Nicolai Appel graduated as a gold smith from Georg Jensen in 1989 and is also trained in design from the Institute of Precious Metals. He has been independent in own name since 1996. Today, Nicolai owns the goldsmith workshop "Guldfabrik" and shop "Nicolai Appel" on Reykjaviksgade 2, Copenhagen S (Islands Brygge).
Greenlandic gold got Nicolai’s attention when the Crown Prince couple of Denmark had their wedding rings made of Greenlandic gold in 2004. Nicolai then advocated that Greenlandic gold should also be available to "ordinary" people.
The collaboration has turned into the two 2020 collections "Qiperoq" designed by Oline Binzer and "Aajuna" designed by Buuti Pedersen.
Nicolais will also be presenting his own design of jewelry in PANIKPANIK and looks forward to a "version 2.0" of Greenlandic gold when gold production from the Nalunaq mine in South Greenland starts again in the near future.
the brand
PANIKPANIK
The idea of the creation of the jewelery brand PANIKPANIK got extra nourishment in collaboration with the Greenlandic artist Buuti Pedersen on the bear brooch for Gentofte municipality as UNICEF municipality in 2017. This also led to the development of a key ring for Naalakkersuisut (Greenland Government) which used the key ring as official gifts. Nicolai's interest for the fine Greenlandic heritage and tradition of carving jewelery from tooth and bone increased into a wish a transformation this tradition into jewelery made of metals. When Nadja Arnaaraq Kreutzmann became an apprentice in Nicolai Appel in 2018 which led to PANIKPANIK's first collection, "Tattooish". Subsequently, the desire to put Greenlandic artists and designers at the forefront of jewelry development in PANIKPANIK has resulted in a collaboration between Nicolai and the Greenlandic artists Buuti Pedersen and Oline Binzer.
JEWELRY PRODUCTION
GREENLAND
“I love visualizing about a piece of jewelry with a customer. I love to contribute with my creativity and professionalism and lift the customer's idea a lever further and eventually end up with a piece of jewelry that only that customer has and cherishes. Creating a collection for PANIKPANIK with an artist/designer is in many ways the same process. Being a birth assistant on a collection is genuine collaboration. The artist's ideas and stories, feelings, dreams, and images must be incorporated into the jewelry. The PANIKPANIK collections is part of a dream of realizing jewelery production in Greenland. I think the dream is realizable”, says Nicolai Appel.
