Pauline Hepner

Pauline Hepner studied Product, Jewellery & Accessory Design at the Haute école d’art et de design, Geneva. It was during this time that Hepner’s desire to deepen her experimentation of organic waste, recycling and upcycling approaches grew. She acknowledges the connection here to current social and ecological issues as well as her own convictions, only bringing more meaning to her creations.

Hepner’s degree collection is made primarily from cows’ teeth, an organic waste material that generates a visceral response for some, and pieces of jewellery recovered from flea markets and second-hand shops. Through combining waste materials with obsolete jewellery Hepner epitomises what it means to upcycle and gives new life to something that was never, or no longer, desirable.