Czech jewellery workshop making unique headpiece for US pop star Beyoncé
Jewellery designer Anna Škarda from the north-Bohemian town of Frýdlant is currently working on a very special commission. She is producing a jewelled headpiece for the US pop star Beyoncé. She recently completed a headband for another celebrity customer, one of the Kardashian sisters, Khloé.
Anna Škarda from Frýdlant learned the art of jewellery making at a very early age. She was born in eastern Slovakia near the Ukrainian border, where her parents made rosaries and funeral wreaths for a living.
As a small child she already knew how to string beads and arrange flowers. She went on to study in Jablonec nad Nisou in North Bohemia, as she told Czech Television.
“My parents created hand-made rosaries and they frequently visited Jablonec to buy material from various small family businesses."
Anna Škarda eventually settled in the north Bohemian town of Frýdlant, not far from Jablonec, and established her own brand called Čarbičková Bijoux.
Together with her husband Vlado Škarda she produces all kinds of jewellery and accessories, including flower headbands, feather crowns and unique headpieces for special occasions, festivals, parties and weddings.
All of her products are hand-made using artificial and dried flowers, feathers and beads, as well as sea shells and metal applications. For raw materials such as glass beads, Anna always uses the same suppliers as her parents used for their rosaries.
Anna’s customers come from all over the world and include artists, such as Czech rapper Paulie Garand or the folk band Vesna. Her stunning jewellery featured in music videos, art magazines and burlesque shows.
At the moment, Anna Škarda is working on a commission for one of the queens of pop, Beyoncé:
"When I realized that the commission in question was actually for Beyoncé, I jumped all over the place and started crying for joy! I'm very nervous, so I keep changing the ornaments and the placement of the beads!"
When creating her jewellery, Anna Škarda seeks inspiration mainly from her home region. In Easter Slovakia and Ukraine, flower wreathes, known as ‘partas’, are traditionally worn by girls and young unmarried women as part of their national costume. But she also looks for inspiration in other cultures, for instance in Indian tribes.
The headpiece for Beyoncé includes plastic jewellery components, as well as artificial flowers and glass pearls. While the production of the intricate headpiece is only a question of days or even hours, the design takes much longer, explains Anna’s husband Vlado.
"Anna is the author of the design. Together, we discuss what the final product will look like. In case of Beyoncé, we sought inspiration in her music videos and photos."
Apart from her brand Čarbičková Bijoux, Anna Škarda also creates necklaces, bracelets and other jewellery and home accessories made from coloured pencils, sold under the brand Čarbičková Pencils.
You can see her products on her Instagram account carbickovacrowns and carbickovapencils.
