Vanessa Fernández is a Miami Born, Cuban Armenian American Jewelry Designer and Bench Jeweler.
She completed her BFA at VCU arts, school of Fine Arts. After graduating she was brought on as an intern with the design team from John Hardy located in Bali Indonesia with head designer Guy Bedarida. Shortly after Bali, Vanessa moved to Paris and began working with the design team at Lorenz Bäumer, Louis Vuitton in Paris France where she was responsible for creating high jewelry renderings. She was then contracted to partner with Christies & Tasaki in Tokyo Japan for a project led by Hidetoshi Nakata & appeared in several fashion publications, including Vogue & Elle throughout the following years.
Vanessa has a private, full jewelry studio in Miami where she designs and renders by hand, sculpts wax models, alloys pure with a custom alloy, casts, finishes and crafts her pieces entirely by hand. Vanessa creates bi-annual collections while simultaneously creating custom works for her private clientele including private brands she consults for.
Vanessa designs and creates by hand custom works as a private jeweler to The White House’s Office of the First Lady and Office of the President of the United States as well as the Department of State.
The Brand
VF as a brand aims to create one-of-a-kind, high end, sculptural jewelry collections bi-annually. Sustainability and ethically sourced materials including conflict free diamonds, ethically mined gold and colored gemstones is top priority for the brand. Her collections are created with an absolute passion for excellence in craftsmanship & creative design heavily informed by months of research and experimentation.
Vanessa crafts custom pieces for a range of private clientele throughout the year. Her goal is to provide an intimate experience for her clients by guiding them to purchase fine colored gems and unique diamonds from only the most excellent and highly respected resources.
She ensures the brand remains sustainable by always offering gold sourced by artisanal and small-scale mining organizations who meet the standards for responsible practices via fair mined certifications and considers it vital and essential to the longevity & success of the brand to have this option available to her clients.
Her designs are inspired by her love of minimalism, and pureness of material. She remains mindful to create both sculpture and ornament, engaging with her materials, pushing herself to create works that challenge her as a goldsmith. Her goal is to design jewelry that appears effortless regardless of the control and precision they demand when sculpting.
The tactility and warmth of her pieces play an essential role to the experience of wearing them, aside of design she feels there is nothing more vital to the jewel than the way it interacts with the skin. Whether it hangs off the ear or hugs the finger, she believes comfort is essential. Vanessa is not interested in the dainty or delicate jewel, but rather the bold and colorful. Creating movement within her sculptural pieces is imperative, convincing you that what is firmly ridged simultaneously appears smooth and malleable, she is inspired by the seductive power and fluidity of gold as a material.