Noren's Craft

What inspires you? 

It is a simple, yet daunting, question that can feel charged with hidden implication. It pressures for a response laden with some profound meaning. It requests a type of ‘inspiration’ validated through a conception of beauty that is understood by everyone.

Noren is a product of curiosity, spontaneity, and a willingness to experience inspiration everywhere. We exist at a crossroads between functionality and aesthetic design. It is the ergonomics of cutlery, the austerity of architecture, and the manufacturing excellence of watches that lie at the heart of this belief.

How is Noren different? 

We seek to challenge how we experience jewelry, which is often through a purely aesthetic lens that values opulence and status. Being makers, we certainly appreciate the detail and the level of skill required to craft the finest and most ornate pieces of jewelry. But it’s not for us.

We design jewelry that is modern, minimal and with purpose. With this philosophy, the simpler something looks, the more important the smallest of details become.

This idea of power in simplicity is explored through our debut collection, inspired by the function of a staple. In appreciating something as simple yet ubiquitous as an office staple, this collection epitomizes the adage that form should follow function.

What is the concept behind the Staple Collection?

The idea was to join metal surfaces mechanically without the use of solder. We began by looking through books of furniture design and became fascinated by the construction of the Siesta chair by Ingmar Relling. A cord is passed through a plywood frame and threaded through a fabric backrest. These functional details are left exposed while doubling as a design element of the chair. Admiring the visual impact of this piece, we thought of how we could do something similar with jewelry. Viewing the parallels, both functionally and aesthetically, with how a staple would hold paper together, we set out to apply it in Noren’s first collection.

Are there any design challenge in this collection? 

Though the staple design appears straightforward, the execution required over 40 iterations before a final product was reached. In gaining an in-depth understanding of the various processes of making jewelry, we try to use the methods best suited for each component part.

For instance, when making the slots for the staples in the band, one of the main goals is repeatability. Casting is the most common method for production pieces due to its relative ease and low cost. However, cast parts have lower metal density and lack the underlying grain structure that the same parts made from forging and forming.

We opted instead to roll solid bars of precious metal to craft the bands with forming techniques. To cut the slots, traditional methods would call for the use of jeweller’s saws. Even the most skilled goldsmith cannot cut the slot with the precision required for the design. Rather, we used a laser cutter to produce consistent and perfectly sized slots to fit each staple.

What is craftsmanship to you?

Craftsmanship is a ongoing journey, we all started knowing nothing. It is through passion, knowledge, and perseverance that we improve and grow into craftsmen in our own right.