Artist Showcase: Corina of Cocorrina

I had my last Artist Showcase in November and I’ve been ready to put this lady on the blog for months now.  I hinted at this talented graphic and jewelry design in this week’s mail drop and I’m so excited to share some words from Corina of Cocorrina. Corina is extremely talented, based currently in Kelafonia, Greece. She makes beautiful concrete jewelry, as pictured above, and is also a pretty fantastic designer. She is super supportive of other bloggers and can be often found in many bloggers’ comment boxes. Thank you Corina for sharing your story here!

When did you get into graphic design?

When I was studying in college interior design, in our very first year, we had a course of graphic design. Although I was very passionate about it, I continued studying interior design, and only after college was over, I decided that that I wanted to be a graphic designer and that was my calling. With the support and encouragement of my husband (boyfriend back then) I took online lessons for graphic designer softwares and spent countless hours in front of the computer practicing, and then taking inspiration from other graphic designer. Being self taught wasn’t easy at first. I felt that there was a lot of things i was missing, and didn’t know. I did lack some self esteem also. But practicing every day, made me better from project to project. And I realized that sometimes discovering knowledge and gaining experience yourself, is much more valuable than have learned it by someone else.

How did your freelance design journey lead you into jewelry design?

That was a weird choice of me. There was no correlation of the graphic and jewelry design. Once I started my blog, and entered the daily life in front of my computer, I became more and more passionate about fashion. Whenever I get passionate about something, I express it by creating something, contributing. One day I woke up and I decided that i would start an Etsy shop. I had come up with this idea of silicone braided bracelets, and just because I loved it, and felt that it was original, it encouraged me to actually take the leap. It was something I believed in, and felt confident with. And on top of everything representing and creating something that people all over the world would be able to wear, made me even more excited.

How has your blog life affected your businesses?

In a really big way. A good 60% of my clients find me via my blog. The rest 40% from my social media. And that’s only fair, since my blog, is something like my home. It’s were I feel comfortable being myself, being creative, and share my work. This is where people see my style and who I am, so they instantly know if I’m suitable for them.

What has been your favorite project in your career thus far?

Most of anything I’ve done till today, i enjoyed working on Cambria Grace’s lookbook. We both worked on her logo first, which was one of my favourite projects as well. She’s such an excitable and happy person, with positive energy and that just made me feel the same way.

I had never worked on a lookbook before that, and at first i was very cautious. I didn’t take me a while to realize how liberating it is to design a lookbook. It felt like an explosion of creativity, every page feeling better than the other one.

How would you differentiate your jewelry design from others?

I’ve never thought of that to be honest. I just go with my guts, what I like, what makes me feel creative and original. To always make sure that what I create expresses who I am, what I would wore. I guess what makes my product different from other jewelry is that I use concrete, which is not your common, every day material that you would wear.

The structure and how strong it feels, combined with colours that make it more classy. I’ve always been a fan of combining two opposites. Strong and soft. Masculine and feminine. And that’s 100% how my jewelry is translated into.

What has been your biggest inspiration as a creative?

Usually, I get inspired by a lot of things not just one. But on top of my list, has to be films, pictures and music. Instagram has helped me a lot to become a more creative person myself and find inspiration in my surroundings. As a result, everything I see, I see it in a creative, photographic way. Specific movies that i watch and re-watch, that create a magical feeling, and music that creates pictures, shapes and colours in my mind.

To sum it up, all those three have something in common: being out of the ordinary. A move, a song, a picture, walking a route that I’ve never walked before, experiencing something magical and unique, this is what sparks my imagination.

What advice would you give other creatives who are thinking about opening their own shop/business?

Opening a business is no easy task. Everything at first seems to be fun and easy but then real life hits. All new starts have their difficulties, but I’m pretty confident that as long as you are really passionate about what you do, stay true to who you are, creative and confident, that will separate you from the crowd.

Be sure to connect with Corina!

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