Daily Inspiration: Meet Versiliy | Kelp Jewelry

Today we’d like to introduce you to Versiliy | Kelp Jewelry.

Hi Versiliy | Kelp Jewelry , thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I didn’t start as an artist. My background was in e commerce, but I was always drawn to natural forms and the idea of what nature might look like beyond what we are used to seeing.

When I moved from Saint Petersburg to Los Angeles, that curiosity intensified. California felt like a compressed version of multiple worlds. Within a short distance you can move between deserts, forests, and the ocean. I started collecting fragments from each environment and assembling small sculptural objects, simply following instinct.

At one point, I picked up a piece of ocean algae on the beach. It looked familiar, like a plant, but felt completely unfamiliar, almost like material from another planet. I tried to preserve its shape, and it resisted. It shrank, twisted, and rotted. There was no guidance and no existing craft around it.

That resistance became the reason to continue.

I began approaching it through structured experimentation, testing treatments, documenting outcomes, and slowly developing methods to stabilize the material without turning it into something synthetic. Over time, this evolved into a body of work where algae is no longer just collected, but transformed into something durable and wearable.

Today, I create what I describe as ocean artifacts, objects that sit somewhere between sculpture and jewelry. Each piece carries the unpredictability of a once living material and the result of years of experimentation behind it.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been anything but smooth.

In the beginning, almost everything failed. The material would rot, crack, collapse, or lose its shape completely. Sometimes it smelled so bad that I had to throw everything away. There was no existing knowledge to rely on, so every step had to be discovered through trial and error.

Even after years of experimentation, unpredictability is still part of the process. Not every piece survives. A large portion of what I start never becomes a finished object.

Another challenge is that the material does not allow repetition. I cannot produce identical pieces, which makes scaling and standardization difficult compared to traditional jewelry.

There is also the challenge of perception. People are used to metals, stones, or familiar materials. When they encounter something completely unknown, there is curiosity, but also hesitation. Part of the work is helping people understand and feel comfortable with something they have never experienced before.

At the same time, all of these challenges are also what make the work meaningful. The resistance of the material, the unpredictability, and the unfamiliarity are not obstacles to remove, they are the reason the work exists in the first place.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I work with ocean algae as a primary material, transforming it into sculptural, wearable objects. I specialize in developing techniques that stabilize this material while preserving its natural texture and structure, rather than turning it into something synthetic.

I am probably best known for treating algae not just as a material, but as a collaborator. It is unpredictable and once alive, so every piece becomes a negotiation between control and letting the material evolve on its own. The result is something that sits between sculpture and jewelry, more like an artifact than an accessory.

What sets my work apart is that there is no established craft behind it. I had to develop the entire process from scratch through years of experimentation. There are easier ways to preserve organic materials, like coating or encapsulating them, but I chose a more difficult path to keep the material honest, tactile, and real.

My pendants and necklaces are one of a kind, each piece shaped by the material itself and never repeated. Rings and bracelets are more structured and allow for some consistency, which makes them more accessible while still carrying the same material and process.

What I am most proud of is reaching a point where something so unstable can become durable and wearable without losing its identity. The material still feels unfamiliar, almost confusing to the touch, yet it holds its form and can be part of everyday life. That transformation, from something that resists control into something that can be carried with you, is the core of my work.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I think of risk less as a bold decision and more as a direction you choose to commit to.

Working with algae was a risk from the beginning. There was no existing field, no proven demand, and no guarantee that the material could even be stabilized. For a long time, it gave no results, only failure. Continuing in that direction meant investing time into something that might never work.

There is also a broader risk in building something around a material people do not recognize. You are asking someone to value and wear something they have never experienced before. That always involves uncertainty.

At the same time, I see risk as necessary if you want to discover something new. If the outcome is already clear, it is not really exploration. The way I approach it is by combining intuition with structured experimentation.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://versiliy.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_versiliy_/