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Anette Skaugen Guldager

Krabberødstrand 28, 3960 Stathelle, Telemark, Norway

Anette Skaugen Guldager spent her entire life on the southeast coast of Norway. Born in Telemark in 1975, she grew up along the seaside. Since childhood, she loved the water in all of its forms. Water has a fascinating duality. It is pure and essential for life yet treacherous and unpredictable, especially when coming into contact with other forces and elements. Hence Anette draws inspiration from the coastline where unstoppable forces colliding immovable objects, evident in all of her work.

After receiving a bachelor's degree in fine-arts in 1998, she taught at the school of art in the municipality of Porsgrunn, Norway, for a short time. At the same time, she started working for her local municipality in the Arts and Cultural Department. She continues to work for Bamble kommune until this day. Around 4-5 years ago, she went beachcombing with her children. While looking for seashells and treasures, Anette received a flash of inspiration: incorporating blue mussel shells from the Norwegian waters into jewelry.

Blue Oyster seashells from which the mother of pearl originates.

The North Sea where Anette finds the blue oysters for her collections.

Anette Skaugen Guldager cuts out only the strongest and best parts of the oyster for her jewelry.

The Jewelry Making Process: All of her pieces are handmade in Norway.

That was the start of a journey, proving to be more unique and fruitful than she ever dreamed of. The process of making jewelry starts with a swim in the North Sea, diving for a perfectly formed and strong blue oysters. After carefully rinsing the shells, she washes and boils them. After the shells are dry, she carefully selects only the most beautiful pieces, which she meticulously saws out by hand. The surfaces of the shells start to appear like miniature paintings made by the sea itself. The variations of blue shades and tones are endless. Some look like the surface of the water in a calm state while others look like clouds in the sky. Others see effervescent waves, which can also be interpreted as stormy waters. It's all in the eye of the beholder!

Over the years, Anette has developed her own techniques, allowing her to set the mother of pearl in different combinations with Sterling silver and semi-precious stones. Designs are simple yet striking with a strong signature appearance. The shells shine naturally and are slightly uneven. This natural look is kept throughout fabrication and until the jewelry item is finished. Anette's jewelry evokes individual associations and stories. The bearer carries a small treasure close to their heart, connecting them back to the sea when they are far away from it. Her husband John Mikal acts as her business manager, covering sales, marketing, and accounting.

Her collection includes bracelets, necklaces, cufflinks, pins, rings, tie pins, and earrings, offering jewelry for both men and women. The collections featured in our marketplace include:

Orbit: Defined by a regular and repeating path that one object in space takes around another, a satellite can be natural like the Earth and the moon or manmade like a spaceship. In Anette's jewelry, the mother of pearl from a blue mussel forms the "orbit."

Ocean´s Eye: "The eye" refers to the large, round onyx in the pieces from this collection, beautifully surrounded by the oyster's form and pattern.

Rings: The jewelry reflects the ringing in the water where a fish piqued the surface for a split-second. The glossy silver rings in this series are volatile and lightweight, framing a tiny bit of the blue oyster's mother of pearl.

Porthole: The view is implicitly what you see through the porthole. It can be over and under water, clouds or space. You see the infinite, the incomprehensible, and the great blue ... through the porthole.

Professional Membership
Norwegian Association of Jewelry Designers (NAJD)