It was only after the birth of her daughter, when she could not return to her previous job, that Martina Bocka took the plunge and started her own business (“Mabotte” is a combination of her name and her daughter’s).

Martina is a master goldsmith with many years of experience, having completed her apprenticeship shortly after leaving school.

 

Martina Bocka

 

Martina’s pieces are gorgeously tactile, and fascinating with their wonderful textures. A mixture of plastics and precious metal, the work is colourful and delicate, and I can imagine I would constantly be playing with and fondling those little flexible loops. I also love how in some pieces she has combined subtly different colours to give a richer result.

 

 

 

I asked how she developed her work. “I love my profession, but I always try to add something new to the classic goldsmithing techniques and materials. It always starts with a more or less vague idea about how something should look. Then I have to try it out. Often enough I have to give it up, because it simply does not work or because it is to complicated and time-consuming and in consequence too expensive. But when it works, that is just great!”

Inspiration comes from anywhere and everywhere, and Martina (like me!) adores textures, colours and patterns. “My workshop is really tiny and packed with tools, materials I use and also things that I might (one day!) use for my jewelry.”

 

 

 

I asked her if she’d had any particularly bad experiences as a maker. “When I was little I always wanted to sew. That’s such a grown up thing to do, especially with the sewing machine. All on my own, I made a little dress for my doll and I was very proud. When I had finished it, I realized that when sewing the sleeves in, I had closed the sleeves at the shoulders… But apparently this disappointing experience did not stop me from wanting to make things myself.”

“There is not really a worst experience for me. I try to create something new, and so failure is really part of the process. And often a failure is the starting point of something very different. For example, I had in mind to work with seeds, but everything I tried did not work and in the end I came up with my lockets. So, I do not really overcome failures, but I try to go with the opportunities that come with them.”

 

 

“For me, the hardest part in my work is the selling. Going to galleries presenting my work, or writing about my work in the product listings in my online shops. It does not get easier with time.

“Another aspect I find difficult is that if you want to earn a living with your creative work, you always have to keep in mind that you have to make things that people want to buy and that people can still afford. So the biggest difficulty is to have a great idea that is not too expensive to make.”

 

 

But ultimately, it is a fulfilling and satisfying experience. For Martina, making things is its own reward, but the real icing on the cake “is feedback from my customers. That is what I missed the most when I only sold via galleries.”

Martina is currently based in Munich. You can find more of her work in her Etsy shop Mabotte, or on her own website, martinabocka.de.