The Beginning
Joanna says: "I was born in Warsaw. After graduating from High School, I attended the Warsaw University. As in communist Poland, it was impossible to buy fashionable clothes and accessories. I started to design my own clothes and have them custom tailored. I was also drawing patterns for fabrics that were commercially sold. When we came to Paris, my husband Thomas encouraged me to paint watercolors and I started to offer them for sale. I started to design jewelry and produce it in resin, and eventually I designed many pieces of precious jewelry, working with distinguished jewelers."
Designer
After completing her studies in oriental philology and literature at the Warsaw University, Joanna moved to Paris with her husband Thomas in 1977. Here, she continued her studies at the Institute National des Langues Orientales towards a graduate degree. Later, she devoted her time to her other passion, fashion design, at the Ecole Joffrin Byrs. This led her to land a job at the world-renowned fashion house of Jean-Louis Scherrer on Avenue Montagne in Paris.
Painter
For over 10 years, she designed jewelry, men’s and women’s designer fashion, and accessories. She established collaborative projects with the fashion houses of Junko Shimada, André Courrèges and Hermès. At the same time, she worked with her husband, a realist painter, on various art projects and her watercolor paintings enjoyed great success and were sold in galleries all over Europe. In the summer of 2007, she accompanied Thomas on a trip to Venice. Sadly, it was their last trip together. Thomas died tragically in Paris on December 22nd of that year. His last works, the murals and canals of Venice will always be a reminder of happier times and the wonderful Italian adventure.
Joanna now devotes her time to translating foreign literature as well as painting and jewelry design.