Wouldn’t it be incredible to own a small piece of one of your favourite artist’s work? Thanks to FREYWILLE, now not only can you own an artwork but wear and flaunt it as well.
The aim of FREYWILLE has been to provide the world with beauty, in the form of the world’s finest fire enamel jewellery. The company’s goal is to make people happy, by producing exquisite hand-made, wearable art. “Our designs, many of which are inspired by masters such as Claude Monet, Alphonse Mucha and Egon Schiele, are designed to communicate the feelings brought to us by the joys of life – love, health, laughter,” expresses Louise Aird, Boutique & Marketing Manager of FREYWILLE in Vancouver.
The company was founded in 1951 by Michaela Frey, a master enamellist. As her company grew, she needed a business partner; she found one in the Viennese lawyer Friedrich Wille. He is now the CEO and owner of the company. The company’s operations remain in the same building where Frey began her career, in central Vienna, and all of FREYWILLE’s jewellery is made there, by hand. Today, there are 106 FREYWILLE boutiques in 35 countries.
FREYWILLE has the most enamel colours. “Before FREYWILLE, the master of enamel colouring was Carl Faberge, who held the record for the most enamel colours created. That record was broken long ago, by FREYWILLE, which has created 2500-3000 colours,” reveals Aird.
She adds, “In addition, no one in the world, except for FREYWILLE, knows how to infuse solid gold powder into enamel designs. We use 24k gold powder in all of our pieces, and no one else could begin to duplicate that process.”
FREYWILLE employs 12 full-time artists. ‘It takes two to three years to design and produce a new collection and our artists are constantly working at innovation and new designs,” explains Aird.
Talking about some of FREYWILLE”s collections, Aird states that last July, the Hommage a Claude Monet collection was released. There are now four sets in that collection: Irises, Giverny, Orangerie and Honfleur. “This year, we had an up-date of a design going back to the beginning of Michaela Frey’s career. It’s a set of bangles called ‘Viennese Art Nouveau’ and it’s exquisite,” she adds.
Aird points out that buyers like FREYWILLE’s quality and beauty. “When you walk into a room wearing FREYWILLE earrings, everyone looks at those earrings. A man walks into a boardroom wearing a pair of FREYWILLE cufflinks – it just sets the tone for the whole meeting. FREYWILLE’s pieces are so vibrant, so gorgeous – people can’t take their eyes off of them.”
The other thing that people like is that FREYWILLE is ‘different’. “Our customers want something ‘different’. They have all the precious gems they can possibly wear – they want fine art, writ in fire enamel. A FREYWILLE piece can last for years and years – even become an heirloom,” says Aird summing up.
