Danish Jewelry Brand Kinraden and The Essence of Sustainable Design

May 04, 2023

Jewels from the Two Worlds collection, by Kinraden, made from recycled metals and discarded Mpingo ... [+] wood.

"Whatever the weather, I start my day with a swim almost as soon as I get up. Feeling my body react to the water gives me energy for the day," says Sarah Müllertz, founder and creative director of Danish jewelry brand, Kinraden. "Cold water swimming and making the most of the outdoors, rain or shine, is a big part of the Copenhagen lifestyle." Maybe it's the morning circulation boost that produces the clarity of thought needed for her precise, considered jewelry, or maybe its her country's design heritage, but the restraint and elegance of Kinraden's jewels makes for a powerful combination.

Depth of thought and attention to detail also, much like the meal we are enjoying in La Banchina, a waterfront eaterie not far from Müllertz's favorite spot for a morning dip. Everything on our plates is organic and locally sourced, which means lemons, olive oil and chocolate are replaced by deliciously inventive local ingredients. Just like the restaurant, Kinraden has been built around the Danish dedication to sustainability and circularity, stemming from its founder's belief that modern businesses have a responsibility to make a difference.

Kinraden founder and creative director Sarah Müllertz wearing sustainable jewelry by the brand.

Müllertz's background is in architecture. She has run her own design studio and was a partner at Henning Larsen, until she decided to shift pace and focus on her jewelry brand in 2019. "I started Kinraden because I was drawn to working on a small scale. I apply the same approach to jewelry, as I do architecture — there's the same three main considerations: place, materials and function; only the place is the body and the function is adornment."

Her latest collection, Two Worlds, elevates Mpingo blackwood to the same status as precious metals. Inspired by Bauhaus luminary Oskar Schlemmer's Triadic Ballet, the collection reinterprets the striped outfits worn by dancers and guests, later adopted by Kansai Yamamoto in his stage outfit for David Bowie. Bold Mpingo stripes bisect silver and gold in chunky rings, perfectly proportioned earrings and bangles, which took over a year to perfect. "Thankfully, I am a very persistent person," she laughs.

As per the Scandinavian tradition, a focus on form and function runs through the collection. Chain links fit into one another with the precision of Japanese joinery, to always lie flat on the body; while the sculptural forms of the Stilos collection (in collaboration with Danish fashion label MKDT) reach their ultimate expression in the mixed metal Gemini earrings.

The Helena bracelet by Kinraden, in recycled gold and Mpingo wood, was over a year in development.

She began Kinraden in 2014 as a side project, and is now seeing double-digit growth year-on-year. The name comes from ‘kindred’, reflecting a desire to design for "people with the same perspective as me, who enjoy simplicity" and true to its pared-back approach to ethical jewelry, the brand uses only three materials; recycled silver and gold from the technology industries, and Mpingo wood offcuts from woodwind instrument manufacturing.

The world's hardest living material, Mpingo is by turns polished pearly smooth and faceted like a gemstone in Kinraden's wooden solitaires, and as wood becomes carbon, which becomes a diamond, this versatile material presents the perfect challenge to notions of what is precious. For Müllertz, against a background of ever-diminishing resources - all known gold and silver will have been dug up by 2030 - circularity is self-evident, just as it has been for generations of goldsmiths at the bench collecting every precious fragment for re-use. "Every choice we make, has consequences. Finding new materials is imperative. Our creativity is limitless."

The Gemini earring by Kinraden, in recycled silver and gold sourced from the technology industry.

Inevitably, creativity also includes AI, currently invading so many forms of human endeavor. Müllertz believes that it "will be integrated into our daily lives in under three years: "it's important to be as informed as possible given how many sectors it is touching; with jewelry design, we need to think carefully I will be looking to the EU for legislation".

Alongside the onward march of technology, Kinraden is keen to expand on current growth, with the characteristically considered strategy of prioritizing unique retail environments and closely aligned partners, rather than targeted growth markets. The brand recently launched in Germany, after finding the right outlet in Andrea Murkudis, and within two weeks the store re-ordered, reporting sell-through on 25% of their initial stock.

Back at the waterside, I’m almost persuaded by that early-morning swim. Plunging into cold water, focusing on the body and the breath, stripping living down to its essence, in the same way that Müllertz's journey from large-scale architecture to comparatively tiny body adornment has captured the essence of her design. Perhaps also, the sustainability at the heart of brands like Kinraden should represent the very essence of the way we live now.