From traditional Claddagh rings to an ethereal collection of sun and moon jewellery, Momocreatura mirrors its maker’s dreamiest creations. London-based founder Momoko Tamura tells us what inspires her unearthly collections - from creativity on the streets of London to admiring ancient jewellery techniques. 

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A lot of your work is inspired by fairy tales and folklore, where did that inspiration come from?

When I was a child, I liked reading books all the time. My parents gave me a series of fairy tale and folklore books. There were around twenty books with ten different stories in each book. There were stories from Europe, China, and Africa. I think the memories of my childhood inspired a lot of my jewellery creations.

Can you tell us a little bit more about your creative process when it comes to designing and making?

I get ideas from what I see in everyday life. I think living in London is an important factor in my creations. There are so many great museums and historical buildings, as well as nature not far from the city. Every day I walk and I come across historical buildings – it stimulates my imagination. When I make a new collection I usually begin visual research. I collect many images which feel right at the time. From the collection of images, I start to draw and finalise the designs. I am injecting the feelings of the images into my jewellery.

On the technical side of things, what’s your process of deciding what materials to work with?

I like working with metals. It’s solid and lasts a long time. Ancient jewellery still survives after many, many years. The thought of my jewellery being found in an archaeological dig site in a thousand years’ time fascinates me. I also like the fact that I use fire during the jewellery-making process – I feel like it infuses energy into the metal.

What’s the most important think about jewellery for you?

I want my jewellery to be cherished by its owners. It is very important for me to know that my jewellery has a connection with the person wearing it. It’s not just a fashion statement, I want to empower the wearer.

If you had to choose only one piece of jewellery to take with you forever what would it be?

My wedding ring – it is inscribed with my wedding date so that I don’t forget when I got married. Haha, I’m joking.

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