Our story

TRAPA began in Kyiv with the water chestnut — Trapa natans, a plant found in the waters of the Dnipro River.

Once rare and endangered, the water chestnut was a species in need of protection. Over time, conditions changed and the plant began to spread rapidly, becoming invasive. This shift became the starting point for TRAPA: what we try to preserve can, under different circumstances, become a threat, while our intervention in nature often has consequences we cannot predict.

The fruit of the water chestnut resembles a small sculptural object. Symmetrical, sharp, and almost graphic, it is both beautiful and capable of causing pain. Its dried fruits have historically been collected and worn as ornaments. TRAPA translates this natural form into silver, turning a fragile organic object into something lasting.

The first pendant became the starting point for a series. From a single natural form, a collection of seven designs gradually emerged: some closely reproduce the water chestnut itself, while others break it down into individual lines, spikes, and curves.

All TRAPA jewelry is made in Ukraine by local craftspeople. At the heart of the collection remains the same object found in nature — and the simple contradiction it carries: a plant can be endangered or invasive, beautiful or dangerous, depending on its environment and our impact on it.