Interview with 2019 KickStart Winner Lukas Grewenig of Lukascaspar Jewellery

Lukascaspar Jewellery is a London based fine jewellery brand that merges innovative technologies with traditional craftsmanship to create ‘moments of surprise’. A third generation jeweller, Lukas Grewenig grew up surrounded by the craft. Innovation, though, played a big role in his first collection ‘Victoria’ which featured specifically designed stone cuts to create magical and surprising moments.

We caught up with Lukas Grewenig, one of our 2019 KickStarters, to discuss what the past 12 months have been like, the impact of our KickStart initiative and his proudest moment to date.

What have the last 12 months been like and what have been your most successful pieces/collections?

Obviously the last couple of months were a big disruption for us all. But even before the corona crisis the year has been very dynamic for me. I used my participation in KickStart to focus more on the B2B side of the jewellery world. I worked on establishing relations with potential stockists to have my pieces represented in stores and to continue extending my range of pieces. In retrospect I would say my most successful pieces are my “Victoria” gemstone necklaces. Especially the clasps in those pieces got a lot of positive attention and I started to offer them as a finding for other makers to use as a result.

As a business, what is your main ambition now and your next objective?

At the moment I am trying best to react to the changes that are going through our industry. The situation is definitely very challenging but I am trying to find ways to keep working towards the goals that I have set for my business in the beginning of the year. My focus for the next months will remain to expand my reach and gain more representation by retailers and galleries. This will probably include finding new ways to get in contact and to showcase my collections.

What was your overall impression of KickStart and how did it help your business in its early stages?

KickStart was a very positive experience for me. We had a great group of new makers and the event had a good dynamic to it. We got some helpful training to prepare us for the show and everything was very well organised. I’ve made some varied and interesting contacts during the show and had a lot to follow up on afterwards. It helped to get noticed and seen by a lot of people in the industry, but there is still a lot to do afterwards.

How can future KickStarters capitalise on their IJL Journey and the IJL experience? What would be your advice?

I think the crucial thing is to be prepared and to have specific goals. Start preparing early enough. Don’t leave too much work for the last day before the set up.

What was one of your biggest challenges in launching your jewellery brand and how did you overcome it?

One of the biggest challenges for me is to be organised and plan ahead. I’m not sure if I will ever overcome this completely but it helps me to formulate my goals to keep motivated. I think it is very important to create an environment that makes it easy for you to stay motivated (and organised).

Finally, what is the proudest moment in your jewellery career so far?

This is hard to say. The proudest moment was probably when I saw the whole collection coming together, winning a silver award by the Goldsmith’s Craft and Design Council and being selected for Goldsmiths Fair in the first year of starting my business.

Want to know more? Head to Lukas’s website and get to know Lukascaspar.