ABOUT SMELT
Hi, my name is Laure, pronounced like l’or, gold in French (it was written in the stars all along).
smelt started as a passion project, following the urge to do something more creative.
After obtaining my very theoretical university degree, I realised just how much I missed making things with my hands. While travelling through Asia, I took a ten-day goldsmithing course and was sold pretty much immediately.
Back in Belgium, I enrolled in evening classes in goldsmithing to further dive into the craft, while working in marketing during the day.
Conveniently, I was already living in Antwerp , the so-called diamond capital of the world.
I focus is on quality pieces in precious metals, made in small quantities rather than mass-produced.
I design every piece myself. Some I make from start to finish, while for others I work together with skilled artisans who bring their own expertise to the process.
Keeping production small allows me to focus on the pieces themselves, as there is already plenty of fast-fashion jewellery in the world.
The name smelt comes from the Dutch word smelt, to melt. It refers to the soft, fluid shapes that run through many of my designs.
Besides, it also refers to how many of the pieces are produced. Using the lost-wax technique, a design is first sculpted in wax before being cast in metal, with the wax melting away in the process.