Institute Jeanne Toussaint - Belgium
Institute Jeanne Toussaint
Designer biography:
**The Jeanne Toussaint Institute** is a school for adults - Official education of the City of Brussels (formerly called Social Promotion). The learning provided in our institution focuses on the so-called "adornment" professions, understood in its broad sense: the art of beautifying a person through work on the body, well-being, and by providing accessories and clothing. The "Jewelry" section has a historical significance in jewelry education in Belgium; the jewelry school was founded in 1894. Our training programs are divided into 5 sectors: (Jewelry-Goldsmithing, Contemporary Jewelry, Setting, Injected Casting, and Enamel)
The Institut Jeanne Toussaint has a long history of teaching jewelry in the City of Brussels, and has been teaching the full range of jewelry trades since 1894. A veritable reference point for the arts and crafts in Brussels, the school builds its training on the acquisition of professional and traditional know-how: the art of the hand and the acquisition of gestures are the basis of our apprenticeship. Secondly, we develop our students' autonomy and their technical and creative development, so that they become the craftsmen of tomorrow.
Collection concept:
The Baltic amber works were created during the Brussels-Gdansk-Warsaw 2024 workshop from April 28to May 12, 2024, as part of the Erasmus + Poland project: About amber, or apprenticeship in a specific jewelry profession.The main initiator is Institut Jeanne Toussaint, a jewelry school inBrussels, which developed the project in cooperation with the City of Gdansk, the Association of Maritime Cities and Municipalities,Dorota Cenecka and Marcin Tyminski, the Association of Goldsmiths, the Academy of Fine Arts and the Amber Museum inGdansk. The cooperation under the Erasmus+ program between Brussels,Gdansk and Warsaw was coordinated by Alain Roggeman, a teacher in the jewelry section. The aim of the exchange was to allow 15 jewelry students to immerse themselves in the world of amber by learning traditional techniques in workshops led by Dorota Cenecka.
Selected designers:
Raymenants Ingrid
Ring - Every piece is a discovery that makes you dream!
de Valeriola Céline
Brooch - Baltic amber's many forms spark creativity and endless possibilities.
Sonville Patricia
Brooch - Sunrise on earth’s crust.
Francart Caroline
Brooch - City of amber which connects Gdansk to Brussels.
Marie Germain
Ring - Like strata back millions of years.
Wolteche Sacha
Glasses - Working with Baltic amber for the very first time was a mix of emotions : the fear of wasting something so delicate and noble, the difficulties encountered when carving a millions of years old material, and the tremendous pleasure when achieving a piece with amber which I hope, gives it the highlights it deserves.
Riquelme Baeza Irene
Pendant - “Storm”, Life in perpetual change.
Henri Van Lierde
Ring - Through slices, as layers of time, I’ve interpreted the mystery of history being hold in amber.
Semenko Julia
Ring - Secret world.
Pauline HAWRYUCK
Earring - It is about the fluidity of resin as it embraces the bodies it encounters, just before becoming amber.
Van Cauwenberge Henri
Brooch - Baltic amber allows us to freeze moments in history. Like an eternal photograph, allowing us to appreciate the passage of time.
Clément Bitz
Ring - Rough embrace of silver around delicate amber.
Elsa Degraef
Brooches - Enter into this matter as into life. First liquid as tears, then fossilized as our joy and sadness. Underneath this rough shell shines and beats our sensitive mosquito hearts.
Pauline Banse
Brooch - Baltic amber, the purest form, which was able to capture a piece of time, making it immortal.