Checha grew up in Yugoslavia. In 1994, she moved to Canada and later to Seattle to pursue a career in architecture and interior design. After years of collecting unique pieces of jewelry from all around the world and developing her connoisseur’s eye and aesthetic, she began making her own jewelry, exploring architectural forms and materials in unexpected scale.
Statement:My architectural background finds a new voice in my jewelry as I explore familiar architectural forms and materials in unexpected scale. It is this building in miniature that presents me with the challenge and excitement of using construction materials out of context. The intrinsic weight of polished concrete floors and stainless steel counters must now translate into wearable objects. A natural and expected crack in concrete walls cannot present itself in jewelry, and so new ways of working with ubiquitous materials must be found. Through the simplicity of geometric shapes, I wish to reveal and translate a hidden beauty and elegance found in the everyday. The same thrill of finding that special jewelry piece in my travels is now the excitement of making one.