“Bold, whimsical, infused with bohemian vibes” perfectly describes the jewelry designs of Kharisma Sommers. Her work is a unique representation of her tropical roots having been raised in Indonesia, a country that is rich in cultural diversity and natural beauty.
Thanks to the support of her wonderful parents and extended relatives, Kharisma was nurtured to be a creative entrepreneur her entire life. She was known to make and sell her fanciful handmade creations, from bookmarks to jewelry, to her schoolmates from junior high through college to earn some extra pocket money. She just loved creating with her hands. Everything she learned was from books: the internet wasn’t a thing yet for this “Xennial".
She had dabbled in everything but found her calling in jewelry in her late teens. On one fine day in 2007 her American boyfriend showed her a piece of beautiful, unconventional wire wrapped jewelry on deviantArt during one of their chat sessions. Aware of her interest, he brought several spools of colorful craft wire when he came to Surabaya for a visit. With a few wire wrapping tutorials to get her started, she was soon unstoppable. Little did he know it was a beginning of a lifelong passion.
Not long after, she started getting requests to sell her wire wrapped jewelry online from her followers in deviantArt and her business, Popnicute, was born. The name was created as a combination of her vision and mannerisms: POPular, uNIque, and CUTE. Her patrons come from all around the world: adventurous and creative individuals who appreciate the handiwork and artistry behind every curl and every hammer strike on her pieces.
“My body of work is heavily inspired by nature and textiles. Despite choosing to be a teenage tomboy to disrupt the sexist culture I grew up in, I’ve been fond of ruffles ever since I could remember. My mom taught me to sew and hand embroider. These skills definitely influence my creative vision and are apparent within the ruffles and stitching elements in my work.
My whimsical nature seeps through the design of my jewelry: from the playful look of my birds to ruffles and fluid, swirly lines. I love layering and texturing the metal to add depth and intrigue. With a passion to travel the world, my jewelry appeals to the wanderlust and creative soul within each of us.”
Kharisma has won many awards for her designs. This includes placing second on the international Foldforming competition with her Jewel Beetle necklace, Best Newcomer award at Edwards Place Fine Art Fair in Springfield, IL, Merit award and Achievements in Art award at the Q-fest in Quincy, IL, and About.com’s Reader’s Choice award. As an active member of the art community, three of her jewelry were also displayed at the Quincy Art Center in 2016.
Kharisma’s favorite thing to do is to design custom pieces for her clients. She thrives on creative challenges and the opportunity to surprise her clients with her artistic vision.
You can see more of Kharisma’s work at her website http://www.popnicute.com. She also has a very active social media presence on Facebook (https://facebook.com/popnicute) and Instagram (https://instagram.com/popnicute) where she shares her newest jewelry designs and events. Give her a follow and you'll see for yourself. You can even learn some of her metal smithing techniques on her YouTube channel (https://youtube.com/popnicute). She sees these tutorials as an opportunity to “pay it forward” to the community that has taught her so much.
An opening reception will be held on Saturday, August 11 from 5 until 8:00.
