March 11th, arrival in Germany,

Immediately heading to the Munich Exhibition Fair, which was a great start, as my head needed some juice to massage it back to life.

David Bielander, Swiss jeweller, part of the Exempla 2015 - we had a very interesting talk with him in the show. I felt that he presented a very fresh perspective on jewellery making, and it opened up new ways of looking at designing.

"Style is the trap" - David. I thought that quote was very meaningful. Learning the processes of making - soldering, bending, etc, it narrows your mind in a sense, as the wildness of some thoughts of what you can create sometimes is dampened somewhat. It takes away some of the naivety - makes it more realistic, which sometimes is not the best.

 While of course creating art as a living you must rely on it to make you good income, but at the same time I felt David's work genuinely came from an area of artistic expression. It breaks free form boundaries caused by society, and adds a flair of creativity and passion that you can't see in really finely made, polished, luxurious jewellery.

Weiner and Weisswurst, - Sausage necklace carved from antique wood, Mamba, a snake made from bent metal scales, Moths, from the hoods of lighters - it all presented a beautifully refreshing concept. He emphasised idea over material, forming with idea and then incorporating material to present the notion.

Peter Balhaus, who utilised mainly in wax and casting. His work consisted of incredibly detailed sprue's and other construction methods in creating mushroom-like, ballooning wax forms. The mixing of metals that he used produced interesting effects that you don't see much anywhere else, and the rawness of the material also spoke of a more artistic, handcrafted kind of appeal.

Aaron Wang-Zhao