Break a Stone

Greek jewellery label, Break a Stone, known for expressing a darker ethnic aesthetic which combines metal and semi-precious stones, is gaining ground in Australia


Break a Stone values the permanence of precious metal, crystals and craft. Its founder, multitasking mum Aggelika Karali, left her promising position as a finance executive to dabble in jewellery.

The pieces arising in her collections are seen as symbols of spiritual protection in the form of accessory adornment, constructed from gold and silver-plated materials embellished with raw quartz, lapis, zircons, agate, garnets, amethyst, tourmaline and many other gems.

Her collections resemble ancient Greek, African, Nordic and Aztec pagan designs.

The risk she took to turn her life around and pursue a different career paid off, as her Etsy shop has not only garnered attention from Europe and the US, but also Australia, tapping collaborations with famous fashion bloggers and labels.

Neos Kosmos (NK): How did you become involved in fashion and jewellery design?

Aggelika Karali (AK): It seems that design has just been my main interest throughout the years and still grows with me, on me. Additionally, making jewellery involves hours and hours of work on the bench using all kinds of hand tools, which has also been one of my sweet spots. On another note, jewellery totally reflects the personality and defines the style of its owner. However, what fascinates me and adds more value to jewellery is that a single piece can accompany someone through many times and years.

NK: Why did you name your brand Break a Stone?

AK: Break A Stone is an action, it’s not a statement. It not only describes my aesthetic but also describes me and my attitude towards life. I wanted my brand to represent my life’s philosophy of breaking though the hardships and personal drawbacks, but mainly breaking through this drama (referred to as stone). Most of us unfortunately were subjected to a specific mentality throughout our upbringing that ‘life is hard and you’d better go the safe way … study something, make a career, be useful to the ‘system’ and have kids’. I came to a point where I would rather lead a life I choose for myself. I am not at all criticising those who go with the flow, but after having tried all of the above, I have decided that some aspects don’t exactly work for me.

NK: What is the defining characteristic of your work?

AK: I’m fascinated by natural crystals as one can clearly tell just by looking at my designs. The shapes and colours often define the piece I am creating. Sometimes the metalwork is just the ‘frame’ to this beautiful ‘painting’ drawn by nature.

NK: What inspires you and what is the driving force behind your collections?

AK: I can be inspired by anything that catches my attention. This differs from time to time. People inspire me, music, nature too. I am also one of those people that are mostly creative when they feel really happy or sad. When going through such periods in my life, my mind is just like a little box that opens up to let all creativity out to run wild and free.

NK: Your jewellery has strong geometric and ethnic influences. Describe the kind of woman or man who you would want to wear your creations.

Actually my jewellery depicts what I personally would like to wear first, and hope everyone else loves my pieces as much as I do. To describe a specific woman, though, would be a disservice to all women. I believe that each woman is at the same time bohemian, romantic, rock, determined, laid-back. I like women and men who feel and act like themselves regardless of stereotypes.

NK: The photography on your website and campaigns is so unique and conveys intense feelings or states of mind. Who is your usual suspect?

AK: Most of what you see now on our social media is captured either by me or by my very talented friend and photographer Danai Isaris who I believe has captured Break a Stone to a tee. We try to be creative about the style of photography which will exude the right atmosphere around what is pictured. Photography reflects my perspective, the way I think each piece I create stands as it should on a person or in a certain space. Lately, there have been more collaborations and shoots, for which many friends have contributed.

NK: You are really popular on Instagram and alternative magazines with many fans in Australia and around the world. How do you feel about that?

AK: I am not sure if that really is a fact just yet (laughs), though we have been having a good number of sales and have made some really good collaborations round the world, especially in Australia and the US in the past two years, we are still growing. I feel really grateful.

NK: Where do you source your materials? You seem to take a strong liking to crystals and semi-precious gems.

AK: In all seriousness, sourcing the crystals is not as easy as it may seem as sometimes the availability is limited – my stones being natural and all – so I try to find material from different sources. Each and every stone you see on my jewellery is handpicked by me to ensure the quality is the best I can find. This is a never-ending process that can prove quite time-consuming, but I’m working on that, too.

NK: What is your most important collaboration so far?

AK: I have been lucky enough to have been approached by designers sharing the same philosophy and love for what they do. I have designed and created exclusive pieces for three continuous seasons for the clothing brand Nidodileda and of course the very talented Alkistis behind Akiko Yoshimoto London. Out of these two collaborations, in addition to some interesting pieces of jewellery that were created, two very strong friendships were founded. Other than that, we have been working on a new dream collaboration which will be out soon.

NK: Who would you ideally like to create jewellery for?

AK: Off the top of my head, definitely for someone as insanely talented like Florence Welch. On the other hand, I would love to design something for Game of Thrones. I could really go all out for this show.

* To see more Break a Stone designs visit www.etsy.com/au/shop/BreakAStone and www.facebook.com/BreakAStone?fref=nf