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- DIALOGS
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DIALOGS WITH CRISTINA JUNQUERO
We met up with Cristina at her workshop in the Poble Nou neighborhood of Barcelona where she makes all of her pieces by hand. Walking into someone’s workshop is always an intimate, almost magical experience. It is truly special to visit the places where ideas start to take shape that had, until that moment, been secreted away inside the artist’s imagination.
Among molds, tools, and various materials, we talked with Cristina about the importance of family traditions in her trade and motherhood. On Mother’s Day, we want to share her experiences (and challenges) of balancing work, creative, and family life.
Cristina, you grew up surrounded by traditional Andalusian jewelry in your family’s jewelry shop. How did that family legacy influence your own professional career path?
It has influenced me all my life and my entire life path. Because I grew up around it, ever since I was little I always knew I wanted to dedicate my life to it. I always say that my grandfather, grandmother, and mother have handed down the best possible inheritance: a profession that I love.
As a daughter who decided to commit to a career so closely related to the family business, could you share with us any lessons or advice you received that impacted your dedication to the world of jewelry?
Everything I learned working and standing behind the shop counter since I was little has been far more valuable than any number of degrees I could have. I learned to understand customers, the sacrifice of owning your own business, jewelry knowledge and, more than anything, it gifted me with an imagination that today continues to feed my research and creation process as a jeweler.
Being both an entrepreneur and a mother presents a unique set of challenges and rewards. Could you share how you manage both of those responsibilities and what you’ve learned about each role?
It seems so challenging and complicated when I see other mothers doing it, and strangely enough I often forget that I’m in the same boat. My life is like a Tetris game and my schedule is always busy, not just due to work and motherhood, but because I started studying a university degree when I got pregnant.
I don’t really know. I try to stay super organized, but even then sometimes things don't go according to plan. My son’s father is also essential to me being able to do everything I do; together we are a team that makes all of this possible.
I’ve also cut back on my hours in the workshop. I used to spend 8 to 12 hours per day here; now I can’t do more than 5 and maybe one afternoon per week.
At the same time, I feel very fortunate to be able to work doing something I love and to have become a mother.
We saw on your Instagram that you sometimes bring your son to the workshop with you. What has been your experience of sharing those creative and work-related moments with him?
I bring Román to the workshop when I don't have any other option. Whenever he comes with me he roams about and makes a mess of everything; I can barely get anything done with him there.
Since we don’t have family or a support system here, I have to bring him here if he gets sick or doesn’t have school, but it’s never a good idea. I’m currently trying to answer your questions with his little fingers sneaking onto the keyboard every other word.
By sharing your workspace with your son, surely some teaching moments or moments of mutual discovery must arise occasionally. Do you have any stories or special moments you can share?
Sometimes he puts on the bracelets and makes me laugh, but then he’ll discover the tape roll and think it’s an even better and more interesting bracelet than mine. I actually think he likes the pieces that my workshop partner makes even mor
Based on your experience, how do you view the role of mothers in the passing down of culture and art?
In general, I think the role of mothers is neither valued nor taken into consideration in any field. I nursed my son for 18 months and couldn’t understand how I was supposed to nurse him but also go back to work when he was only four months old. I’m self-employed, so yes I could bring him to work or step away for a bit, but for anyone working for someone else, I have no idea how they could do it.
I feel like being a mother these days is a challenge in and of itself.
And lastly, how are you going to celebrate Mother’s Day?
Well interestingly enough, after three years of being a mother on Mother’s Day, I still think about my own mother more than myself. I still haven’t fully absorbed the fact that this is also a day to celebrate me. I don’t know, I suppose I’ll receive flowers, shower Romi with kisses, and spend the day with him. Another day of feeling thankful to have him in my life.
Do you already know how to tell your mother that you love her? We give you some ideas:
