Katharina Flohr is creative and managing director of Fabergé. Born in Munich and raised in Canada and Texas, she joined the jewellery house in 2008 and handles both the creative and business blueprints. Founded in 1842 in St Petersburg by Gustav Fabergé, the company is steeped in historical grandeur and is best known perhaps for its exquisite Fabergé eggs and jewellery pieces. Keen to preserve the Fabergé image but also to reinterpret the brand for a new generation, Flohr is always on the look-out for new ideas. "I get my inspiration from my books, from private collections and museums, from travels to Russia and shared stories with the Fabergé family," she says. "I love Galignani in Paris, Hatchard's in London and Rizzoli in New York. I'm always looking for something new." Flohr's creative eye can perhaps be attributed to her fashion journalism background, as she has been fashion director for Cosmopolitan Germany, Russian Vogue and Vogue Hellas (based in Athens). In 2001, she moved to London with her two daughters to take the post of fashion and jewellery editor of Tatler, working with the late Isabella Blow. She talks to Jemma Nicholls about her fashion tastes and favourite things.
KATHARINA'S WORLD
FIVE WORDS TO DESCRIBE ME ARE... passionate, determined, considerate, impatient and hopelessly romantic. WHAT DRIVES ME ON IS... doing the impossible, challenging conventions, launching ideas and concepts and seeing these through to success. BEING STYLISH MEANS... effortless, imaginative and unconventional. THE ADVICE IS WOULD GIVE TO MY 18-YEAR-OLD SELF IS... always believe in yourself and your talents and be precise. Allow yourself to be a perfectionist as it's all in the details. THE BEST PART ABOUT MY JOB IS... working with my designers and craftspeople and seeing the jewellery take shape. I also love working with the Fabergé family who share their rich memories and stories that inspire our creations.
