Martina Obid Mlakar

Bio

Martina Obid Mlakar, a jewellery designer and restorer, has completed her studies at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Ljubljana. Her interests reach further into the fields of sculpture, graphics and video. She works in her studio-atelier in Ljubljana. 
She has held several solo exhibitions and participated in numerous group exhibitions, in Slovenia and abroad. 
Her designs have been selected and received praise from international juries. Her work Under the Skin of the Forrest, made for 25th Biennial of Design Faraway, so Closed is today in the permanent collection of the Museum of Architecture and Design Slovenia. In 2022 her The Pillow of Touches brooch received an Honourable Mention of the Director of the Gallery of Art in Legnica and was accepted into the International Collection of Contemporary Jewellery in Legnica, Poland. 

In 2025 and 2021 the Herbarium Collection and the Feeling free Collection received the Made in Slovenia mark of excellence from the Center for Creativity at the Museum of Architecture and Design Slovenia. In 2019 the Animal Farm Collection received Recognition Award from the Designers Society of Slovenia and her work The Crown was awarded a Special Mention from the Jury of Gioielli in Fermento, Contemporary Studio Jewellery International Award, Italy. Her Flying with words bookmark is featured in the collection of the Museum of Architecture and Design Slovenia, among the Selected Gifts from Slovenia.
Her works feature in books New Bracelets and New Earrings by Nicolas Estrada.
 

Statement

I see my work as the quest for beauty, hidden in shapes, strokes, thoughts and details, and expressed through various materials I transform into jewellery. 
My designs intertwine stories and memories, reflections on life, moments shared with friends and children, impressions shaped by books, films and photography, walks in nature, current events, and the vibrant rhythm of our street life.
I am inspired by exploring the meanings and functions that jewellery has in our lives.
And while life and work are taken seriously, I always try to find space for humour, a bit of naughtiness that keeps us all young at heart and with a curious gaze reaching out into the world.