The CEO of FREYWILLE brand about the company, customers and new ideas...
1.You are a lawyer by vocation. How did you get to be the head of the company which produces luxury jewelry items?
I have joined the company during the 70s as a financial and legal advisor at first, since the initial founder of FREYWILLE wanted to dedicate herself to the artisan aspects of production, so she needed someone to run the business aspects of her expanding company. It is true that I never planned to get involved in this business, but I was always passionate when it came to art and working with creative people and artists, and FREYWILLE had the potential which gave me the option of developing my personal interests and professional ambitions also.
2.What is the story behind this company?
FREYWILLE was founded in 1951 in the heart of Vienna, where it’s settled even today. When in 1980 Michaela Frey passed away, I have completely reconstructed the entire company. Under my guidance a whole new FREYWILLE was born, along with the new history of a luxury brand. With the loss of previous artisan soul of the company, it was hard to foresee if FREYWILLE will survive. So I had the commitment to take the guidance of the company and to reconstruct it from the beginning. My first decisive step was to find the person who would be capable to recreate the artisan spirits of FREYWILLE: a young artist Simona Grunberger, which later became my wife, had just finished the prestigious University of Applied Arts in Vienna and she accepted the challenge – under her creative guidance our experienced artisan team was formed and reached the heights we could only dream of before that.
3.What type of woman buys FREYWILLE jewelry?
Because of the exclusive nature of our pieces, we’re able to attract people with exquisite affinities for high quality, individuality and arts. All over the world, where ever there are those dedicated to culture, arts and fashion FREYWILLE brand gets amazing reactions of our sophisticated clients who are enthusiastic by nature, and because of that quality they love and respect our jewelry and accessories.
4.Are there any Serbian artists whose artworks you’ve made into your jewelry pieces?
Of course, there are an exceptional number of Serbian artists who are renewed in their home land and across the world. But, considering that FREYWILLE is a company who does business on global levels, we only have one condition to be fulfilled when designing an homage collection – the artist must be famous among general public. Because of that, we have chosen world renewed and acclaimed artists like Klimt and Hundertwasser for our Famouse artists line. Contemporary design which is the second passion of this company is the creations of our FREYWILLE artists who work in our Vienna atelier. Our arts team is consisted of a few very talented individuals with exquisite knowledge and capabilities – all of them, with their love for arts and designer passion contribute to our success.
5.What was the inspiration for the latest FREYWILLE collection and why?
The collection Passionate Russia is a unique work of our artists who were deeply impressed and inspired by the Russian culture, which is simultaneously simple, immediate and extraordinary. The focus lies on the artisan engagement and true passion which follows every masterpiece. Russia is a country of rich contrast which influences everyone and inspire every visitor and fan: it is large and vivid, strong and rough, magical and unpredictable, miraculous and idyllic. Amazing beauty, vivacious folklore and acclaimed cultural wealth which we find in music, literature and ballet are the inseparable part of Russian past and presence. Special aspects of Russia are shown through the mentality of its residents, joy of living, melody and expressiveness of Russian language and way of life.
6.What are your plans for the future?
We will keep investing in things which mean the world to us – in to the artistic development and technologic specialization. Not only did we made our pure gold collection ( 18kt gold and diamonds) stronger and created new forms, we have made our assortment palette rich with the offering of top notch textiles, we renewed our men’s collection. Above all that, we give our clients the option of owning the whole set of one collection: if you’re a fan of a particular design, you have the option of completing your look with a correspondent accessory like a scarf or something else which you find attractive in our lines. Our clients appreciate our beautiful accessories which follow every individual collection, but despite that, our priority is still set on the artfully designed jewelry from fiery enamel and it will always be set on that. We can claim with certainty that we will continue our journey through the road of connecting arts and top notch crafts workmanship.
