Dancing figures, stormy seas, the archaeological finds of ancient cultures: Éva Reményi’s jewellery creations narrate stories that often mean different things to different people. What began as a hobby later turned into a love story. Today, the brand’s founding designer is well aware that everything began in a greasy car body repair shop.

Audi: 2022 was an anniversary year: the tenth birthday of the Eva Remenyi brand. A round number is the kind of milestone where people usually both reflect on the past and look forward to the future – we take stock, and make plans. First, let’s look back: how did your story begin?

Éva Reményi: You could say that the whole thing started with a block of terracotta clay 16 or 17 years ago, when I was in my early twenties. At that time, I didn’t know what I wanted to do exactly, but I did have the urge to create, so I bought a piece of air-dried terracotta in the Ecsetbolt shop on Városmajor Street and began making round pendants out of it. I spent some time experimenting, and also tried out quite a few other techniques as an amateur in the six or seven years before I founded the brand.

Audi: What led you to choose metals in the end?

Éva Reményi: My grandmother lived nearby, and there was an attic space under the roof of her house that was truly something from the past. It was packed with treasures, from rounds of ammunition to home decorations and old storage chests. One time, I found a wooden box up there that was full of aluminium disks. I really liked them and started trying a few things. It stirred something in me: I discovered how enjoyable it is to work with metal, and I couldn’t understand why I hadn’t thought of it before. After a bit of research, I found the studio of my namesake, the goldsmith Katalin Reményi, and started going there once a week outside of my regular work. But I still never would have thought that one day I would make jewellery for a living.

Audi: What was the turning point?

Éva Reményi: Katalin encouraged me to check the start date for the next goldsmith training course at the BKSZC Vocational School of Crafts Industries on Práter Street. It turned out that it was beginning two weeks later, so I signed up. It was a very big undertaking on top of a full-time job, but the two years I spent ‘on Práter Street’ was a real breakthrough. That’s where I first experienced the beauty of manual labour – where I fell in love with it – and that’s where I became convinced that this was what I wanted to do.

I was that same little girl at the workshop who – rather than getting bored – started looking around enthusiastically at the screws and tools.

Audi: Let’s return to those aluminium disks you found in the attic. Do you know how they got there?

Éva Reményi: My great-grandfather worked in an aluminium factory. He brought home some really nice objects, trays and jugs. The box was his too.

Audi: If I’m not mistaken, he’s not the only person in your family who worked with metal on a daily basis.

Éva Reményi: Yes, my father did car bodywork repairs when he was younger, and I spent a lot of time in his workshop as a child. Repairing bodywork is actually very similar to forging metal, which I also learnt later on.

Audi: How big a role do you think these childhood experiences played in your choice of career?

Éva Reményi: I’m sure they played a major role. I am very interested in psychology, and when I tried to uncover where this whole thing came from, and what the reasons, the unconscious elements, behind it were, I realised that part of it came from my dad’s workshop. I was that same little girl at the workshop who – rather than getting bored – startedlooking around enthusiastically at the screws and tools. Even today, I am much more impressed by a tool than by a nice handbag!

Audi: And what are your memories of the women in your family? Do you remember any pieces of jewellery that captured your imagination as a young girl?

Éva Reményi: Every person is a big mix of various little elements of their family members, so I also took a lot from the female side of my family. My grandfather on my father’s side was the technical director of a linen factory in Budakalász. He travelled half the globe with his work, and always brought a special piece of jewellery home for my grandmother from every trip. So my grandma had a proper treasure trove of jewellery, and wore every piece at some point. I have really vivid memories of them. My maternal grandmother, on the other hand, didn’t have much jewellery at all, though I still remember the pieces she had very well. For example, one of her broaches inspired one of the main motifs in our Volcano collection. And I inherited something extremely important from my mother, too: my entrepreneurial spirit. And it was from her that I learnt courage, too.

Audi: You graduated with a degree in economics, even if you soon moved away from that field. To what extent do you think this ‘roundabout’ path has contributed to the success of the brand?

Éva Reményi: The economic fundamentals I gained at college are very useful, whereas the practical side I have learnt from my family. If we’re talking about success, I would also highlight the fact that my husband has been working with me on the brand for the last five years. He has brought a lot of knowledge and business experience to the company, so I am fortunate to be able to focus on the creative process.

Today, it is clear that we cannot live without taking responsibility for the future. As a brand, we try to support this idea.

Audi: You built your first workshop in your grandmother’s summer kitchen. What are your memories of making the first pieces of Eva Remenyi jewellery?

Éva Reményi: At the start, I had an incredible rush of ideas, and I experimented a lot. I have never been one of those artists who always plans everything in advance to the letter and doesn’t stray a millimetre from their designs. In the beginning, I gave much more space to intuition. Today, on the other hand, every collection and piece of jewellery is carefully planned, though spontaneity remains very important to me. Especially as I have been working with lost-wax casting, where improvisation is key. This is a very intimate process, and the softness of the wax gives you endless possibilities.

Audi: You work with copper, silver and gold. How did you choose these materials?

Éva Reményi: I had a really strong urge to try everything, and it was vital not to have any restrictions in terms of dimensions, for example. Not everything was possible with precious metals, which is why I started working with copper. This hasn’t changed too much: today, most of our jewellery is made from copper, with several layers of gold applied on top. But there are also some rhodium- plated silver pieces, while the engagement and wedding rings in our wedding collection are always made from gold.

Audi: What are your spiritual sources of inspiration?

Éva Reményi: Every collection islinked to a really strong emotional state, which is why, if I look through all my jewellery,I can say exactly what my state of mind was, even the life situation I was in, when I dreamed each piece up.

Audi: Do these include both positive and negative states?

Éva Reményi: Yes. For example, the Artemis collection came about when we had been in the coronavirus pandemic for nearly a year, and I really wanted to get my freedom back. I can see the pattern of a stormy sea on every piece, as well as a combative femininity, which is why I named it after the Greek goddess of hunting.

Audi: It contains both nature and an ancient culture, just like your most recent collections. Am I right in thinking your travels are a major source of inspiration for you?

Éva Reményi: They are. Before my daughter was born, I travelled a lot. For example, I went to Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia, where people have a much closer relationship with nature and mother earth than we do – and this had a great influence on me. But I’m also inspired by earlier smithing styles and ancient customs governing how jewellery was worn. The pieces in the Archaic collection, for example, are designed to look like they could have come straight out of an archaeological dig. Everything I have collected over the course of my life – all the stimuli and influences – is somehow echoed in my jewellery. Given how much people are touched by these pieces, I feel like I have successfully managed to convey and pass on my experiences.

I think people can feel the personality I instil in the collections.

Audi: What processes are involved in the creative period following your initial inspiration?

Éva Reményi: Once I have the basic idea, or the main motif for the collection or a specific piece of jewellery, then I can start developing it. At this point, ideally I would retreat to the mountains for a few weeks to focus on my ideas, but most of the time there is absolutely no chance of that, unfortunately! Instead, I try to create some moments of calm in my daily life. Generally, ideas come to me in the evening, when I’m half asleep, and I always try to write them down or draw them. Next, I start experimenting with materials – with the Euphoria collection, for example, this phase lasted half a year. Then I start making the sample pieces. Afterwards, the actual pieces of jewellery are created in the foundry. This is more or less their final form, though of course we work on them and perfect them in the studio. After the master pieces are complete, we start replicating them in the studio for the final collection.

Audi: What does it mean to you to create?

Éva Reményi: It means everything, you could say. Over the last ten years, it has become my life’s mission.

Audi: What’s your favourite part?

Éva Reményi: I have two: one is when I create the pieces in my head – that’s when I break away from the world a little bit and enter another state of consciousness. The other is when the process is nearly at an end, when everything is ready and we upload the jewellery to the webshop and show it to the public. At that moment, I’m still nervous, even after ten years.

Audi: More than once, you have said you design a little piece of your soul into each item of your jewellery. Do you think that might the secret to its popularity?

Éva Reményi: I think people can see the passion contained in the jewellery, and they can feel the personality I instil in the collections. They are also struck by the ancient aspect we mentioned before, and the kind of imperfect perfection that characterises every piece. Because somehow that’s what people are like, too: imperfectly perfect.

Given how much people are touched by these pieces, I feel like I have successfully managed to convey and pass on my experiences.

Audi: There are some objects that transcend themselves. When someone buys an Audi car, for example, they are casting their vote not just for a car, but also for an attitude, a lifestyle. What choice is one making when they decide to wear Eva Remenyi jewellery?

Éva Reményi: In addition to the emotional reasons mentioned above, there might also be a more rational reason for choosing us. Today, it is clear that we cannot live without taking responsibility for the future. As a brand, we try to support this idea by selecting environmentally friendly solutions wherever possible. A few years ago, we swapped all of our old packaging for FSC Certifiedpackaging: the wood used as the raw material comes from forests that can naturally reproduce themselves. But we also practice awareness in our smithing work: we melt down all metal waste and also the dust from the shaving process, so nothing is wasted. On top of that, 100 percent of the silver and gold we use comes from renewable sources. We also aim for the very highest quality, as our goal is for our customers to use our jewellery over the long term, so that even their grandchildren will be able to wear it. Which is why you can bring any piece we make back to us at any time (even after the one-year guarantee has expired) and we can regild, renew or fix it at minimal cost.

Audi: What are you most proud of from the first ten years of your brand?

Éva Reményi: Firstly, our showroom. For me, it was a dream come true. Even though it was a big undertaking for us, I thought it was vital to have a place I can identify with, that properly represents us, and which is there for our customers. Of course, our 2021 appearance in Vogue was also an important milestone. Especially as it came after a London stylist fell in love with our jewellery at Wolf & Badger and went on to write a two-page article. I would never have expected that to happen when I was hammering away in my grandma’s summer kitchen!

Audi: Let’s return to the start of our conversation. We have been looking through your past in relation to your anniversary year, but what do you expect from the future?

Éva Reményi: This spring, we will present a new collection that differs from what we’ve done before in several ways. For the first time, the shapes represent specific objects, and it will also be the first collection to feature colours. We are planning to make a major investment over the next year that should bring the quality of our gilt work to an even higher level. Another goal is to continue to build our sales outside of Hungary, while a newer dream is to open up a flagship store in the city centre of Budapest.

Audi: Do you have any surprises in store for us as an artist?

Éva Reményi: I have felt a change in the air for a while, and I am ready for us to conquer new paths. One interesting point is that, in the new collection, I will be reaching back to some of the materials and techniques from my amateur years.

More pictures from the photo shoot