Animal Magic

Chiara Bello, creator of quirky animal jewellery brand, Chic Pig lifts the lid on how these cool pieces are made

Chic Pig jewellery is unique, what led to you create the brand?

I created Chic Pig after my MA in Industrial Design Engineering at the Royal College of Art, where I developed a passion for industrial processes. My love of animals and bespoke illustrations brought Chic Pig to life. I also wanted to inject a sense of humor into the luxury jewellery market.

What does the design and manufacturing process involve?

I design each single piece by hand. I discovered an old jewelry lab in Valenza, Italy, that still uses wooden tables and old tools and decided that’s the process I’d like to adhere to. Each object is like a mini-sculpture: we sculpt in wax and then cast the rings into moulds, before making them from gold-plated brass. The final part of the process is varnishing each of the animals by hand using the enamel. This is an ancient craft which involves hand painting each sculpture in detail before drying it in the oven for a whole day.

What’s your favourite item from the collection?

Lulu Goose because it’s one of the first pieces I designed, and it’s frivolous yet funny. I love the way her long neck rests on your fingers, like a tired sophisticated woman, lying on her chaise longue. Also it’s white, so it works with any type of outfit.

Are you working on any new designs?

This summer I launched my new Safari collection of wild animals including a Lion, a

fluo-green snake, a pink flamingo and a golden leopard. The collection was inspired by a recent holiday to South Africa and I tried to capture the colours and vibrancy of these wonderful animals.

What’s in the pipeline for Chic Pig in 2021?

I have lots of new projects and collaborations to make Chic Pig more visible and accessible for everyone. I’m also very privileged to be sponsoring a couple of fundraising events to support shelter dogs (loveleorescue.org and ral.org in US). My ambition is to use Chic Pig to bring happiness not only to women and men but also to animals who are in need of love and care. I’m also planning to a vegetable collection, but it’s under-wraps for now.