Studio Nedda: Twisted Sheen

Belgian jewellery-maker and silversmith Nedda El-Asmar applies her delicate and nuanced approach to a range of applications including product and interior design. Trained at the prestigious Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp and the Royal College of Art London, the interdisciplinary designer has worked for numerous labels including Hermès, Puiforcat, Eternum, Gense, Villeroy & Boch, Obumex and Demeyere. In 2007, El-Asmar was named Belgian Designer of the Year. With this and other accolades, the designer has been able to take on projects like designing the Royal Polar Survival Set interior for the Belgian Princess Elisabeth Station on Antartica. TLmag spoke to El-Asmar about her ornate Torna door-handle design for heritage brand Maison Vervloet; developed in collaboration with industrial designer Erik Indekeu.

TLmag: What is your affinity for silver?
Nedda EL-Asmar: As a silversmith, I love to hammer sheet silver and make the material malleable at a cold temperature. I’m then able to shape various forms. Silver’s glow is warmer than chrome or steel and over time, takes on its own patina.

TLmag: Your Torna door-handle design features a silver finish. What visual, physical or metaphoric treatment does this effect allow you to express?
NEA: When polished, the planting finish emphasises the ergonomic and fluid shape of the handle. Once you observe it well, you’re able to understand how it twists and turns. Torna can be customised with a slew of different finishes; in polished or matt iterations, applied in colour or metal. They can even choose from additional inlays: shagreen like at Spazio Nobile, veneer or leather.

TLmag: How did your choice of material allow you to adopt a reflective effect?
NEA: When polished, the soft rounded shape of the handle accentuates the silver’s reflectivity.