Kostika Spaho: Featured Designer on Jewelrythis and Rising Star in the Jewelry World

In today’s blog, we are featuring Kostika Spaho, a talented jewelry designer and rising star in the jewelry world. Kostika’s designs are futuristic, sleek and exquisite, reflecting the infinite possibilities in 3D jewelry design.

Kostika started learning 3D modeling in 2008 while he was earning his Master of Architecture degree. After working as an architect for eight months, he became bored with “just 3D modeling boxes, which dominate our planet”, so he started to direct his skills towards modeling more interesting and varied shapes. His first collaborative effort was on a woman’s high heel, which garnered him a lot of online recognition. This in turn led to a lot of private clients, the majority of whom wanted jewelry, and thus his career in jewelry design was launched.

The real story, however, begins earlier, when Kostika was about 10 years old. That is when he took up the unusual hobby of using electrical wires to create insect forms. At that time, Kostika and his family lived in Albania and neither computers nor the Internet were available in his home. What he did have was an old book with detailed pictures of insects, so he based his designs on these pictures. As his medium, he used cables that he cut from crashed cars and electrical appliances that people threw away.

Later, Kostika was influenced by an uncle who was a talented painter and sculptor, and who taught Kostika many of his own skills. Still later, Kostika was influenced by biomimicry, which he studied as a graduate student at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI. The study of biomimicry taught him to see incredible shapes and patterns in everything; from plants to insects, to animals, to what they build. Kostika also claims that the love of his life, Ica Paru, is a great influence on his work too, or as he calls it, “our work”. “… She has great taste and gives our pieces a feminine touch as well as a connection to the rest of the world. It’s as if she adds something that I don’t quite understand, but yet really like the outcome.”

One of the greatest appeals in jewelry design, according to Kostika, is that it is “extremely expressive and free of many of the rules, restrictions, and constraints that make designers feel like they’re being strangled”, and 3D software and printing technology has served to enhance these qualities in jewelry design. Kostika claims that 3D technology has made it possible for him to express what he sees in his mind and often times helps him design new things because he can decide what looks good by moving things around in 3d space. “It’s a very fulfilling experience in terms of creating things out of thin air. Also, after mastering 3d software, I began to work differently. I never sketch anymore, as it feels too primitive and slow. It’s like working on just a little spec of a larger picture.”

On a more general level, he believes that 3D printing bridges the gap between the digital and physical world and eliminates misinterpretation. “Both 3d software and 3d printers are tools. Artists used stones, then pencils, now 3d technology.”

Kostika’s favorite piece in his Jewelrythis store is the Molten Lava 3 Fashion Ring: “This particular ring feels good to me and I made it with the fewest moves possible. It’s as if my subconscious modeled the whole design”

For a closer look at Kostika’s stunning creations, just visit his page. We encourage you to follow him, so you’ll know whenever he uploads new designs, and to show his models to your clients. His designs have special appeal to younger clientele who not only love his designs, but also love the idea of downloading 3D jewelry for printing and casting too.

Note that, in addition to 3DM files, we now also offer our users the option to download STL files, which they can then produce.

On a final note, Kostika had this advice to offer to other jewelry designers: “ Embrace technology and see it for what it is, a set of tools. Forget about rules, as they are not real, and let your mind do the rest.”