Abstract

Jewelry design is a complex and craft-based practice involving diverse activities, processes, and interactions with a range of actors to create jewelry that meets clients’ individual needs. However, how jewelry design, as a practice, is carried out is not very well described and, therefore, is not fully understood. Investigating how designers manage their work, what inspires them, how they relate with stakeholders, and how they conceive jewelry is crucial for understanding the practice of jewelry design. Therefore, this study uses semi-structured interviews to explore how Scandinavian jewelry designers engage with their practice. Through inductive bottom-up and data driven, an emphasis was placed on theory-building around designers’ creative practices, processes, and how they engage in relationship building, while considering forms of value creation. Data was analyzed and interpreted using a structured approach inspired by grounded theory, dependent on multi-steps of coding. The findings show that jewelry design is a relational practice, with an embodying process, where communication with different actors is crucial. The study also identifies several factors that define the jewelry design practice. The study presents a conceptual model describing jewelry design as a relational practice. This framework deepens our understanding of jewelry design and its societal significance.