Hello everyone,
my name is Leah O’Callaghan, and I am a 23-year-old artist and jewelry designer currently in my forth semester at the Faculty of Design in Pforzheim, Germany. I approach my work with a focus on conceptual thinking and a multimedia approach. My creations range from jewelry in more traditional contexts to more abstract pieces, but they always maintain a connection to the human body.
In addition to jewelry design, I have a deep passion for analog photography. Similar to my work in jewelry, I view photography as a conceptual medium, often reinterpreting its elements to incorporate them into my projects.
I draw inspiration from the relationships and events that surround me, often exploring societal and emotional themes that resonate with me.
Through my work, I strive for honesty and mindfulness, using my art to engage with both personal and collective experiences.
I warmly invite you to scroll through my website and glimps into my world of creativity.
xxx Leah
view projects here
I was born in Poggibonsi, Italy, and raised mostly in a small town in southern Germany, though I spent nearly every holiday in Italy, where my father lives.
With a German upbringing, an Italian heart, and an English father, I’ve always felt shaped by three cultures at once. I’m incredibly grateful for this mix and for the many perspectives and experiences it has given me.
My creative journey began after finishing my A levels, when my brother gave me a point-and-shoot camera and a self-taught “picture-taking course” as a gift for my 18th birthday. Since then, analog photography has become a loyal companion. It might sound a bit kitschy, but looking through the viewfinder truly changed the way I see the world. During two years of on-and-off traveling, photography became my way to process and express what I encountered.
For a long time, I wasn’t sure what path to follow - veterinary medicine, teaching, or design. Eventually, I found my way to Pforzheim, to the Faculty of Design, and to the “Jewelry” course that finally felt like the right fit.
I already had a connection to Pforzheim through my brother, who studied product design there. After school, I joined the “Katapult” orientation program at the university, and later returned for a guest semester while preparing for design school applications. That’s when I discovered jewelry design and the wonderfully deep and complex world surrounding it.
To prepare, I completed internships at Atelier Frieda Dörfer and Edelsteine Schütt, where I learned the basics of goldsmithing. Soon after, I applied, got in, and began my studies.
Studying in Pforzheim has been an incredible experience. As one of Germany’s most important jewelry cities, its infrastructure is remarkable, and the jewelry community here is expressive, progressive, and full of warmth and inspiration.
Over the past three years, my understanding of design has grown. And so has my answer to the question: Why design? And why jewelry?
At the core of it all is a desire to make the invisible visible.
I see myself as a creative being, as part of a network shaped by relationships. My creativity allows me to engage with this network. The “invisible” lives in the interspaces between people—in the emotional, social connections we form. I want to explore these intangible areas and transform them into something physical. The object becomes a kind of translator pointing toward something bigger.
I don’t see jewelry just as adornment. To me, it’s a context, a fusion of human being, object, and environment. A play between closeness and distance, both physical and conceptual. The human body is an integral part of this context, which makes the jewelry, and its meaning, more accessible, more personal. We feel part of it.
I want to stay aware of where I stand, of the space I act in. I want to create connection between people, within communities, across disciplines. That’s why I try to bring creativity not only into my art and design projects but into many other areas of life as well.
I truly believe that design and art are always social and therefore always political. The activities around them are labeled “culture,” and culture reflects how a society thinks and behaves. I want to use my creativity, my organizational skills, and my sensitivity to work toward awareness, honest exchange, gentleness and opportunity.