Cultured Magazine

Summer 2014

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The thought of leaving life decisions to chance would give most of us a bit of a fright. However, for Ivana Berendika, a positive attitude— one content to "just kind of go with the flow and whatever comes my way, I'm open to it"—has served her very well. Last November, the Serbian- born former model launched a line of sophisti- cated, geometric jewelry pieces that were snapped up in an exclusive two-year contract from the luxury boutique Net-a-Porter. But her Arme De L'Amour line—discovered when Berendika sported one of her chunky bangles to a dinner at New York's Soho House, where a buyer for the e- retailer grabbed her arm in fascination—wasn't the only big break. Berendika's life so far has been a veritable demonstration of letting fate run its course. "I sincerely believe if you commit to something fully and do it with love, things have a way of working out." Nine years ago, Berendika followed her star to Miami (by way of Tokyo where she had a suc- cessful modeling career) and soon after met her husband, Tom Jermoluk. They found a shared pas- sion for traveling to far-flung destinations around the world—Ethiopia, Bhutan, Bolivia and India, among others—which provided the sharp-eyed Berendika with endless visual pleasure. "I didn't even realize back then that it was such a major thing for me to see all the patterns, the people and all the jewelry," she says. "I was overstimu- lated by all of these beautiful things and needed to find an outlet to process them through." With a mental archive full of textures, pat- terns and colors, Berendika moved to New York to study interior design. "While I really enjoyed in- teriors, I quickly realized that I actually preferred making jewelry over designing rooms," she adds. "For some reason, I'm always drawn to patterns no matter where I am—in temples, in textiles, car- pets—my eye would always go to them, and then I became intrigued with Emilie Flöge, the muse of Gustav Klimt." The patterns from designer Flöge's fabrics inspired her line's aesthetic. "If you look at the patterns of the dresses she wore, it's every- thing I'm making," reveals Berendika. So what's her plan? "I only like to look six months ahead. Right now, I'm trying to produce the best product I can, and then we will see." 104 CULTURED ARMED AND JUST A LITTLE DANGEROUS Watch out for Arme De L'Amour, a new line of sculptural jewelry. BY JULIE BAUMGARDNER PORTRAIT BY MARKO SOVILJ Ivana Berendika launched her jewelry line, Arme De L'Amour, with a collection inspired by graphic patterns she found while traveling the world.

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