R I T A C A R R E G A
Lisbon, 1989. My name is my identity.
What began as a form of self-expression quickly evolved into an extension of who I am.
Building a brand in my own name made the dream of translating what I live and observe into an artistic dimension more tangible, through timeless pieces designed to be passed down from generation to generation.
Deeply inspired by nature, flowers and seashells are just some of the original elements that lie at the heart of past and future collections. But not only that.
It’s through travel, through an attentive gaze upon the world and its diversity, that the best ideas are born. It’s in shapes, in patterns, in the simplest tile or the ground beneath our feet that the eyes instantly find a way to adapt the world to the body. Every place carries a story and is a treasure waiting to be explored.
I believe that the hands are the mind in motion. That’s why I’m fascinated by every stage of creation from thought to materialization and why I believe this is the true essence of jewelry.
In a constant search for novelty and inspiration, the Rita Carrega brand aims to create harmony between function and aesthetics, reflected in the way I work metals like gold and silver inventing and reinventing old pieces that seek a new life.
C O L L E C T I O N S
My collections emerge from the materialization of ideas, studies, research, and multiple sources of inspiration that converge into a body of work composed of different pieces united by a single theme. They are collections conceived with the greater purpose of jewelry in mind, its use and its harmony with the organic object that is the human body.
The places I visit, whether familiar spaces that are already a part of me or remote geographies across our planet are my greatest source of inspiration.
I am fascinated by human culture, by the way societies throughout history have created their interpretations of nature based on their daily activities and the environments that shaped them. At its core, this is the origin of all art the act of assigning deep meaning to an inanimate object, capable of evoking emotion and wonder.
That is the mystery I seek to explore through my work, embodied in each of my collections.
C U S T O M
Few things give me as much joy as seeing the look of satisfaction on my clients’ faces when I present their commissioned piece. The challenge of merging my creative vision with what the client envisions for their jewelry is a central part of my work. The process of reaching that desired perfection can sometimes be frustrating, but few things fulfill me more than hitting the mark, knowing that the person leaving my studio with a piece I created carries with them the fusion of their desire and my imagination, research, and total dedication.
In my custom work, I dedicate myself to creating pieces for ceremonies and weddings, giving a second life to existing jewelry (by repairing or transforming it), and bringing to life the many ideas clients share with me. I don’t like to set limits on creation, if you have an idea for a piece, there’s nothing like a good conversation to make it tangible. Or, if you have a jewel at home that you’d like to renew, bring it along with your ideas!
My bespoke work ranges from pieces for Weddings and Ceremonies (engagement or wedding rings, earrings, hairpieces, boutonnières, etc.) to medals or religious objects, as well as any kind of piece a client may have imagined to mark a special occasion or to offer as a truly unique gift.
P R O J E C T S
My personal projects are the “spiritual space” where I can be most daring, freeing myself from convention in pursuit of the materialization of a specific concept or vision. By setting aside the exclusivity of noble metals as the sole raw material, I gain unlimited creative freedom, opening my art to a wider range of possibilities. It is through these unrestricted research projects that I continue to discover and define myself, paving the way for the more structured and refined work found in my collections.
My work emerges through subjective materializations of imagined realities, visual transformations of what moves me in nature, ideas that come to mind when chance allows… In short, various inspirations and epiphanies that, often arising after travel or periods of breaking routine, bring me back to the studio with a renewed creative drive, the very essence of why I chose to devote myself to this art form.