Amberif 2009 Video, Aleksander Gliwiñski

Aleksander Gliwiñski speaks almost no English. But what little he did say to me during my two trips to Amberif speaks volume on his approach to amber jewelry design and life. Basically he told me that he loves his wife, he loves daughter, and he loves his work.

He does a good amount of business in the U.S., but he says he is not necessarily interested in expanding to meet demand. Instead, he wants to create individual pieces that express what he is as an artist. He has always taken an organic approach to creating his amber jewelry but during the past couple years he has been more aggressive in moving to this direction. Lately, he has been creating jewelry that maintains the shape of the amber as he receives. In this video his daughter, Kasia, gives a brief description of her father’s approach to making amber jewelry.

Below is a photograph of what Kasia was describing. The amber jewelry on the right is an older piece from Gliwiñski that was heated and cut to fit a certain shape. The amber jewelry on the left is untreated and remains in its natural shape.