Nazike Özel

Nazike Özel was born in Kastamonu in 1949. She started making silver jewelry beside her husband Yücel Özel in 1989. Yücel Özel was a famous silver jeweler in Ankara. His works were introduced and sold in Turkey and abroad by Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. He won several prizes in competitions which were organized by Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. In making his jewelry, Yücel was inspired by jewelry from the time of the early Anatolian Civilizations: the Hittite period, and the Seljuk and the Ottoman period, as well as by Turkmen jewelry. After Yücel’s death, Nazike Özel has continued her works with a master craftsman Hayati Erdem.