Anita Boladeras creates and sells one-of-a-kind jewelry from her home-based shop in Dongzhimen. FLORA & FAUNA’s products are created from a range of organic materials including seeds, stone beads, minerals, metals, wood, glass, shells, and leather. Her hand-made pieces are unique, sustainable, and affordable.
Charming and bubbly, Boladeras, who is originally from Spain, has lived in Beijing for ten years. Bombarded by gaudy baubles everywhere she looked, the accessory guru couldn’t find statement pieces to her liking, so she decided to make some herself. Her private goal evolved into a mission to provide natural, handmade jewelry for all.
Her prices range from as low as RMB 20 to RMB 250 for the more elaborate pieces. She says her jewelry is “organic and natural, for men and women of all ages who want to escape the mainstream market and support handmade products.”
The Barcelona native says she’s inspired by the jewelry of different cultures, and by the elements of nature. She investigates not only cultural designs but also cultural techniques.
“I love to play with new materials,” Boladeras says, “I recently introduced bamboo into my pieces, because of Bamboo Bicycle Beijing. They have a workshop where you can make your own bike out of bamboo, and they let me recycle their discarded bamboo vines. Another friend from Spain taught me how to treat leather, so I am creating a few pieces with that. I also have some salt-sanded sticks that I got on the beaches of Cadaqués (a village in northeast Spain) that I am planning to use in the near future.”
Every piece on display is fashioned individually with consideration and attention to detail, and imbued with Bolderas’s passion for design. They’re pieces of creative wonder, and adaptable to every style. There’s suede fringing and lace pieces for the forever young and hip, metal or feather embellishments and boiled leather for the urban warriors among us, with simpler colorful gems and beads for the traditionalists.
FLORA & FAUNA is based in Dongzhimen (contact Boladeras for further directions), and is always open for visitors. beijingkids readers can bring along a copy of this article and Boladeras will offer a 10 percent discount on any piece of your choosing.
FLORA & FAUNA
(138 1046 4786, xinalink@gmail.com) www.xinalink.com
This article originally appeared on page 16-17 of the beijingkids October 2015 issue. Click here to read the issue for free on Issuu.com. To find out how you can get your own copy, email distribution@truerun.com.
Photos: By Ken and courtesy of Anita Boladeras
