between belonging and not belonging. My jewelry reflects the duality and contradictions I experience in navigating these emotions. I express this tension through shapes, embroidery, and movements that emerge from the interaction between object and body, mirroring unity and division. Language can connect us and create belonging, yet it can also be a barrier, a source of distance.

Through my work, I sought to create a personal language to express complex emotions. The recurring form is inspired by plants and everything that grows from the land, at once natural and manufactured, curving yet pointed, beautiful yet dangerous, evoking both pain and allure. Each piece embodies a distinct state of being, moving between oppression, shame, pain, and pride.


@rahafdesigns01

NATASA LITVIN (UKRAINE)

Cвобода – collier, 2022. Steel, leather. Photo: LART Agnes Reka Toth.


Cвобода (Svobo'da) - Freedom

The Ukrainian soul and the Russian people are very different, but the word "freedom" is written in the same way, with the same letters: Cвобода.

Does the same word mean the same thing? And how can you live without Cвобода, if the keyboard has no letters for it anymore?

This necklace, crafted from a Cyrillic alphabet typewriter, reminds us that the essence of freedom is universal. The necklace does not contain the letters Cвобода, so the word becomes unspeakable.


www.natasalitvin.com   |   @natasalitvinart

HALDIS SCHEICHER (AUSTRIA)

Après Ski – necklace, 2021. Synthetic ribbon, Nordic ski, pieces of aluminium tubes. Model: Lea Kriegshaber. Photo: Roland Ferrigato.


Après Ski

The Après Ski series shows Haldis Scheicher‘s passion for breathing new life into items of everyday use. Alienated from its original purpose, the whole item or some parts of it, is put into the new context of her jewelry work and objects.

Après Ski also means a life after-original-use for objects that have served their purpose in the crowded ski circus, and found a new place in art. The jewelry series was created from a number of discarded ski poles and two pair of old Nordic skis between 2021-2024.


www.haldis.at   |   @haldis_schmuck

MARCELOT (SWITZERLAND)

Angela Merkel – bust, 2020. Newspaper and wool on metal structure and wood panel. Photo: Marcelot.


I am the people

"I am the people just as much as anyone else."
(Angela Merkel)

In the ancient world, the bust form represented power. The Romans sculptured the busts of their leaders, the Greeks of their gods, and these busts stood for the physical manifestation of their power.
We don't see similar busts of today's leaders. Gestures of grandeur or labour-intensive works of art do not manifest power anymore, Power is access to information.


www.marcelogalvao.eu   |   @Marcelotartist

LOUKIA RICHARDS (GREECE)

Donald – pendant, 2016. Loukia Richards. Embroidery on paper, textile, plastic diamonds. Private collection. Photo: Christoph Ziegler.


Donald

"Thank You Trump!", Chant Tel Aviv Crowds As Israeli Hostages Return. Source: Times News/YouTube

„After a landslide election victory in 2024, President Donald J. Trump is returning to the White House to build upon his previous successes and use his mandate to reject the extremist policies of the radical left while providing tangible quality of life improvements for the American people. This includes putting a stop to endless wars, defending our nation's borders, and unleashing the potential of the American economy, affording ALL Americans the opportunity to pursue THEIR version of the American dream."

Source: The White House – www.whitehouse.gov


www.loukiarichards.net   |   @loukiarichards

DANIEL VON WEINBERGER (BELGIUM/USA)

Presence of Absence/Le Petit Prince – necklace, 2025. Plastic, Ready Made. Photo: D.v.W.


PRESENCE OF ABSENCE

PRESENCE OF ABSENCE: The plastic, transparent, throwaway package of a comic toy. LE PETIT PRINCE: He is no longer there; only his negative form remains. READY MADE: Honoring the Emperor, the High Priest of 20th-century art. RROSE SÉLAVY: She does nothing but use the artist's eyes to create a new reality. BRICOLAGE: Claude Lévi-Strauss introduced the concept in The Savage Mind; it refers to a process of improvisation using available materials and ideas. LA SOCIÉTÉ DU SPECTACLE: Guy Debord tells us: "All that once was directly lived has become mere representation."


www.danielvonweinberger.weebly.com   |   @d.von.w

SAJEDA MOKARY (ISRAEL)

Elevation – foot piece, 2025. Sterling silver (925), zircon, enamel. Photo: Noi Arkobi.


Elevation

This spirit has risen and found peace in the holy city of Mecca, in the pure house of God. My spirit in it's elevation journey went from one filled with fatigue and anxiety to one that is calm and settled. At the beginning of the journey, the exhaustion from life's distractions overwhelmed my whole being until I encountered the Kaaba and gazed upon it. Gradually, a feeling of reassurance began to wash over my body. With every act of worship, I felt myself drawing closer to God, and consequently, I felt a sense of comfort and inner peace. This journey also had a special flavor, a beautiful aroma of "cardamom," which played a role in my relaxation and in maintaining my dedication to worship.

In this work, I wanted to convey to the viewer these feelings that surrounded and embraced me.


@sajedamokary

FLOOR MOMMERSTEG (NETHERLANDS)

Living Spaces – soft object, 2022. Nylon, constructed by melting. Photo: Floor Mommersteg.


Living Space

Living Space embodies the spirit of freedom through its flexible walls (borders), offering a quiet resistance to rigid structures of control. It consists of individual planes of nylon wire forming interconnected grids – frameworks that define space, yet remain open to movement, transformation, and exchange.

The use of transparent, permeable materials challenges the militarised language of division – walls, frontiers, enclosures – by proposing a model of space that is fluid rather than fixed, open rather than defensive. Overflowing colours shift with light and perspective, dissolving boundaries and inviting the viewer into a shared, participatory space.


www.floormommersteeg.nl   |   @floormommersteeg