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Is Ombre Claire jewelry Tuareg jewelry?

Ombre Claire jewelry is made by Tuareg artisans. They are made in the traditional way using Saharan materials and know-how.

At Ombre Claire, the Sahara is there, everywhere, omnipresent. He is not, however, the subject, not always. The inspirations are diverse and take the collections to each season in a different universe: in Matisse's studio, in Rajasthan, in the Camargue, in a theater where you can see a ballet by Pina Bausch, in the attic of a country house, on the Côte d'Azur, in a painting by Chagall, and sometimes in the middle of the dunes...

I design the collections according to my encounters and my journeys. Each time, I tell a new story and the jewelry borrows its forms. If I design a collection inspired by ancient Greece, the earrings will take the form of Ionic columns and the silhouettes of terracotta amphorae will turn into pendants letting undulating waves escape. The steps of the Parthenon, the olive branches and the draperies of the statues will give new forms to the jewels. The collection will therefore be ancient Greece and yet the jewels will bear the motifs that the craftsmen give them, they will be covered with their engravings and will have their so singular "patina". We will then find the Tuareg triangles on the steps of the Parthenon!

Ombre Claire jewels are not traditional Tuareg jewels, but they carry centuries of know-how, they have not always been inspired by the Tuareg culture but they carry the patterns.

I don't know if Ombre Claire jewels are Saharan, probably a little, even a lot, but they are not only and they are not traditional.

They are part of a local culture and part of a global culture!

I like this idea of local to global … I like that we value local know-how and craftsmen and I like when cultures mix, mix, create new forms. I think that we can promote local know-how by being open to the world and influencing each other.

The craftsmen of Agadez in Niger then see new forms arrive in their hands, they are sometimes even a little confused. Customers often wonder where the jewelry comes from: "It has a Tuareg patina but where does your jewelry come from?" From Mexico ? “It makes me smile, I like this mix. Commercial exchanges have always favored these mixtures and creation.

It frees me, I think.

The image that comes to me then is the one that the Tuaregs like to use: "Culture is like this little tree nestled in the hollow of a dune: it survives wind and drought thanks to its long roots which sink deep in the Earth that they allow it to make its little soft green leaves". I like to think that thanks to its long roots that come to draw hidden water from the desert, it can bring shade to travelers and some seeds to migratory birds.

For me creation is similar, it is based on centuries of know-how, research, manual work, creation, exchanges, trials, misses, victories, intelligence. She gains her freedom in this way, flourishes, survives, grows and can then share and offer herself.

 

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