Born in Paris, Schmitt studied at Studio Berçot, a private training institute for fashion design. After graduating, she worked for different creators focusing on knitwear, illustration and more. She developed a passion for creating headpieces with flowers and vintage veils, produced through materials sourced from flea markets and second-hand shops. She was soon commissioned by the fashion designer Agnès B to create a collection of bespoke headpieces, before starting to explore jewellery in 2018, presenting her first solo exhibition the following year at IBU Gallery in Paris.
Through jewellery design, Schmitt creates objects of curiosity that fascinate viewers and provoke questions. She draws inspiration from her grandfather, the sculptor Sandu Babeanu, making references to elements of his work that ignited her imagination as a child, from mythical creatures to household items. Although he passed away before she was born, Schmitt looks to his reliquary to pay tribute to this stranger to whom she feels so close, producing works of art that invite encounters with benevolent ghosts.
In pieces like Crassula Ring, Leaf Ring and Flower In The Leaf Ring, the designer crafts polished bronze into floral and plant-like motifs, while Knot Necklace, Knot Earring and Knot and Ribbon Ring see the metal crinkle into a textile-like aspect. The theme of memory also continues throughout Schmitt’s work, with fragmentary traces of the mind’s reminiscences – her own and those of others – finding place in her jewellery. Abandoned or overlooked, the artist resurrects such memories in precious forms, giving those who wear them the radiance of a supplemental soul.
