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Interview – La Nación, Argentina – January 2025

Karina and Gabriela Iskin reflect on the beginnings, present, and future of their designer jewelry brand.

They create wearable works of art: necklaces, earrings, and bracelets that reinterpret pieces by some of the greatest artists.

At ages 9 and 11, they were selling handmade bracelets and stickers on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, the city where they were born and from which they emigrated a couple of years later, following the sudden death of their father. Today, sisters Karina and Gabriela Iskin, aged 45 and 47, reflect on the beginnings, present, and future of their designer jewelry brand, Iskin Sisters, which is celebrating 20 years of history.

From the macramé they learned as little girls to the atelier where they now design earrings, bracelets, pendants, handbags, and accessories that reach some of the world’s finest museum stores. Their creations embrace everything that inspires and moves them: the artworks and architectural masterpieces of renowned figures — from Frida Kahlo to Mies van der Rohe, from Xul Solar to Klimt, as well as the Bauhaus, Matisse, and Mondrian.

The lines conceived at Iskin Sisters are transformed into wearable works of art, handmade with materials that allow for adaptability according to the wearer’s needs. Leather, suede, acrylic, rubber, and magnets for magnetic clasps are all part of their material palette.

For the Malba Store, Gabriela — an industrial designer — and Karina — who holds a degree in Business Administration — took on the challenge of reinterpreting works from the permanent exhibition of the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires: Third Eye – Costantini Collection, which features artists such as Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Tarsila do Amaral, Xul Solar, Joaquín Torres García, Emilio Pettoruti, Wifredo Lam, Roberto Matta, Maria Martins, Remedios Varo, Antonio Berni, and Jorge de la Vega, among others.

With the mission of paying tribute to a selection of these works, the Iskin sisters faced complex creative constraints: they were not allowed to reproduce those iconic paintings. The brief required that the artworks not be literally recognizable, yet that certain fragments could still be perceived. “Several proposals were rejected until we finally found the right approach and, in just one month, turned the challenge into a wearable product that reflects the identity of the person wearing it,” Karina explains.

Gabriela had already explored this format through the Frame collections created for museums such as SFMOMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art), the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico, and the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, among others. Just like when they were little, the sisters worked in perfect sync and broke their own record. Today, those Malba fragments — “the museum’s blockbusters” — are displayed in the shop of “our home; we’re thrilled to celebrate our first 20 years here,” they say.

In necklaces, earrings, and bracelets, one can discover a portion of Pareja by Xul Solar, details of the cactus from Abaporu by Tarsila do Amaral, and blue geometries from Metaesquema by Hélio Oiticica. There is also the vegetation from Self-Portrait with Monkey and Parrot by Frida Kahlo. “That one was the most complex — it was difficult to speak about Frida without her face or the parrot,” Gabriela explains. In her early twenties, she left her job as a furniture designer at a studio to move to New York and pursue her dream: creating her own contemporary jewelry line.

“She built everything from scratch — the website, the logo, the packaging. Everything,” Karina emphasizes. “A month later, I got on a plane to join the project. We lived in New York for six months. We came back with clients, including MoMA,” recalls Karina, who handles the administrative side of the business and client relations. She does so from Madrid, where she moved with her family five years ago. “I prefer face-to-face contact over remote communication, but I’m getting used to it,” Gabriela says, acknowledging that she learned to deal with studio matters, human resources, and other procedures. “I learned how to be an entrepreneur — no one is born knowing how to be a boss,” she reveals.

The upside of the 10,000 kilometers that separate them is the design fairs they travel to together. Twice a year, they meet in Paris to attend Maison&Objet, and they also exhibit at Shoppe Object in the United States. Looking ahead to 2025, they are currently in advanced talks to develop a line for Tate Modern, the London art gallery.

Geometric, urban, and ultra-lightweight, Iskin pieces have already been featured in more than 100 museum stores worldwide, including the Guggenheim in New York, the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Leopold Museum in Vienna, the Pérez Art Museum in Miami, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, as well as the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, and the MACA Museum in Uruguay, among others.

The pieces come in packaging specially designed by Gaby to ensure proper storage. She also designs merchandise for the permanent collections of several museums and coordinates the selection of works by women artists. “We believe in art as a way to awaken the senses, shift perception, and create a positive impact on society. We want to share art in a collaborative and responsible way and to help the Argentine women artists who inspire us most gain visibility around the world,” say the Iskin sisters, creators of artistic tributes meant to be worn on the skin.

By Vivian Urfeig.

Interview in Brando Magazine, La Nación, Argentina - October 2021
Nota en Revista Brando - La Nación - Octubre 2021

The Story of the Iskin Sisters: They Left Their Jobs to Design Contemporary Jewelry and Reached the Stores of MoMA and the Pompidou

More than 15 years ago, they committed to designing accessories with a clear goal: for them to be sold as art pieces in the shops of the world’s leading museums. How they achieved it.

Carola Birgin
LA NACIÓN Editor

Gabriela and Karina, the sisters behind Iskin Sisters. Courtesy of Iskin Sisters.

Karina was at the wheel, driving her sister to the airport. Gabriela was about to set off in pursuit of her dream: she had quit her job as a designer at a furniture company and, with an investment of $6,000, had produced prototypes for three collections of earrings and necklaces she planned to launch in New York. She was 26, full of energy and freedom. “You’re crazy,” her sister thought as she drove. But instead of saying that, she said, “You’re doing exactly what I wish I had the courage to do.” The reply was decisive: “Then come with me — I need you.” A month later, Karina was once again on her way to Ezeiza Airport, this time in the passenger seat. She had taken a leave of absence from the multinational company where she held a position and was ready to go with the flow.

Gabriela and Karina are sisters who bet on designer jewelry. Today, the necklaces and bracelets of Iskin Sisters — entirely made in Argentina — are sold in the shops of the world’s leading museums.

Thus, in 2004, Gabriela (43) and Karina (42) Iskin launched the venture that became Iskin Sisters, an Argentine contemporary jewelry brand that expanded far beyond its origins: today they export to 16 countries and sell their pieces in top museums worldwide, such as the Guggenheim and the Cooper Hewitt in New York, the National Gallery in Washington, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Pérez Art Museum Miami, the Pompidou in Paris, the Bauhaus Museum Dessau in Germany, and the Tate Modern in London. In Buenos Aires, they are present at Malba.

The Mecca

Reaching that milestone was no stroke of random luck: “I wanted my accessories to be in the MoMA store,” Gabriela recalls, “and that was exactly what I went for — nothing else.” Whether it was a whim or a deep conviction did not matter. “I looked into how to arrange a meeting with the commercial manager,” she continues. “Three months later, we received our first order.” They could hardly believe it, and yet they knew that, sooner or later, it had to happen: having the MoMA Design Store as a point of sale had been part of the very design of the pieces and their overall plan from the very beginning.

With the pandemic, Iskin Sisters also turned their focus to the domestic market. Courtesy of Iskin Sisters.

Gabriela is an industrial designer and leads the creative side of Iskin Sisters. Karina holds a degree in Business Administration and oversees the business dimension. Together, they operate on the same wavelength they’ve shared since childhood.

Their childhood — along with that of their two brothers — unfolded in Rio de Janeiro. A ritual would often repeat itself at night. While in many households children are read bedtime stories, at the Iskin home after-dinner conversations were master classes. Their father, a Brazilian engineer with a passion for art and a collector of books, would choose one at random and begin telling the stories, showing the images. He not only taught his children historical facts and the names of iconic artists, but also instilled in them a passion that, in each of them, took root in its own way.

The sisters eventually reached the very museums they had admired and visited on family trips — only they did so through a different door: the one at the end of the exhibition route, where the magic of accessibility happens and art can be acquired as a functional object to be lived with every day. “Our necklaces are an easy way to wear art on your body,” says Karina.

Art and Technology

Iskin jewelry is the result of creativity and technological innovation. “They are designed for a very specific wearer,” Gabriela explains, “someone who values design, loves art, and travels; that’s why they are lightweight, flat, and easy to carry. Pieces you can take on a trip and bring back as a gift.”

In the beginning, they worked with metals such as stainless steel — they never used high-value materials, since the focus is on the concept rather than the material itself — and later shifted toward leather and acrylics. Optical play is key: unique matrices of geometric shapes and sublimated prints in which flexible materials appear as if they were rigid.

The new packaging for the pieces features art created by women. Courtesy of Iskin Sisters.

Six months after arriving in New York, they already had a portfolio of five clients. Later, they explored Europe, where they also managed to carve out a small space for themselves.

“In Argentina, in 2005, there wasn’t yet a design development like ours,” explains Karina. “From the very beginning, we aimed at the international market.” However, today 58% of their production is sold domestically.

Although they are called Iskin Sisters because they are sisters, the name also reflects how they see themselves alongside their suppliers and customers as a network of connected women: sisterhood.

The circumstances played a big role in this. “The pandemic, with all the losses it brought, also gave us a gift: retail sales,” Gabriela points out. Until recently, their business was almost exclusively wholesale. They never had a storefront, only a showroom to welcome buyers. But with mandatory lockdowns, they had no choice but to put trips and museum visits on hold for a while and focus on reaching homes via e-commerce. “People dared to buy online, and new customers emerged,” they say. The local market grew, surpassing the international market for the first time, and online sales quintupled. Although the jewelry is timeless, the collections are constantly renewed. “The pandemic called for joy, and our new line exploded with color,” says Gabi.

The next step will be to expand the brand into other areas — such as fashion and home decor — and further grow in the European market. For this reason, Karina moved to Spain a year and a half ago.

Almost 100% of the materials they use are Argentine, and the labor is local. The team is entirely female. They have a workshop in Vicente López, and there are artisans who work from home. “From the meeting of crafts and the arts, from the combination of tradition, practice, and expertise, and from the revaluation of manual labor and creative aesthetic vision, comes the inspiration of Iskin Sisters,” they say in their “About Us.”

Last month, they added a parallel project that aligns with the spirit of the brand: they selected four Argentine artists, aged between 30 and 80, and brought their works into the packaging through prints ready to be displayed as artworks. In addition, the artists themselves are the models for the new campaign.

“The idea is to showcase their work, give them visibility, and add artistic value. To take them with us to the museums where we are,” Karina says enthusiastically. “But we also thought about it from the perspective of a reusable, sustainable packaging.”

The first is Guillermina Lynch; María José Antelo, Nora Aslan, and Mónica Fierro will also be featured.

“We share what moves us and build lasting, special connections. We recognize and identify ourselves as part of a community that feels art as something personal and central, and chooses to express it through their own image,” they state as a manifesto. Creating a fellowship — that’s what it’s about.

The brand was not always Iskin Sisters. Until eight years ago, it was simply Iskin. But these sisters carry a surname that means “skin” in English, a word widely used commercially across various products. To set themselves apart, they added Sisters — because they are sisters, but also because they see themselves, together with their suppliers and customers, as part of a network of connected women: sisterhood.

Carola Birgin

Vanidades Magazine
Revista Vanidades

Elle Magazine - Argentina - May 2019

Harper's Bazaar Argentina

Amex Multitaskers

Mujercountry Magazine - January 2019

Karina and Gabriela Iskin. “Our jewelry is aimed at women who love to travel and art.”

They are sisters and the creators of Iskin Sisters. Their designs are inspired by architecture and design, and the MoMA Museum in New York is among their clients.

They are sisters who combined their professional backgrounds in 2004 to create a line of accessories distinguished by their design and materials.

Gabriela is an industrial designer, and in 2004 she decided she wanted to launch her own contemporary jewelry brand. That’s how she developed three collections, along with the website and packaging. At that time, jewelry design was not highly valued in Buenos Aires, so she decided that New York would be the place to launch her proposal.

Karina, on the other hand, holds a degree in Business Administration and was working at a multinational company in marketing and international trade. She had always wanted to live abroad for a while and start her own business. So the sisters decided to move to the Big Apple to develop the U.S. and European markets. They spent six months abroad and returned with five wholesale clients in the United States and several European contacts that they later closed. The second client for Iskin jewelry was the MoMA Museum in New York, which has one of the best design stores in the world.

What inspires them when creating their pieces?

Art, architecture, the museums we visit, travel, geometry, nature, and children. From this comes the idea of play — some pieces are interchangeable, allowing each person to interact with their accessory and transform it into something different. We work with materials such as leather, acrylic, stainless steel, aluminum, and textiles.

What is the style of woman Iskin Sisters targets?

She is a professional woman who loves to travel and visit museums. She enjoys art, music, architecture, design, and psychology. She thinks differently, seeks the disruptive, and dares to dress with her own signature. She likes to innovate, has a strong personality, is bold, and knows what she wants — and she won’t stop until she gets it.

How do they complement each other at work?

Gabriela is the designer and responsible for creating the pieces, while I handle marketing and administration. We complement each other perfectly. While each of us has her own area of expertise, we consult one another on every important decision. Together, we define the direction of the brand and decide where to focus in response to the constantly changing context in Argentina and abroad. Although our roles and personalities are very different, the results wouldn’t be possible without Gabriela’s creativity or my negotiation skills.

Inspired by architecture and design, they recently launched the Bauhaus collection, a tribute to the German workshop school that highlighted artisanal craftsmanship.

Text: Karina Bianco

Iskin Sisters: Argentine Jewelry from the First Emotions

Argentine sisters Gabriela and Karina Iskin used to explore and play with their grandmother’s jewelry, unaware that years later, that passion would become their life path when they created the contemporary jewelry and accessories brand, Iskin Sisters (2004). “Over the years, we realized that through jewelry we can express who we are and show our personality. There’s a quote by Oscar Wilde that represents us perfectly: ‘One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art,’” they say. Today, they share how their brand seeks to honor that idea.

The Iskin Sisters Approach

Gabriela and Karina explain that at Iskin Sisters they draw inspiration from architecture, modern and contemporary art, natural landscapes, and the sense of wonder and emotion they have carried since childhood.

They are convinced that their life experiences have always influenced their work. “Our childhood in Brazil, the art lessons our father gave us after dinner, his passion for painting. Watching our mother always doing something with her hands in her free time — knitting, painting, embroidering. All of that leaves a mark,” they confess.

In this sense, they describe their pieces as unique, made from unconventional jewelry materials such as leather, suede, and acrylic, designed with the modern woman in mind. “She wants it all: simplicity and a bold statement, inspiration from distant travels, the joy of community and family, dazzling attention to detail, and a sense of personal space and taste — all while seeking fashion that is comfortable, wearable, and lightweight, suitable for any occasion,” they affirm.

How important is local identity in the development of your pieces?

“We always work with our identity. Identity is fundamental. It’s not something we intentionally seek, but it’s always there. We believe it emerges naturally. It’s about a way of seeing things, the lens through which you observe the world.”

The Biggest Challenge Faced by Iskin Sisters

“The biggest challenge is to constantly innovate — both in design and in the incorporation of new materials — and to surround ourselves with a team that supports our growth. We have made many changes to get to where we are, bringing more hands and minds into the project so that each of us can focus on what we do best. We feel proud of the path we’ve taken and happy to work doing what we love.”

The Future of Iskin?

“We envision ourselves increasingly close to our clients, beautifying and empowering women around the world. We would like more and more museums and countries to have Iskin Sisters pieces, and we are working to make that happen. Museums such as the Guggenheim in New York, SFMOMA, the Getty Museum, the National Gallery of Art in DC, Malba in Buenos Aires, MAM in São Paulo, the Museo Ponce in Puerto Rico, among many others, already feature our pieces in their boutiques, and the goal is to continue expanding in Europe and Latin America.”

Where to buy them? On their online store and in the boutiques of various museums around the world.