Their Story
Olja Einfalt graduated from the Academy of Applied Arts as an academic painter. Upon completion of the academy she became a member of the Split CAA. Her first exhibition was in 1992 and entitled "Beautiful World." She is a great observer of life. Her coloring is the consistent element that makes her recognizable. Her style is dangerous, but refined. She radiates sensibility, immediacy and a sense of color and measure, an integral part of mature painting. Her paintings are born in a breath, discovering a soul of a young painter, a women that paints with her heart. After finishing her academic education, Olja introduced textile design into her skill set and created the brand, Skandal. After 15 years of hard work in creating that brand, Olja wanted to seek out a new challenge and turned to her other love, applied arts. Inspired by street art, it was then that her jewelery collection was born.
Our Story
While meeting Maja, the designer of the Cup collection, I met Olja. It’s an interesting story because we have actually never met face-to-face, only virtually. It is proof that a deal can get done from anywhere. While reviewing the Cup collection, I noticed a few stunning pieces of jewelry that her friend was wearing. I asked where her pieces were from and to my surprise, she said, "Croatia!" And she had a surplus of pieces from the collection available for purchase that day. I picked up piece after piece, loving each and every one. Like a kid in a candy shop, the pictures on this page are evidence of the fun I was having. And then I heard the Olja Einfalt story. Tensions were high in her country, political strife was strong and the economy was crushed after the crisis from the 80’s. Her story is one of using the arts as her form of survival. She found a way to commercialize the storytelling of her experiences through the pieces in her collection. I think of all that she has overcome each time I have one of her pieces draped around my neck and I am grateful for her strength.
