My Story

Hello and thank you for visiting kono and orca!

Inspired by architecture and my personal fascination to make my own jewelry I started kono and orca.

At first it started with scrap material from models I made for school that I put together for myself.

Today I design wooden jewelry inspired by my background which I want to share with you. Raised by a Filipina mother and a Belgian father I was always exposed to two different worlds and gradually made them my own. This made me the designer I am today, which is reflected in everything I do.

My Belgian side is in a way rationally creative which is directly reflected in the geometry and laminate in my designs. Studying architecture was a given since I was 10. At that time I was drawing entire cities for gnomes in a cross section. Today I love working as an architect. As my own side project kono and orca gives me the playground to experiment with reusable materials such as laminate, wood and various shapes. 

My Filipina side is emotionally creative and that is why I incorporate organic shapes and bamboo as a material. The pebbles collection is very dear to me because each and every piece is named after important Filipina women in my life: my mother Sabina, my grandmother Esperanza, my aunties Lori, Winnie and Vering, my cousins Rusell, Precious and Praise, my godchildren Anne and Gia, my friends Ina and Johanna, … 

I am a blend of two cultures and so is kono and orca. 

Have a look around my webshop, I hope you like it!

Joyce

Want to find out more about me?
Radio 1 contacted me for an interview for ‘Dubbelbloed’ where I could choose the music for 2hrs and talk about my jewelry, architecture, roots, … Go check it out!