Despite the increasing development of the creative community of Cluj-Napoca, there are few places in the region that can become a common introductory platform for designers and creators in different fields. Georgiana Ciceo, the designer of the Monom jewelry brand, thought that she would like to change this, so she set up what is currently the only design shop in the city. Let’s take a look!
The Monom brand in Cluj Napoca is a supporter of a sustainable and ethical approach, characterized by jewelry pieces with minimalist design and simple geometry, which the brand defines simply as wearable architecture. It’s no coincidence, since Monom’s founding designer, Georgiana Ciceo, studied architecture. After her university years, jewelry making seemed more like a dream than an opportunity to her, but the event of the ZAIN design festival in Cluj was a turning point. “In the 2016 edition, we brought together designers and traditional craftsmen to create contemporary objects together with traditional tools. However, a month before the event, one of our designers quit, so I didn’t have time to find someone else. I decided this was my moment, and I found a very nice craftsman, László Nádudvary, who became a very good friend of mine. Laci made my first jewelry pieces and showed me what jewelry making is all about,” recalls the early days Georgiana, who learned the craft step by step and left her job to continue her professional career as a full-time designer of Monom from 2017.
As a design brand founder and part-time event organizer, creating a concept store was also a natural decision for Georgiana.
“As the designer of Monom and co-founder of ZAIN, I was fully aware of the need for such a store in the life of the city, which could become a platform for local designers and creatives. In Cluj-Napoca, there is no such concept store, despite the fact that there are many talented, hardworking designers in Romania, who really should be promoted,” she emphasized.
“I am also aware that the possibilities of e-commerce make physical shops less necessary. For this reason, my goal was for the Monom concept store to offer more: it should be an experience and give an insight into the creative world of designers with similar values to the Monom brand. A minimalist oasis with plenty of possibilities,” Georgiana added.
In the shop at 7 Dávid Ferenc Street in downtown Cluj Napoca, next to Monom jewelry, you can also choose from the repertoire of brands such as the thirty-year-old, Iași-based Irina Schrotter, the ATU Body Couture from Bucharest, or the fashion pieces by the Cluj-based designers, Crina Bulprich and Lucian Broscatean. The shelves also feature Mădălina Teler’s clean ceramic pieces under the name de ceramicå, illustrations with fashion references by Ágnes Keszeg, Matca fragrances made from natural ingredients from Sibiu and Vilegiatura accessories made according to sustainable principles. By the way, the Monom concept store is now operating for charity, as the opening of the place coincided with the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Thus, in order to support Ukrainian refugees, the store will donate all its first month’s profits to an NGO dealing with the humanitarian crisis.
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