Katya is an artist and jeweller currently working in East London. She creates playful poetic silver pieces influenced by surrealism and symbolism. Her brand ‘Katya Lena’ is an extension of her art practice. Research and sketching is a large part of her creative process; taking notes and inspiration from symbols spotted in everyday life, for example decorative features in architecture and ironwork. The Thames foreshore is also a point of interest in her practice and as a result bones are often depicted in her jewellery often in the form of clasps.

‘Katya Lena’ started from a research project into medieval pilgrim badges and other secular badges from the Middle Ages. Her logo is based off the flowering heart lovers token and her designs have sprouted and grown from this symbol.

The process she uses to make silver jewellery is called the 'lost wax' method, and she uses recycled silver to create these pieces. The particular way she carves and moulds the wax adds a textural handmade look to the pieces and makers marks are often left in to keep the connection to the artisanal nature of the work.