My friendship with artists Anna Ruiz and Cristian Zuzunaga is full of coincidences.
I first met them through mutual friends when they moved back to London and were living a stone’s throw away from me. Unbeknownst to me however, Cristian had already been aware of my work many years before when he spotted my jewellery at my graduation show at the Royal College. Turns out my metamorphic jewellery was very aligned to Cristian’s pixelated textiles, both our work carries a boldly contemporary and architecturally charged aesthetic. I feel very touched that Anna and Cristian chose my designs for their wedding jewellery.
Anna explains their story in her own words:
‘Back in 2006 Cristian had first come across Jo’s work while he was studying at the Royal College of Art. He loved her pixelated jewellery — at the time, he was also exploring pixels, digitally printing them onto textiles. Jo had graduated a year before him, and he remembers taking her postcard and thinking, One day, we’ll collaborate. It was the only postcard Cristian ever took from a graduate show.
Jo's graduation postcard from 2006
After finishing at the Royal College, Cristian founded Zuzunaga — a brand that explored the relationship between analogue and digital technology. Not long after, Cristian and I began working together on the project. In fact, that’s when we met — as Cristian was graduating. Our union was, quite literally, sealed through working with pixels.
Cristian Zuzunaga, Royal College of Art, 2007
Fast forward to 2018, after seven years in Spain, we moved back to London - now a family of four, with our two children, Vera and Otto.
By chance, our Welsh friend happened to be staying with a couple just 20 metres from where we lived. We arranged to meet, and bang! It was Jo and Laszlo. Returning to London felt like coming home. We decided to get married, and meeting Jo and Laszlo at that time felt like fate.
Quad Square bands in 18ct yellow gold
We found our wedding rings without even looking for them. Cristian was still running Zuzunaga at the time and fascinated with numbers and squares - pixels to be precise. Jo’s Square collection could not have been more right for us. We opted for matching square bands in yellow gold, each with 4 rows of squares. There was never any doubt that these were the rings for us - they were the perfect match.’
Cristian and Anna with their rings
I love how my ‘pixelated’ square bands found their way to Anna and Cristian. The creative admiration is mutual - both my husband and I love wearing our beautiful Zuzunaga scarfs and have a growing collection of both Anna and Cristian’s art prints in our home.
 Sin Miedo Print by Anna Ruiz
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 Sadhana Print by Cristian Zuzunaga
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Anna and Cristian have since moved to Bristol and are now focusing their attention on their joint venture - Frankenstein Press.
They collaborate creatively alongside running their own artistic practices and run printmaking workshops at their shop space in Bedminster. If you get the opportunity to visit their space, I strongly urge you to seize it, it's very special.
