Degrade Line necklace combines, simplicity, colorful essence and a unique texture. It is delicately crafted from hundreds of pieces of paper. The jewel has a sense of volume, still preserving though, a lightweight feeling while wearing it. Color degradation is created through its structure, merging gradually different colors. It is flexible enough to twist, while preserving a minimal approach. Its finishing includes leather, a coral ball and a gold plated sterling silver clasp.
Maria Eftychi is a Cypriot architect currently based in Nice, France. Since 2008 she has been working as a leading architect in architectural offices in Cyprus and France, across residential, commercial and public space projects. In parallel she has taught architecture and design for more than 5 years at the University of Cyprus and the University of Nicosia. Maria holds a diploma of Architecture from Athens, Greece, where she studied with a full state scholarship and a Master's degree in Digital Tectonics from IAAC in Barcelona, Spain. Eager to preserve a research approach while gaining practical knowledge, she has developed a series of personal projects in different categories of design. Through those, she explores the intersections of sustainability and parametric design, experimenting in form-finding processes and the use of unexpected materials. Her project Brick-stainable, a twice awarded design concept for bricks with various bio-climatic performances, (Potomac Valley Brick, BIO 22 Biennial of Industrial Design) has led to a series of publications, expositions and conference presentations. Her jewellery series Degrade Lines, necklaces made from recycled paper, has received an A' Design Award in 2016.
Design-m.e is a small brand of jewelry built around 'paper', a beloved material by Maria Eftychi the designer/architect behind it. Design-m.e pieces offer an alternative to obvious materials and forms. Creating authentic pieces of jewelry, it challenges the way we perceive paper as a consumable material and brings to the audience affordable design pieces made of many kinds of paper. Design-m.e seeks a sustainable design approach, so luxurious recycled paper is often used as the main material! Maria Eftychi, is eager to explore all the possibilities of paper through Design-m.e collections. Unfolding her wealth of knowledge deriving from her background in Architecture, she introduces universal principles of design, which infuse her pieces of jewelry with simplicity and elegance. An elegance which is rooted in the economy of resources and the possibilities of playfulness in any potential structure.