Hi, I'm Tatiana Iakovleva, an artist, calligrapher, and the founder of SÕNUM.
SÕNUM means "MESSAGE" in Estonian.
SÕNUM is a space where calligraphy becomes jewellery, and jewellery becomes a way of carrying meaning. Each piece holds a message — sometimes a word, sometimes a feeling, sometimes something that cannot be fully spoken.
For me, everything begins with a line — drawn, written, or found in nature. Since 2010, I have studied European and Old Slavonic calligraphy. Years later, that exploration naturally evolved into jewellery.
Every work develops its own calligraphic language, guided by intuition and shaped through a quiet dialogue between material, meaning and presence.
ABOUT SÕNUM
SÕNUM is an artistic practice exploring how meaning can be carried through objects.
Founded in Estonia by artist and calligrapher Tatiana Iakovleva, SÕNUM works across jewellery, exhibitions, books and collectible objects. Each project begins with research and develops through observation, drawing and making, allowing one idea to unfold across different artistic forms.
Rather than treating jewellery as decoration, SÕNUM approaches it as a medium for reflection. Words, gestures and abstract calligraphic forms become physical objects that accompany everyday life, inviting their wearer to return to a chosen thought, question or state of mind.
At the centre of the practice lies an ongoing exploration of visual language — how a single line can hold rhythm, memory, movement and meaning. This research continues beyond jewellery into exhibitions, publications and interdisciplinary collaborations, where every new project expands the vocabulary of SÕNUM while remaining connected to the same artistic inquiry.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Tatiana Iakovleva is an artist, calligrapher and jewellery designer whose practice is rooted in long-term artistic research.
For more than eleven years she has studied European and Old Slavonic calligraphy, gradually developing an independent visual language that moves beyond traditional writing. Her work investigates the relationship between gesture, material and perception, translating calligraphic movement into jewellery, objects and spatial installations.
Alongside her studio practice, Tatiana develops exhibition projects, artist books and interdisciplinary collaborations. Her works have been presented in solo exhibitions and recognised internationally, including the Type Directors Club (New York) 2025, where the Looduse ruunid jewellery series received the award in the Industrial / Wearable Design category for its artistic concept and execution.
Today her work continues to explore the possibilities of contemporary calligraphy as an artistic language capable of crossing disciplines and existing equally on paper, in metal and in space.
ARTICLES ABOUT TATIANA IAKOVLEVA
