Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Name: Paola Sasplugas
Instagram: @PDPAOLA_Jewelry
Occupation: Co-Founder & Creative Director of PDPAOLA
Hometown: Andorra—a tiny country tucked in the Pyrenees, where nature, silence, and beauty quietly shape your worldview.
Studio Location: Barcelona, Spain
Describe what you make: I create emotional objects. Jewelry that tells stories. At PDPAOLA, we craft jewelry not just as ornament, but as expression. I’m interested in how things can connect to our inner world—how form, material, and story can awaken something personal. My work lives between function and poetry.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: PDPAOLA itself. From the ground up, it’s been about redefining modern jewelry, building a brand that speaks to real women, with honesty, beauty, and a sense of soul.
Describe the problem your work solves: I believe people are craving deeper connection to themselves, to beauty, to meaning. My work tries to offer that: a pause, a memory, a little bit of soul in a fast world.
Describe the project you are working on now: We’re deep in the creation of our upcoming fine jewelry collections. It’s an evolution that explores deeper craftsmanship, bolder femininity, and the interplay between softness and strength.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: We’ll be continuing our exploration with new artist collaborations and expanding beyond jewelry. Each release will carry its own narrative and perspective, starting again later this year. More artful objects, more crafted emotions.
What you absolutely have to have in your studio: Natural light, music that moves with my mood, trays of prototypes, and a feeling of calm chaos. I love having tactile materials everywhere: waxes, stones, unfinished pieces, things that remind me of the process.
What you do when you’re not working: I walk and I write. I spend time near water or trees, and I travel to let my brain rewire itself. I also love to get lost in cities and observe how people are.
Sources of creative envy: Coco Chanel for her vision and unapologetic spirit. Elsa Peretti for sensual minimalism. Charlotte Perriand. Rei Kawakubo. And any woman who creates her own path.
The distraction you want to eliminate: The constant pressure to produce more, faster. True creativity needs space. It needs silence. Also, the myth of perfection. It’s a creativity killer. I prefer beauty that feels real—imperfect, soulful, alive.
Concrete or marble? Concrete
High-Rise Or Townhouse? Townhouse
Remember Or Forget? Remember, always
Aliens Or Ghosts? Aliens
Dark Or Light? Light
