DIORA Jewels: Nature in Motion. A Q&A with Ivelina Diomova

A blossom is never quite still. It catches the light, moves with the breeze, and changes as you look at it. Ivelina Diomova, the artist behind DIORA Jewels, captures that fleeting beauty in silver and hand-colored resin. Think delicate orchids built from 10-15 layers, sculptural branches touched with gold, and tiny polished droplets that sparkle like water on a leaf. What draws me to Ivelina’s creations is the attention she gives to both form and feeling. Her flowers carry memories of spring, the freedom of a summer day, and the quiet pleasure of observing nature up close. Ahead of her presentation at Artistar Jewels during Milano Jewelry Week, we spoke about translating those sensations into wearable art, knowing when a piece is finished, and the excitement of sharing her work on an international stage.

 

Nature is a major source of inspiration for your jewelry. Could you share a particular moment or observation that inspired one of your creations?

 

Nature has always been my greatest source of inspiration. But not only because of the beauty of its shapes, colors, and details. I am also deeply moved by the feelings and emotions it awakens in me.

For example, when I sit by the sea and look at the turquoise water, I feel an incredible sense of peace and freedom. It is as if time stands still, and all the worries and responsibilities of everyday life fade away. I wish to preserve a little of that feeling in my jewelry.

A blossoming branch in spring touches me in a completely different way. After the grayness of winter, the appearance of delicate blossoms, fresh green leaves, and almost translucent petals brings a sense of awakening, hope, and new beginnings.

I can spend a long time observing these tiny details: the curve of a leaf, the light falling on the petals, the gentle movement of flowers in the breeze.

It is these brief, beautiful moments that inspire me. Through my jewelry, I try to capture not only what I see, but also a part of the emotion I feel in those moments.

 

Your creations are characterized by organic shapes, delicate details, and a sense of lightness. What techniques and materials do you use to achieve this effect?

I mainly work with silver and hand-colored, multilayered resin. I love combining these two materials because each of them offers me different possibilities for artistic expression.

Silver allows me to create sculptural forms: branches, curves, leaves, leaf veins, and various structural elements. Resin, on the other hand, allows me to recreate the delicacy, airiness, and colors of flowers.

Depending on the idea, I can make the petals translucent, allowing light to pass through them, or work with more opaque colors. I often build up the colors gradually, layer by layer.

I also use 24-karat gold through the Keum-Boo technique, patination, different metal surface finishes, gemstones, and pearls.

I am particularly fascinated by kinetic elements. In nature, flowers and leaves are rarely completely still. Even the gentlest breeze can make them tremble softly. I love the possibility of bringing some of that movement into my jewelry.

All these techniques help me achieve what I am looking for: sculptural forms, lightness, movement, and a natural interaction between the different elements.

 

When creating a piece of jewelry, do you imagine a particular person who will wear it? What feelings would you like your creations to evoke?

 

Usually, when I begin creating a new piece, I don’t have a particular person in mind. I follow my own inspiration: an idea, an image, or an emotion that I want to bring to life.

Of course, there are exceptions. When I create a piece of jewelry especially for someone, I try to make it personal, reflecting their character, preferences, or story.

For example, I have created jewelry for a close friend inspired by plants that hold special meaning for her. In such cases, the creative process is different because, alongside my own artistic vision, there is also the desire to bring joy to that person by creating something that reflects their individuality and captures a little of who they are.

 

But regardless of whom I create for, what matters most to me is that my jewelry evokes emotions.

I would love my creations to bring joy, inspire smiles, spark inspiration, and awaken memories or dreams.

I don’t necessarily expect people to feel the same emotions that I experienced while creating them. On the contrary, I love the idea that everyone can discover something personal in each piece.

I put my own emotions into my jewelry, but I hope that my creations will continue to live through the emotions and stories of the people they reach.

 

Which of the pieces you will present at Milano Jewelry Week has been the most challenging or time-consuming to create?

 

It is difficult for me to choose just one, because each of these pieces has presented a different kind of challenge.

For example, with the orchid jewelry set Falling in Love with Life, the most time-consuming part was creating the flowers. Each orchid is made with approximately 10-15 layers of hand-colored resin. And since there are so many flowers, the process required a great deal of time and patience. I wouldn’t say it was difficult. In fact, I truly enjoy this kind of work.

With the apple blossom earrings Whisper of Spring, the challenge was quite different. Besides the many delicate details, I spent a long time searching for the right balance between the patina, the gold accents, and the overall appearance of the branch. I adjusted the surface finishes several times until I achieved the effect I was looking for. I also changed the composition of the falling petals: initially, I had planned just one, but later decided that two would create a more harmonious result.

With the blue earrings Breath of Summer, I had to be especially careful when constructing the kinetic elements. I also made many different leaves before finding the right sizes and proportions.

Later, I added tiny silver water droplets. To emphasize their sparkle, I gave the outer surfaces of the leaves a satin finish, polished their inner surfaces to a high shine, and made the droplets mirror-bright. This allows the different surfaces to interact with light in different ways.

In my creative process, I rely a great deal on instinct and my visual sense. Sometimes I look at a piece and feel that something is still missing, that it doesn’t have enough character, that it doesn’t quite “speak to me.”

I don’t always find the solution immediately. Sometimes I leave the piece aside for a day or more, until the right idea comes to me.

For me, a piece of jewelry is truly finished when I feel that all its elements have found their place and the creation has achieved the harmony, character, and expressiveness I was searching for.

 

Milano Jewelry Week presents jewelry as a form of art. How closely does this idea align with your artistic philosophy, and what does participating in the event mean to you?

 

This idea is very close to the way I see my own creative work.

For me, jewelry is much more than an ornament. It can be a small sculptural work of art that carries an idea, character, and emotion.

I love the thought that a work of art can not only be admired, but also worn, move with the person wearing it, and become part of their life.

Participating in Milano Jewelry Week is incredibly exciting for me.

When I first received the invitation to apply for Artistar Jewels, I was so surprised that I could hardly believe it was real. To be honest, the very first thing I did was check whether it was genuine!

Until then, I had never even imagined that such an opportunity might come my way.

So when my creations were selected to participate, I felt an overwhelming sense of joy and excitement.

It means so much to me that professionals from the international jewelry world have noticed my work and recognized qualities in it that they consider worthy of being presented on such a stage.

I am equally excited about the opportunity to be surrounded by artists from different countries, each with their own sensibility, ideas, and artistic language.

I am really looking forward to immersing myself in this creative atmosphere, seeing the works of the other participants, and experiencing everything this event has to offer.