Can you say “Yes to All”? I want to be able to say it!! Oooooh do I ever!
In 2014 I said yes to all when my Mom asked me if I would like to visit Wattens in Austria and see the Swarovski Kristallwelten.
A trip of a lifetime! YES! I was ready to be inspired, I knew seeing how the crystals are made would be so interesting. How DO they get that magical aurora borealis finish? I was going to find out!
Okay, clearly I did not do my Swarovski homework. There are no tours of their factories, they have trade secrets to protect. They certainly were not going to let me in on those! Sheeesh, don’t they know who I think I am?
The visit was not what I expected, but it was so much better. I walked into a museum that was grander, sparklier and more opulent than anything I had ever seen.
The museum is not open concept. There are 16 rooms, they call them the Chambers of Wonder. The most intriguing part of this museum is that it highlights internationally and nationally recognized artists, designers, and architects with sculptures that they have created. Crystal sculptures telling all kinds of different stories, one more abstract than the other. My absolute favourite one was the Crystal Dome.
The Crystal Dome is a geodesic dome. The architectural design perfectly reflects geodesy which is the scientific discipline devoted to geographical measurement and representation of the earth. In mathematics it designates the shortest path between two points on a curved surface. Fascinating and not described in my own words, the museum helped me with that.
What I loved about the Crystal Dome was that it contains 595 mirrors and it gives you the feeling of being inside of a crystal. How amazing is that? Never mind how they’re made, I now feel like “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” and I’m actually standing inside a crystal! To top it all off the music playing inside the crystal was composed by Brian Eno, one of my favourite musicians of all time.
The sixteen rooms and all of the artists got me thinking. Why can’t I work with these crystals and create julz that are different? Swarovski could be a new venture for me. I could use my creativity to fashion a world of julz that are all about indulgence, luxury, and extravagance. Each one would be it’s own masterpiece. Of course I would have fabulous stories to tie to them and share with the world. A piece of glamjulz to be treasured forever and passed down for generations to come.
This dream has come true. At first I started dabbling and now I am designing luxurious Swarovski pieces for wonderful clients. This week we added the “Swarovski Vault” to our website and I am excited to see where these crystals take me from here.
Next dream? Monica Graves will design room number 17! Soon the Swarovski family will discover who I think I am.
Monica XO
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