Any little Japanese girls will be familiar with those small cases of twinkle beads they can only get at traditional local summer festivals. Of course those candy like beads are made of plastic, but for the little girls, they are the most precious Jewellery they will ever have (Boys always get those plastic masks of the cartoon super heroes instead).

Emma Cassi’s designs remind me of those childhood days. Not only the cold plastic but also the short Japanese summer times of my youth. Cassi uses antique laces and beads which themselves have a long history and a story to tell, maybe because she is also still is a little girl at heart, still fascinated with the lace curtain’s pattern shadow, dancing on the floor.

Her Spring and Summer collection has colourful beads with a little edge of antique lace under them. The balance of kid’s palette-like colours and the delicate pattern of the lace successfully creates the image of a little girl with a pure heart.

“I always use laces”. She says. When her grandmother passed away, she left boxes of beautiful antique laces. Those antique laces also found somebody who can continue their histories. “Doesn’t the pattern of the lace look like plants? Like veins and leaves? Maybe that attracts me.”