Born in Essen, Germany in 1971, jewelry designer Vera Siemund’s education included the Staatliche Zeichenakademie Hanau, Germany, jewelry class with Dorothea Prühl, Halle, Germany, and the Burg Giebichenstein, Hochschule für Kunst und Design (1995-2001). She is the recipeint of many honors including the Marzee Prize, Galerie Marzee, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, first prize for “Nature and Time“, Society for Goldsmiths‘ Art/ Goldsmiths‘ House of Germany, Hanau, Germany, and second prize in the Nachwuchsförderwettbewerb 2002 für Schmuck und Gerät (Young artists‘ progress competition). By 2010, she was the subject of solo exhibitions in the United States and The Netherlands.
Siemund has long made historic ornament a focus of her work for its power of association. She appreciates the richness in the details of old jewelry and tries to transform older pieces, giving them a contemporary twist. For example, she has combined the classical ‘necklet’ form with a Bavarian tablecloth or a textile pattern from the 1950s. Architecture has offered another source of inspiration, while her recent work looks to the middle of the twentieth century.