In addition to being a widely respected high-end jewelry designer in her own right, Bibi van der Velden is also the curator of e-boutique Auverture, a venture she established in 2016, that brings together the work of hard-to-find, extremely distinctive fine jewelry talent such as Alice Cicolini, Eva Fehren, Nikos Koulis, Pamela Love, Alina Abegg, Daniela Villegas, Mortiz Glick, and plenty of other JCK editor favorites to the public.
As curator of the site, now representing dozens of independent designers, Van der Velden felt a strong sense of responsibility to help keep her stable of designers stay afloat in the face of COVID-19 restrictions, which have left many of them at a production standstill, cash-strapped for studio rent, and otherwise set adrift by the economic climate.
Her solution: #AuvertureUnited, a fund pledging financial support to designers during the coronavirus crisis that will continue for the next few months. All proceeds from jewelry sales via Auverture are being donated to the fund to assist any designers in need.
As of today, Van der Velden is taking her instinct to help one step further by launching a limited-edition collection of seven bracelets to further benefit the cause. Designed to symbolize the power of creativity, all proceeds raised from the bracelets’ sales will go toward the Auverture Designer Fund.
The first in the series is a collaboration between Van der Velden and fine jewelry brand Maqé (pictured below).
“I am super passionate about this project for the recently launched Auverture United Designer Fund,” says Van der Velden, whose own work has been covered frequently on JCKonline.com, including in this recent feature on a ring she made in collaboration with Gemfields for the Hermitage museum in her native Amsterdam.
“As an independent jewelry designer myself, the idea was to unite my fellow designers as well as support our industry. The Auverture Designer Fund can fund many different avenues during and after the pandemic to help create more resilient businesses. Each designer will have their personal area that might need support, from sourcing materials to producing new pieces, creating content or financial aid to survive this period.”
Each subsequent bracelet release will also be a collaboration with another designer. “Alice Cicolini for example will design a violet stone bracelet, and I cannot resist creating a blue bracelet with lapis lazuli, which will be released individually over the coming months,” says Van der Velden.
Van der Velden reports that established designers on Auverture are contributing to the fund themselves. “By buying a bracelet you become part of that support system,” she says.
Top: Starting with the Malachite Green, each bracelet will be sold on Auverture in limited-edition quantities of 50.
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