Talkative

To celebrate TALKATIVE’s arrival at WHITEbIRD, we asked a few questions to its founder, Japanese designer Shinobu Marotta. Trained in graphic design and drawn to bold lines and expressive stones, she creates jewellery that is joyful, thoughtful, and deeply personal.

Her Crest collection, handcrafted in Japan by master artisans, celebrates the raw beauty of natural stones. Discover a conversation with a designer who lets materials speak.

1. You started out in graphic design. What led you to jewellery?
When I was studying graphic design, I came across the phrase that a designer’s work “always has a user at the end of the design,” and I started to think about what I wanted people to use, and how I wanted them to feel joy from it.

If something wearable could come from my own design, that would be a happy thing.
When I replaced my graphic thinking with my favourite item — jewellery — the world that was once two-dimensional became three-dimensional. I could touch it, move it, feel it. That gave me new joy.
I will never forget the thrill I felt when I received the cleverness and playfulness of the first puzzle ring my father gave me. The preciousness and fascination of materials such as metal and stone that do not decay.
Jewellery is a product (art?) that cannot be completed without the function of wearing it. I am a jewellery lover. That’s why I am so fascinated by it. And I want to hide wit in my jewellery — not as eccentricity, but as an element that leads to elegance. I think about such jewellery every day.

2. How did TALKATIVE come to life? And why that name?
I wish to engage in a dialogue with all the artisans involved in my creations, as well as with everyone who wears TALKATIVE jewellery.

3. What’s the very first piece you ever created?
I don't remember much about it, but I think it was a silver ring. But the first piece of jewellery that was recognised as a work of art was JEWEL SKIN. When I was a student, I participated in the JJA Jewellery Design Award and won the New Designer Grand Prize.
I created a ring that looks as if a jewel is about to pop out of the metal. The hard metal is like a soft sheet, revealing the form of the gemstone and almost tearing — making it a bold and delicate piece.

4. We’re showcasing the Crest collection at WHITEBIRD. What’s the story behind it?

I wished to bring out the individuality of inorganic stones by cutting them flat on the surface. At the same time, I wanted the person wearing the piece to feel immersed in a world of elegance. The CREST collection was created to fulfil this.

It’s an iconic TALKATIVE collection that captures the beauty of patterns — loved across cultures — and sublimates them into jewellery using high-quality natural gemstones. The forms are named Arabesque, Lotus, Moroccan, Acanthus, Damask, and Spear. The impression they give shifts depending on the wearer’s sensibility — European, Oriental, or multicultural.

The story behind the creation of CREST: Takuma Gemstone Sculpture is a sculptor who makes Buddhist altarware and tea bowls from crystal and agate. He has been carefully collecting large rough stones — hard to obtain — for more than 50 years, and using them without waste. However, carving inevitably creates fragments.
Together, Takuma and I wondered what we could do with these fragments — and decided to turn them into small pieces of jewellery.
Large rough stones often have uneven colouring or cracks at the edges. In the past, only uniform pieces were considered marketable. But TALKATIVE reinterprets this individuality as if it were a canvas — through the beauty of flat, graphical surfaces.
CREST was born from the hands of skilled artisans who bring out the beauty of these patterns through precision flat-cutting. The natural cracks and textures begin to look like art.

Materials like agate and jasper, not traditionally used in jewellery, are turned into pieces with wild charm thanks to the expressive techniques of Takuma Gemstone Sculpture.

I’m delighted that TALKATIVE’s CREST continues to be loved around the world — and that it helps preserve the skills of traditional Japanese artisans.

5. Why did you choose landscape agate?
Like the land of Arizona, a desert oasis, or the end of the Silk Road — I love the romance of feeling the world’s landscapes in something small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.
TALKATIVE’s landscape agate comes in coloured and sepia versions. Colouring is a traditional technique where the natural patterns are tinted with separate tones of blue and green. It’s said to reproduce the colour shifts that happen underground, through human technology.
I love the beautiful chemical reaction between the mystery of nature and the technique of humans — and how colour adds another layer to that dialogue.

6. You work closely with exceptional Japanese artisans. What is that collaboration like?
Besides CREST, we have many other collaborations. Every few months, I go on a “treasure hunt” to find beautiful stones buried in the artisan’s atelier.
For CREST, I ask them to make a special scale to help decide where the stone should be cut, or I match stones to the scale and look through it to find the ideal placement for the pattern.
When I think about my next design, the artisans and technical experts who help bring it to life are my treasures. I want to protect them — and ensure their skills are passed on, especially as the number of young successors is declining rapidly.

7. You often speak of “functional beauty.” How does that idea take shape in your work?
Jewellery is a “product (or art?) that is only complete when worn.” Whether it’s how a piece opens and closes, how materials interact, or how the parts come together — I consider it all through additions, subtractions, multiplications, and divisions. Function doesn’t come before form, it becomes part of the beauty.

8. Your style is joyful, free, often unexpected. What do you want someone to feel when wearing your jewellery?
When you wear TALKATIVE jewellery, I want it to feel like a signal — Come on! Let’s get started! — and for you to sense the wit that gently enters your life.
I’d be happy if our jewellery continues to bring surprise, intelligence, and pleasure into your daily life and if it gives a little boost to your positive feelings.

9. What inspires you on a daily basis? Do you have any creative rituals?
I enjoy playing with the things that catch my eye: things I find beautiful, interesting and asking myself, What if this were jewellery? It could be a view, a meal, a word, a texture, anything. It’s like making a small, playful commentary on everyday beauty.

10. If you were...

A stone: Turquoise. Fresh colour and matte texture. I’m sure I’m not a “faceted-cut person.” And it’s my birthstone, so maybe I’m a reincarnation of turquoise.

A flower: Yellow tulips. People say I’m a sunflower, but I’m not that bold. I’m shy.

A dish: I’m not the main dish at dinner. I’m not even food. I’d be lemon squash. I want to refresh people with gentle bubbles.

A work of art: Collage composition design. Adding, subtracting, dividing, multiplying — intuition and calculation.

A writer or a book: The Pantone colour swatch book. I have strong feelings for colour — including monotones and colourless shades.

A landscape or a place: The hardest question! I think I’d be a lakeside. I’m active, but I prefer quiet time to big groups.