Welcome Sam Tho Duong, jewellery artist in Pforzheim and curator of the upcoming SCHMUCKmünchen at „Handwerk & Design»2026 – thank you very much for taking the time for this interview!
Sam Tho Duong: Thank you very much, too.
You have been working as a freelance jewellery artist in Pforzheim for many years. How did you get into jewellery?
At the end of 1981, when I was 12 years old, my family and I came to Germany from Vietnam for political reasons. At first, I concentrated solely on learning German, a completely foreign language. But over the years, I realised that Pforzheim is a ‘gold city’ and that there is a lot to learn about craftsmanship here. And so, step by step, I got to know jewellery and learned to love it.
Life in Germany probably wasn't so easy for your family at first. And everyone around you is involved in jewellery. Was that a bit absurd for you at the time?
Actually, at some point I asked myself whether this really would be the right career for me. Because jewellery is a luxury product, it's not necessarily a necessity. On the other hand, I thought, why not? I'm here, close to my family – and that's the most important thing for me.
And you took another leap: you left your permanent position at a renowned jewellery company to become a freelance jewellery artist.
Of course, it's a risk, but I wasn't really afraid of it because I consciously wanted to go down this path. After finishing secondary school, I completed my intermediate school certificate and then studied design for three years at the Pforzheim School of Goldsmithing, one of the most renowned of its kind worldwide. After that I worked for a company for six years. After that, I studied at Hochschule für Gestaltung (College of Design).
We are sitting here in your studio in Pforzheim, a former jewellery factory: oak parquet, high ceilings, lots of light. Can you tell us something about your own work? What materials do you use, what is important to you?
The great beauty with contemporary designer jewellery is that anything is possible. There are no restrictions on materials. That's why I've collected everything that interests me, from silver to gold to paper to plastic, and tried to turn it into jewellery. Of course, jewellery always makes a statement, but I'm not a jewellery maker who necessarily wants to be associated with politics; I just don't want that. I want my jewellery to simply bring joy to the wearer.
So beauty plays a big role?!
Of course, jewellery is also about adornment, and adornment should be something beautiful.
Many people who hear your name immediately associate your work with small, elongated beads with a black dot on top. How did this work come about?
I worked my way through everything from cherry pits to ginger and toilet paper. And one day, I was walking through the woods in the winter sunshine and found these ice crystals on grasses and branches to be fascinatingly beautiful. I wanted to translate this natural phenomenon into jewellery. So I went in search of suitable materials and came across these very fine seed beads. The series was very well received, even worldwide, and I continue to work on this ‘Frozen’ collection alongside my other work.
You work with very natural, often asymmetrical shapes, you work with nature‘s forms and also with something that is actually ephemeral. But it is your jewellery that turns it into something permanent.
I'm more of a fan of organic shapes because they offer me more opportunities to play with different shapes or variations in a collection than geometric shapes do. That's why you see a whole range of different pieces, and they are always individual ones.
What‘s that black dot on top? Is it paint or some other material?
Stones are often attached with metal pins. But these beads are very delicate compared to gemstones, so I use a nylon fishing line and process it with heat. Then small beads develop holding the individual pearls on the surface.
You also work with many other materials. What is your latest work?
At the moment, I am working once more on my collection made from waste products from the yellow trash bin. For example, there is my ‘Lemitca collection’ with necklaces and brooches made from yoghurt bottles.
That means you cut up used yoghurt bottles so artfully that they become flowers...
I liked the shape of the Actimel bottles so much that I deliberately chose them. But you couldn't tell at first glance. Some patterns have openings, which are naturally omitted, but otherwise I always use the whole bottle. It took me a long time to come up with this insertion technique. There are 30 bottles in this chain, and each bottle can be opened and closed.
You said that you don't really want to be interpreted in such a political way. But it's a work with packaging material, so there's a certain attitude towards the environment and the use of materials included it, isn't there?
My point is that you can still find so many beautiful materials in waste that can be turned into jewellery. I'm not an environmental activist, but if you can raise awareness of waste material‘s possibilities offers, that would be a start.
This year, you have been selected as curator for SCHMUCKmünchen 2026. When did you first ge to know SCHMUCK, and what role does it play for you?
I first became acquainted with this exhibition in my early years as a student, and since then I have been visiting almost every year; of course I‘ve also met many artists and followed their work. I've also been fortunate enough to be selected for the exhibition a few times. It's a very, very good platform for beginners. Being part of the exhibition is a huge achievement and a great honour. You gain international recognition, not just national, and it's a very good springboard.
Two days of intensive jury deliberations lie behind you with more than 1,000 applications – a record number – and you had to make a selection... How did you manage to process such a large number of submissions?
Naturally, I travelled to Munich with some trepidation, because when you do the maths, it means that I am only allowed to select six or seven per cent of the applicants. And of course, it's very difficult to select good work based on photos alone. But Eva Sarnowski and Barbara Schmidt from the Handwerkskammer (Chamber of Crafts) for Munich and Upper Bavaria were such a great team! They gave me a very warm welcome and I immediately felt at home.
Did you develop criteria for yourself on how to make decisions?
My strategy or my idea was that I wanted to bring new people into the exhibition, but not at all costs, rather only based on their skills and their jewellery. So I went in with a neutral mind, not knowing who made what, simply based on the design language and quality.
How high was the quality of the submissions? Would you have preferred to include them all in the exhibition, or did your favourites quickly emerge?
The quality was very very high. And with some of the works, it really hurt to have to reject them. But you only have so many places, so you have to take that into account.
Did you notice anything in particular this year? Were there certain trends, styles or materials that appeared particularly frequently?
There was a wide range of very diverse works. There were also some political pieces of jewellery, but I always look at the form and quality first. And if the aura and charisma, the meaning, are right, then I'm happy to include them. Otherwise, there were many different works, from cutting-edge techniques to completely free pieces, or traditional old techniques reinterpreted. So it was really most exciting and, of course, difficult to decide. There were also lots of pieces made from waste products. In some cases, goldsmithing techniques were combined with plastic. It was striking how many applications came from Asia, but also from America. Of course, this should be reflected in the exhibition. But the clean execution of a piece is also very important to me.
So the quality of craftsmanship is still important to you in jewellery.
Definitely. Quality is something you have to offer. It's no good, for example, if a meal is presented in a way that looks appealing to the eye but doesn't taste good – that makes no sense to me.
Dear Sam Tho Duong: Thank you very much for the lovely interview!
Thank you too.
[The interview was conducted by Julie Metzdorf.]
