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The Moment Silence Was Heard

Notre Dame Earrings & A’ Design Award 2025
Sometimes you create so deeply in the workshop that you forget to even ask if the rest of the world hears you.
That was me.

In my workshop in Ortakent, I was continuing to work at my own pace, in my own language. The Notre Dame earrings were born precisely in this state — soaring forms, a strong silhouette, details that spoke differently from every angle. For me, it wasn't just a piece of jewelry. It was a piece that carried memory, conveyed a sense of durability, and strove to remain timeless. Strong yet emotional. Detailed yet trying to appear simple.
In fact, it was Cansui herself.

That day, a message from A’ Design Award landed in my inbox.
They wrote that they believed my designs could resonate strongly in the competition and that I should apply.

I had always been a little distant from competitions. The idea of exams, scoring, and someone evaluating you had never appealed to me. But the moment I read that email, something strange happened — I felt as if I had already won the award.

Because it wasn't about the competition anymore. The fact that pieces I created in a small workshop in Bodrum, entirely in my own voice, had been noticed by an international team — this felt much bigger than the award itself.
I applied. And I won.

The moment I learned the result, a few seconds passed as if it weren't real.
Because often, while you continue to create within your own world, you can forget how far what you do reaches. In that silence, you don't know that someone elsewhere is listening to you.
A’ Design Award reminded me of this.

This is not an affirmation, but visibility. A moment that showed me I could reach people without changing my own language. Proof that a piece from Bodrum can find a resonance elsewhere in the world.

Silence sometimes travels very far.
We just don't know it.

— Cansu