An interior designer by day and jewelry designer by night. Taking the classic pearl to a brutal level. We must say it has charm. Her drops sell out like that and she is not scared of a custom order for a birthday party. Sounds like the next thing you should add to your birthday preparations. So what does her design process look like and how does she find balance between the brutal / dark with the soft, with something simple? First things first let’s have a bite of MM studio.

A bite of MM studio

Manon Mackelberg the founder of MM studio a full-time interior design student at the LUCA school of Arts in Ghent is accompanied by her boyfriend Tristan Glorie. who studies Commericial sciences at Ghent university. Tristan takes care of the business side, webshop and social media. While Manon takes care of the jewelry design and realization. Realizing they form a strong team together while working on MM studio.

How do we see your passion for interior design back into your jewelry designs?

I am a final year student of interior design at LUCA school of arts in Ghent, Belgium. Throughout my studies I slowly started to develop my design style, the way I think while designing an interior is the same as for my jewelry. A big link with my interior design and my jewelry is that I design in monochrome, a sober use of color but a powerful design.

How do you find balance being a student with being a jewelry designer?

I have found a good balance between my school work and my jewelry. They are two creative skills that I really enjoy working on so I find the alternation perfect. Because my boyfriend (Tristan Glorie) and I run MMSTUDIO together we divide the tasks. I take care of the designs and creations and he takes care of the website/ socials/ the economic side of the business. That makes it a little less difficult. Sometimes it's stressful to be a student and an entrepreneur. We do have busy days in general. But that's just part of it. Like I said, it's a perfect trade-off. I also want to thank my parents for supporting me and believing in me.

Take us with you in the design progress of a new necklace of MM studio?

PART 1

There are two different processes, the first is a customized necklace. With a customized necklace the customer pays an advance of €15, after they purchase it on the site I mail them a form. On this form I ask them for their budget (how much they want to give for the necklace), on the basis of their budget I can see to what extent I can use special / more expensive materials. I also ask them for the length of the necklace, the color/ concept and if there are any extra wishes. After I get these answers I go to work. I try to find the right beads, charms, materials to make the best possible design that suits them. This process takes about two weeks.

PART 2

The second process is through drops, where I design necklaces or earrings myself and then put them up for sale, which can be purchased on the webshop. I try to find my inspiration during the week and often I get my inspiration for my jewelry from my interior design.

What’s your favorite custom order that you ever created?

My favorite custom EVER was the 'Olivia's Birthdayparty', this custom was an order from Olivia for her birthday party. I was commissioned by her to design a monochromatic necklace that was very powerful with a green and rose accent. I was able to combine the chunky with the soft in this necklace so well, this is truly my favorite!!! 

Why do you go for this alternative look combined with the pearl?

I think an alternative look should not always be seen in a negative light, while designing jewelry I try to balance the brutal / dark with the soft, with something simple.

“alternative look should not always be seen in a negative light”

Tell us something about the tooth that is coming back into your designs. I like the tooth charm because it instantly makes any design more powerful because of its brutal look, I love that charm!!!

How often do you try to bring out a new drop?

Normally I bring a drop every week on Wednesday or Saturday.I try to do one drop per week but it's impossible because we are in the middle of our bachelor thesis. After we are done with our exams we will be able to concentrate 100% on MMSTUDIO for 3 months and there will be 2 drops a week!!! I’m so excited for that.

This summer Tristan and I are going on a roadtrip through Europe with the VolksWagen, we will visit 10 different countries, during our trip we will continue working on studio MM. We are going to let our followers have a peak into our trip and the places where we make necklaces on our social media.

Keep an eye out on MM studio’s Instagram to be up to date on new drops.

Shop MM studio collection here

* ✧ ♡ Reminder they sell out fast ♡ ✧*

Text and imagery: Lisa Bekker