Our process of design

I think it is very interesting to know how a process of design starts....and how it ends. I´m going to take as sample one style from our collection Sensuale by Rosario Fandiño, Eterna. Eterna means "Eternal", and when we started to think about this collection, we thought about meaningful symbols. Eterna, the Cross, doesn´t have a religious meaning, at least for us. No matter if you are a religious person, in what you believe or not; the cross has an ancient meaning before the christianity has taken it as its symbol. "The cross itself is the symbol of cosmic reality and must be therefore widely understood. The vertical line represents the male principle, and the horizontal represents the female principle, and these two lines are not separated from each other; intersected with precision, and crossing, join. The cross symbolizes the work that both, male and female principles, run together in the Universe" Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov. I love this definition!

Graphics and images 3-D of the main piece

ONA´s models emerge from a long process that starts with  lots of scribbles drawn by hand on a piece of paper. Those first drawings are the consecuence of a “brain storm” between Rosario and me, of: ideas, meanings, thoughts and the fashion trends for the season we are working on. Those scribbles start to get clearer, until they become into drafts with more precise details of dimensions, constituents, materials and colors.

When we are satisfied with these first drafts, Rosario continues the process in the computer to get the final drawings made by Autocad and Coreldra programs. These drawings are produced in 1:1 scale, to get a real idea about how it will "look" the prototype of the model.

When these graphics are finished, and we are sure that the final designs are matching our “dreams”,  they are sent to the factory to start working in the protomodel. Most of  the parts of  our styles are original and unique, and for that reason the first step in the production of the protomodel, is to develope the molds of each part. The mold is handycrafted, like a sculpture, and it´s made by a qualified artissan. It must be perfect, because the quality of the mold is the first step to get an excellent piece of jewelry.

Final graphic and first Protomodel

The next steps are quite technic, and they are: filling the mold with different kinds of Alloy, depending in the model, then pressing it, letting it get solid, taking out of the mold, making a first polishing of the “raw” piece to take away imperfections, plating it with silver or rhodium, making a  deep polishing to give the finishing to the plated surface, then decorating it with polished Check glass, and then,  the final quality control of that piece.  

Bracelet graphic

This protomodel will be analyzed, corrected if necessary, and then approved by us, Rosario and me. The jewelry, no matter which materials are involved in making it, is always a handicraf. It´s the result of the professional work of many persons, and for each step of the development of one piece of jewelry, many hands are putting their skills and wisdom to achieve that first style.

We "really" design our products; it´s such  a magic process developed from an empty paper to an object, a real piece of jewelry. Imagine our emotion when we are able to touch it after months of work, corrections, tests. Amazing! 

Finally we have our new style!! This is the result of the stunning process of the design: you imagine something, you project it, you make it real.  

And I tell you something more, this process applies to life. You can make real anything you can imagine...isn´t it wonderful? Yes, it is, indeed. You only need to want deeply to make your dreams come true!!!

Alejandra & Rosario

About ONA from the begining...

I think everybody have stories to tell to others, and so have I. I´m Alejandra, an argentinian Architect living and working in Mikkeli, Finland since 2007. Everybody would probably think that I work in my profession, and in fact I do, but not planning and putting up buildings: I design and produce, side by side with my daughter Rosario,  Fashion Jewelry. How is this? Well, for first instance when I arrived to Finland, although I came to work as Project Manager for a finnish Company, something was missing in my desire to create and share with others the result of my "creative side". This is definitely a professional addiction, and I´m totally convinced that professions are giving us, first, a particular point of view of the World and the Universe, and second, skills and tools to be applied in different fields.

In my seeking of where and how to develope this "creative hunger", I found aparently as a casuality -they never are- the opportunity of designing and making with my own hands, jewelry. The most surprising thing is that I had never made jewelry before! I remember now my first necklace, made with small pearls and natural stone beads, threaded with a stainless steel wire I found somewhere. I felt so happy about the result and about discovering how much I liked to do it. Then, the second, the third and more different styles came. I was feeding my "creative hunger", discovering this new capability I have, but not yet thinking in selling my small creations, and far less in developing a real business.

The next step was to improve my skills as jewelry maker, looking for information and tutorials about materials, techniques, fashion trends, and also history. Wow! This was a real universe to discover, and I was absolutely passionate about it. I was starting to take my new hobby very seriously! I was so amazed that I launched my tiny production showing it to my friends and people around me. The feedback was so positive that I started to think and believe that this could be a real opportunity to transform this hobby, in my way of living. This way I would have the chance to share my creations with many more people, and also to work seriously in something I really enjoyed.

Step by step, with a lot of efforts, hopes and dreams we were soon able to build a company and to supply more than 100 companies and private shops in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Australia and Argentina. ONA  has grown, thanks to the always positive feedback of our customers. Now the production of our own designs is outsourced in diferent countries, looking for ensuring the best quality, the compliance with European standards of safety, eco-friendly processes and ensuring that in the development of our products there is no child labor exploitation, as our basic values ​​and principles of conduct.

My daughter Rosario, who lives and works in Argentina, is Interior Designer.  She has  been always fascinated about creating her own jewelry and accesories, and to be fair, she is really talented and has the energy and enthusiasm of the youth. We  share  the passion for the design, and we are really happy working together. The 14000 kilometers distance that are separating us, are not an obstacle to be in touch every day, thanks to the support of the internet technologies.  She is in charge of our institutional image,  ONA´s facebook page and  most of our styles are her own creations.

This publication is ONA´s blog "kick of". Our aim is to embrace the advantages of the "cyber space" to show our products, tell our stories, get your feedback and also follow those blogs that could be a nurrishment for us.

We will come back soon!