By Honorary Reporter Monthi Rosselini from Indonesia

Photo = Monthi Rosselini

I participated this month in a Korea.net project under the theme "Korea Fashion: From Traditional to Contemporary" with my products dubbed Munhwa Jewelry. As a jewelry designer in Indonesia, I was excited to create jewelry products influenced by Korean culture. Munhwa Jewelry is something that I eventually want to make into a brand. 

Introduction
Korea's unique and rich cultural background is a valuable source of inspiration, something which inspired me to create Munhwa Jewelry. I took traditional Korean design elements and infused them with modernity. Such elements are getting trendier, and I believe Korean heritage is a great source of inspiration to create collections.

Brand
I chose the Korean word for culture (munhwa) for my project. My concept is to create jewelry that integrates traditional Korean elements with modern designs to retain the traditional cultural spirit and promote Korean culture through these products.

Collections
My first two collections are Bojagi and Saekdong. The first was inspired by bojagi, or traditional folk patchwork using cloths made from scrap fabrics such as cotton, silk, ramie and hemp. The second was inspired by saekdong, or traditional patterns using five colors used in the past for designing Hanbok.

Concepts 
Both collections use a modern style by combining simplicity and geometric accents with traditional elements. The keywords of this collection are traditional, culture, simplicity, modern, contemporary, bright, colorful and happy.

Prototype
Both collections are made with high quality materials such as crystal, 925 sterling silver and 22K gold. The photos below show the process of making the prototype from design of the patterns to production the first sample of the crystal by replacing it with bio-epoxy (eco-friendly resin) and metal jewelry parts.

Vision

My hope is that Munhwa Jewelry promotes higher awareness of Korean culture both in Korea and the world.

enny0611@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.