Who is Joya Jewels
Of hippies in Florence and
of the journey through the world
The founder of Joya Jewels, Nadeen Eilert Rössler, was 16 years old when he was inspired by the hippies on the Ponte Vecchio in Florence: they sold jewelry and souvenirs at small stalls. Eilert brought glass beads in various colors back to Germany from this trip, and processed them into jewelry with metal ornaments and wires. And sold them to shops. Again he went on a journey, developing new ideas for more pieces of jewellery in cooperation with local blacksmiths. Eilert Rössler was living in Melsungen at the time. The small half-timbered town in northern Hesse was so different from the impressions he gained on the way in India, Nepal, Tibet, Thailand, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Bali. The extraordinary, sometimes exotic, nature of the collections they brought with them quickly gained widespread recognition.
Nadeen Eilert Rössler: “One of the first collections was born out of my love for stones. I had a small collection from India with me. I came to Nepal and spent some time in Kathmandu and made my first collections with local blacksmiths. Later I drove on to Bali and looked for the best silversmiths on the island. I found out that the best silversmiths and goldsmiths are those who work for the temples. I found craftsmen who mastered a very old granulate technique to perfection. We sat together for weeks, looked at the stones, made drawings, worked on drafts. And the work became amazingly powerful because the silversmiths got involved. It is something special for me to turn ideas into matter together with artisans. There’s something very intense about this creative process, because I can see something coming out of nowhere. This also deepened the relationship with the craftsmen, who help to shape the pieces in a lively way.”
Like something out of a trip around the world
became a lifestyle business
Over time, a small company was born, which has been running under the name Joya Jewels since 1995, and which sold jewelry and crafts at events, in shops, in small shows and at Christmas markets – mostly as part of travel. Eilert Rössler, for example, remembers selling jewellery in street cafés in Portugal. On his travels, he also discovered what was becoming increasingly important to him: the inner search for personal growth and meditation. Especially in Asia, he was fascinated by qualities such as mindfulness and introspection. And so Joya Jewels became a kind of lifestyle business with the spirit of meditation and awareness.
To this day, Nadeen Eilert Rössler travels the continents. And he finds special materials and precious stones all over the world, which he has made into high-quality jewellery and handicrafts in cooperation with traditional craftsmen. He still designs the jewellery himself. He is also active as a meditation teacher and coach.
A community that creates something unique
Joya Jewels has grown into a community, even though it’s a small business at its core. We work together creatively and independently. We are a colorful mix of different personalities, with the most diverse backgrounds. We are united by our enthusiasm for creativity and the desire to surround ourselves with beauty. The interest in meeting others and the need to develop ourselves as people. We are happy that we can contribute to our livelihood with this work.
By the way, Joya is a combination of the English word joy (joy) and the Portuguese word for jewelry (Hoya).
