0About me
My name is Papp Csilla, mother of two beautiful girls, and lover of jewelry making.
The harmony of colours has been a part of my life for a long time now, and I actually started making jewelry by accident in January 2011. At first, I was practicing beading and bead embroidery, then one day I saw a soutache jewelry, and I knew that that was what I wanted to do.
Over the years, this creation has brought me many adventures, friendships, and happiness into my life.
My first exciting experience was when I made my first few pieces of jewelry, and an american company reached out to me to represent them on an exhibition in England. Needless to say, I was very nervous.
Following this I had a few interviews, and I had to make some jewelry patterns for the Australian Beading Magazine and the Beads & Beyond magazine. By then I held courses all throughout England, and I received an invitation from London to teach at the Big Bead Show, organized by the Bead and Jewellery Magazine. I also got invited to the Birmingham Jewellery Chanel channel to show how to make soutache jewelry step by step.
This is how my ’small’ hitting jewelry career started. 🙂
After that, an american publisher reached out to me in 2015, asking to write a book about the soutache jewelry techniques. This is how my first book (Sensational Soutache) got published ont he 1-st of february, 2016. It appeared in many countries of Europe, in the USA, in Australia, in Japan, it was also issued in Russia at the end of 2016. In 2017, i was invited to Italy (Mater Beads), where I held a workshop, and my jewelry was displayed. It was one of my happiest and most memorable events.
March of 2018, the ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade introduced the ’Mindenkinek legyen egy Ünnepi Magyar Viselete’ movement, in which i got to take part in with my creations through Katrics Krisztina vice President of Crafts.
On may 30th, 2019, in Budapest, they presented my jewelry on the A-38 ship, organized by the Sandava Design Studio and Art Gallery.
On june 30th, 20222, in Amman, the capital of Jordania, ont he initiative of Hungary’s Amman embassy, and by the request of the Ministry of Agriculture Hungarikum Department the Federation of Folk Art Associations organized a fashion show, within the framework of which the audience got to see 10 hungarian fashion designers work.
With my jewelry I also got to be a part of this show.
I am very grateful that we met… me and the great soutache jewelry, which shape me the same as I shape them into beautiful jewelry pieces.
How I make the soutache jewelry products?
The soutache techniques essential accessory is the soutache cord itself.
Soutache is a flat, 2-6mm wide cord, which is used to decorate clothes, and is produced by braiding. Originally, it consists of two separate, parallel bundles of yarn; the dividing line was visible between them. It appeared on hungarian costumes in the 17th century. It was especially popular in the rococo period, when coats and trousers wered decorated with soutache. The word became known in some foreign languages too (ex.: the french soutache). According to Pallas’S great lexicon ”flat cord, with which the Hungarian dolman, coats and trousers are kibbutzed with.”
I mainly work with cords produced by the Italians, which are perhaps the finest materials in terms of quality and colour.
The jewelry is made by sewing. I sew on every cord, bead, and part one by one, thereby shaping the form of the jewelry.
The sewing requires a special needle and thread, which further provide the jewelrys
excellent quality and long life.
Besides the cords, the other important components are the crystals, beads, the chains and the many more small treasures, of which my favourites are crystals made by Swarovski. This is mostly the main starting point for the jewelry. The crystals colour and shape is the most decisive when making a new piece. Of course, I like to use minerals, beautiful glass beads, shells, or even beads from fruits, and even ’stones’. The back of the jewelry is covered with authentic, good quality cowhide, which is perfectly skin-friendly.
I always strive to make unique, timeless pieces, which are impeccable in quality as well.
I would like to show how you can make different kinds of jewelry with the same material, and not only jewelry, but a kind of harmony, in which we women can find ourselves, and we can wear them as a kind of self expression.
I don’t stick to nor traditions, nor the modern neatness – I aim for the harmony every time when choosing the shape and colour of each piece.
On this video you can see how I making a soutache jewelry: